... or below? It's buried pretty deep on the front-right side of the engine, and I can't diagnose without some disassembly. Is the best bet from above, or below?

If I follow Clarks Garage procedure for oil cooler service, it says attack from below.

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/lube-01.htm

 

If it's the oil cooler it is better to get at it from below (at least in S2's)

 

Thx. Unfortunately, I won't know what it is until I get to it!

 

I've got one in a similar spot, I'll be interested to know what you conclude. I was going to start by cleaning up the engine bay as thoroughly as I can and then watching it over the next few days to see if I can isolate the source. Oh, and crossing my fingers and toes and sacrificing a few (rubber) chickens to the Porsche oil leak gods...

 

You can attack it from below, but remember how much oil blows around with the fans and just with driving. If you really have a gusher, I'd suggest cleaning the engine as well as you can, and then running the car in the driveway until it leaks some more. That way you will have a better idea of where you're looking.

If it's the front right side, it's probably your oprv, pressure sender, or, if you're lucky, a bad o-ring on the oil filter.

If you can't get thins clean enough or need more help finding it, this stuff is very helpful: http://www.tracerline.com/

...or anything like it. Most big parts houses will have some small penlight/flashlight and a bottle of dye for each type of fluid on hand at least, and you'll probably get all you need for under $20.

 

Start with a through engine/bay cleaning, it's much more enjoyable to wrench on a clean engine. I use the $3 a can stuff <nothing fancy>, spray it on at the car wash and blast away. Use the usual blasting precautions.

Then look for leaks like Greg mentioned.