EJZero1

Just took the car out for the first time after reassembly and have discovered an oil leak. Followed pan gasket installation to the letter, torquing per the pattern, in three stages, 3-5 times around per stage til they all snugged up. Gasket adhesive at the corners only, and on both sides of the gasket.

Leak is isolated to the drivers side, with oil coming down the pan just aft of the crossmember, with bolts 2,3 and 7 (per the torquing sequence) wet with oil. Rest of the circumference of the pan appears to be bone dry. This happens to be the area where the dipstick goes into the block (new o rings) and the oil return tube joins the engine support. Both of these areas appear to be clean.

I put a torque wrench on the oily bolts, set at 6 ft lbs, and they all clicked without moving. Will run it again and immediately jack it up to see if I can determine the source. In the meantime, any ideas on other things/places to check?

Just venting, really, but inputs always welcome!

chrisc

Feeling your pain, have similar leak on new race engine rebuild. Fellow doing the work is a friend and recognized engine builder. We suspect the silicone gasket got pinched, silicone has very poor tear resistance. Sux.

mytrplseven

I'd recommend getting a cheap fluorescent dye tracer kit at the autoparts store and using the magic glasses and flashlight, check the traces to find the exact source. This keeps you from chasing your tail and I think is a required tool for owning one of these special cars. On an additional note, I tell everyone who's looking to replace the oil pan gasket, to wipe down the engine block and especially the new gasket, with acetone. This removes the gasket mold release that causes the gasket to "squirt" out of position when pinched down during tightening. I also wipe a thin coating of adhesive (in my case, it's Hondabond or Yamabond, used for joining motorcycle engine halves) on all mating surfaces before assembly. I also waited 24 hours before refilling with oil and starting the engine. Outside of that it sounds like you've done all the other stuff correctly.

EJZero1

Spent some time investigating this morning, and it looks like the culprit is the dreaded rear seal on the upper balance shaft housing. Was able to get my fingers up above the ridge above the oil pan and found oil pooling. Apparently the oil pools here, then flows down the drivers side of the pan, mimicking (sp?) an oil pan leak.

Will pull the intake as soon as time allows and have a closer look. Water pump/belts/reseal was scheduled for the spring. If this is in fact the source of the leak, will probably just do the Permatex Ultra Grey quick-fix to get me through.

To quote my beautiful and understanding wife, "Will this ever end?"

mytrplseven

If that's the case, a lot of guys clean it with acetone and the silicone it. Seems to work.

EJZero1

Quick update... Pulled the intake, and confirmed the leak is coming from the seal at the rear of the upper balance shaft housing. Plan is to clean to the max extent possible and try the Permatex quick fix.

Question for those that have gone this route: The disk at the rear of the housing is obviously very loose with fore and aft movement. Is the plan to keep the disk pressed in while the Permatex is applied?

Would appreciate any inputs from those that have done this, keeping in mind the engine is in the car not affording maximum access.

Thanks.

Van

There are different sized "disks" and o-rings for early and late engines... I bet you have an o-ring mixup - that plug should be snug. How does the other side look?

EJZero1

Will have a look at the lower passenger side housing tomorrow, but no oil leak from that side. Assemblies have not been disassembled since my ownership, and oil leak only just now became an issue.

EJZero1

Another update. After pulling fuel rail and intake, cleaned rear of balance shaft housing and applied 3 layers of the Permatex Ultra Grey after letting each application dry. Reassembled after letting last application sit over night and took her out. After about a half hour of driving, parked in the garage, looked underneath, and saw oil.

Oh well, at least it didn't appear as bad as before the "fix". Won't be running her much til the spring anyway. Will disassemble and fix it right in the spring with the water pump/belt replacement.

John_AZ

Looks like a lot of work...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...e-picture.html

J_AZ

EJZero1

Yeah...and that wasn't a turbo...