GoKart

Some pics from the engine bay of a car I'm looking at - what do you guys think? Is it leaking a LOT? A little?


Leaks, including right and left sides near valve covers:








Near distributors:




Oil spots from 15-20 mins of idling - the biggest drip spot there is about 3" in diameter:

boxsey911

The oil in the engine bay in pic 2 is probably from the top of the engine rather than the top valve cover. Most likely due to the oil sender O ring or leaks from the inlet manifold after an overfill. Fairly simple and cheap to cure.

GoKart

Ok, thanks!

There is similar moisture on the driver's side of the engine bay - shown in pic #3, but it's hard to see.

There is some moisture around the power steering reservoir also. Maybe that's leaking?

ducnine

In the first pic the leak by the oil tank. you should try to fix that. The hose clamp by the tank looks moist, so it could be coming from around there. Its a bit tedious but I did those two hoses on my car myself. It was one of the first things I did to my car.

PorscheZen

+1
Sometimes if/when those hoses go, it can be disastrous if you are driving... I've seen it happen in someone elses C4

ian89C4

Yeah, not too bad. +1 on fixing the oil line. The other "little bit" of oil is not too bad. I agree with the o ring on the oil sender being bad. looks like most 964's.

GoKart

So this looks like a pretty normal 964, then?

I am not too familiar with 964's specifically, but am a long-time car nut.

raspberryroadster

...what's overview of the car? mileage, general condition, service records, ownership history??
looks to be quite moist for a long time....and a "large drip" that is not entirely normal from the cars i considered-but- in any event, if all else appeals to you why not proceed to a p.p.i. and nail down in full the deficiencies including general condition of engine??

pete000

I found the two lines at the oil tank need to be re torqued now and then. I found min seeping a bit and the hose clamps were just a bit loose. I have since replaced the hoses which were rock hard.

PorscheZen

+1 as well on the re-torque

springer3

+1 on getting the rotted O-rings out of the oil sender and PS pump housing (2 rings there). Mine were not leaking, but I had a "while you are in there" opportunity. I was shocked that all three O-rings crumbled rather than come off in one piece. There are lots of posts about oil leaks from those locations, and I can see why. Synthetic rubber O-rings will not harden, so the fix is also an upgrade.

elbeee964

Very normal stuff. And all of it to my first looks is most likely sourced to now-hardened. or cracking rubber.
(Hot oil & 20 years will do that to rubber.)

Good news: Porsche's replacement rubber, here, is very inexpensive. (All total less than $12?)

For the oil tank/wheel well, soaking the area thoroughly with Simple Green overnight, followed w/ water spray the next day will likely get you right down to paint & hose clamps. The easy way.

GoKart

Thanks for all of the comments!

So it sounds like all of this is normal 964 stuff, nothing out of this world.

The car is very original in general, meaning that everything looks un-disturbed, so it's likely that most of the seals and hoses are 1991-vintage. These have obviously hardened and / or broken down due to age and heat, so they will need to be cleaned up.

Is there a kit of any kind that includes most of the rubbers and hoses and seals and o-rings that should be replaced? Maybe like a basic engine re-sealing kit?

Or maybe someone can give me a quick reference list of the various seals and lines that should be addressed with the engine out of the car?

I am probably going to go forward with the purchase of this car, as it seems to be in generally very good condition, with some slight leaks that are normal and not particularly huge to repair.

DrewC2

This post edited per comments in later posting.

DrewC2

This post edited per comments in later posting.