ricks93-964

I recently spent a great deal of time under my C4. All kind of things needed attention. When I finally finished I realized that I really wasn't done - there were numerous "dripping points." The first thing that came to mind was tighten the bolts/nuts to reduce or stop the drip. This worked in some instances, but not all. So, of course, to get ideas I came to this forum and typed in "oil leaks." Numerous threads, many of which said "it's a Porsche, of course its supposed to leak" or "well, it its a 25 yr/old car, what do you expect?" Ok, now I'm an old biker (we'll leave out the century here), and if someone told me about oil leaks, I naturally assumed that they meant either a Triumph or a Harley. However, I digress. I didn't want to accept that I had to live with oil leaks! So I got back under and torqued down on those nuts and bolts. This worked to some degree, but there was one stubborn leak between the mating of the engine and transmission, that simply wouldn't stop, and, after looking up the correct torque values, I was concerned that I had probably exceeded that limit already, so no more torquing. I stared at this leak for a long time trying to determine where the drip actually was - I couldn't tell if it was coming from the seam, or, somehow, around the bolt. After giving this some deep thought, I had an eureka moment - suppose that I put crush washers on this bolt. Hey, I didn't expect it to work, but it was worth a try. So, ordered some crush washers, took the bolt off, added the new washers, cleaned up the existing puddles of oil, cracked a beer and relaxed. Next morning I looked under the car and couldn't believe my eyes; instead of a puddle, there were only two little drops! Were my eyes deceiving me? Wiped up the two spots and ignored the car until the next morning. Same deal! Two little drops. I was amazed and wanted to pass this little tidbit on. So, getting around to the title of this thread, has anyone else had an experience like this? or some other interesting way to stop those dratted leaks?

Marine Blue

That’s a great idea although will the use of a crush washer result in a change in the torque settings on the bolts over time and with heat cycles? I’m not versed on engine building so please ignore if it’s a dumb question.

carlskisWP

More details please. Where were your other leaks? Chain box? Valve covers? Hose connectors? What bolts/nuts did you retorque?

John McM

There are a number of possible reasons for an oil leak between the transmission and engine

1. The Main seal on the engine crank is leaking

2. The gearbox input shaft seal is leaking

3. The engine is leaking on top and the oil is finding its way down

None of the above are fixable by tightening bolts/nuts

I think you need to tell us exactly what you tightened.

John McM

Btw a number of seals on the engine can leak if overtightened eg the valve covers.

ricks93-964

First, re Marine Blue's question "will the use of a crush washer result in a change in the torque settings on the bolts over time and with heat cycles?" That's a very good question that I really don't have an answer to. I wouldn't think so, but I'm not a builder.

For carlskisWP, I didn't touch the chain boxes or the hoses; see below for the valve covers. Everything was torqued properly except for under the car. I'll detail some of what I did and take some pics later.

John McM, looking at the oil sludge buildup under the engine (I initially did do a so-so power wash under the engine), you are absolutely correct. However, w/o pulling the engine and/or the transmission, it was impossible to determine where those oil leaks had come from. So my objective was to stop, if possible, those leaks that I could actually see dripping. With the exception of "leaking bolts," everything was torqued properly. Again, will detail later w pics.

Reducing my drips was done in conjunction with a tune up, to include new valve gaskets, which was the first thing that I checked. Very happy to say, they remained dry as bone.

ricks93-964

Here are some pics.


drip location 1 with support still attached

drip location 1 with crush washers




drip location 2 - I just tightened the crap out of it.

cjoenck

Drip location 2 - you may have over torqued that one. Those are the chain tensioners and they have a gasket. Buy new gasket and use some sealer. I used a small paint roller on them to spread the sealer. Torque to spec and they won't leak. The covers are plastic and if you over torque them, they may crack.

Foxman

More details please, what beer??