911porschefan

I know I am dripping oil, about a dime every day. I know I need to fitx it and I am budgeting for the big overhaul. But something weird happened this weekend. Parked the car Thursday night and when I got back into it Sunday morning, I had a puddle of oil. About the size of a square foot. This morning, I went to my father in laws garage to see what was going on. I cleaned the the entire bottom end off and tried to find a leak, nothing. Two questions: 1. when I drive everyday I notice the dime sized drop, but when I park the car for more than 2 days, it looks like it leaks more. A lot large spot. Is it possible that NOT driving the car will cause more of a leak. 2. I topped up the oil the previous Saturday, could the puddle be over fill, how long does the oil take to circlulate through.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

p.s my father in law says to me, you must hate driving an older Porsche that keeps giving you problems, just get a newer one (like my previous 996). I told him I always wanted an air cooled one, its like when you love something so much and hate it as much at the same time... kinda like marriage..... I guess I forgot who I was talking to.....

joey bagadonuts

Yes, it's very easy to overfill these cars. If that's the case, you'll need to remove the excess.

How did you determine that it had been topped off?

Duck

I feel your pain. I have leaks and replaced almost everything I can get at myself and still have leaks. Engine pulls strong, so do not want to drop it just for a few leaks. One day I will get the courage to do it myself, but will try to make sure I am doing something like the clutch at the same time.

Few items that can leak:

Oil return tubes - they make collapseable ones that can be installed without dropping the engine
Valve covers
Timing chain covers
Casing that holds oil pressure sender
Cam seal for power steering
Various oil line connections

Where is the leak under the car?

Good luck.

user 783003

+1

Changed all above except the oil return tubes.

Still leaks, some times more than others and, like you, pulls very strong, so am just as dumbfounded.

I've noticed that the more hot the car gets, the more it leaks when sitting. Also, it leaks more when on an incline.

911porschefan

Well I noticed that the oil level was low, so I topped up and measured against the dip stick. The dip stick showed that it was on the low side also.

I don't think I need to remove the excess as I think it ended up on the floor, but that was about a week ago. Does it take that long to cycle through?

911porschefan

Yeah my motor pulls strong and don't have any issues either, just the leak. One of the mechanics and my father-in-laws shops says we could do it together, so I will get done.

The leaks look like its coming from the rear of the motor, might be coming from the top not the bottom though.

xeps

I have a similarly inconsistent leak from my timing chain cover. One of the studs is stripped and can turn freely, and it seems to do so as a result of heat cycles and vibration. The leak can vary from a drip every few days to a litre on the ground in under an hour.

The timing chain covers are right back there - I would take a close look at them.

911Jetta

Checkout this thread: Newbie...requires step by step....idiots guide to check oil level

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=19642

jimq

mine will leak then stop leaking for a month then leak again. It possesed I think.

CBR786

I have just done the cam seal and the triangle shape gasket as well as timing cover gasket. also while I had the lot open I changed the valve cover gaskets top and bottom. in an attempt to cure oil leaks...

will see what happens when I get the car up and running again ..

ian89C4

It might be a long shot, but I just put the engine back in the car and it fired up with no leaks for around 100 miles. After that it left 2 drops on the ground per night. Wanting to nip it in the bud, I took it back to the shop and I hadn't centered on of my rocker arm pins exactly center and it started leaking. I highly doubt that one of yours has shifted, but could be a possiblity.

JDD

I'm convinced that, given the design of this engines, not a single leak/weep free example exists. If you don't see any oil, you are not looking hard enough!

911porschefan

I'm expecting some oil weep, I'm just worried about the puddles I get. The maintenance manager at my condo has mentioned it to me a few times already. May need to put my undertray back on until I can get a chance to drop it and take a better look.