Well, finally happened to me. i have a 94 with only 81K miles on it. For the last year it has dropped about a quarter sized spot of oil if driven. No oil when sitting and it does not blow smoke. Just lately it has started dropping a good bit, anywhere from a 3-5 inch circle worth by the right rear wheel and runs down the back of exhaust as well. I assume this is the normal oil return tube that most 911 have issues with at some point as my engine does have the gaskets.

My question is this, my local mechanic, a well known porsche mechanic in the Nashville area, thought that this year had easier tubes to deal with rather than some of the earlier 964s. Does that make sense? How big a repair bill does this usually amount to?

Also, I know that I will need a clutch in the not too distant future, any economies of scale if I do both together rather than space them out? I don't know if the labor required for the clutch would also cover the majority of the access related labor for the return tube?

 

It's not cheap but once you disturb one line I would do them all. Including the little ones between the oil tank/console. If I was doing the clutch I would do the lines since they need to be removed from the engine, but not so much the other way around...

 

Distinguish oil return tubes from the oil lines. If, as you say it's the return tubes, then there really isn't any overlap with a clutch. Any pro shop using a lift isn't going to pull the engine to replace a clutch. The return tubes, doesn't really matter which ones (if original, they're the solid ones as far as I've ever seen) will likely require heat exchanger removal. At least I've never done them without pulling the exhaust off. As a replacement, the collapsible factory units would be what you're using. (Funny how oil return tube leaks were so commonplace on the 3.0-and-earlier cars. Hardly even hear about them on the 3.6s.)

 

Yup, that is what it sounds like. If you are a bit of a gear head and like tinkering with the car, they are not that hard to replace. However!!!!! You will more than likely snap an exhaust stud in the process, which can either be not too bad to get out, or you will end up drilling out. I did the drill method and was sweating bullets the entire time, and I had the Stromski (no affiliations) jig for exhaust stud replacement.
You can leave the engine in the car to get to the return tubes, even without a lift, but the clutch would be much easier with a lift. Talk to your mechanic on what the time allocation is by the book for these two jobs, but it could be a little pricey.
Below is a pic of the return tubes you will want to get (yes I know they are scratched .) You can find them in just about any P-car supplier website.
Good luck, if you want to tackle to return tubes yourself, let me know and I can provide a few more tips on the job.

 

My bad, usually a leak around the wheel is a oil line, as ken said an oil return tube is a different deal. a do it yourself if you're handy, pulling the exhaust is most of the work...

 

But don't discount the frailty of the tank-to-chassis lines, or the line that goes up to the oil filter console. Maybe not in this case, but in general.

 

see if your oil filter is leaking since its by the right rear wheel well

 

good stuff guys, thanks. Certainly reduces my concern. I will also check the oil filter. I had surgery Friday so I cannot do anything with it at the moment. One thought, I noticed that the leak really didn't start changing in intensity until after I topped off the oil with 3 quarts of 5-W50 Mobile one. My local place was out of 10W-50. i cannot immagine that the difference would matter but worth asking.

 

Also I thought was oil but ended up being the steering pump. I know different color but once it hit the ground was black from the dirt anyway lol that also dropped onto the secondary muffler just a thought and that started all of a sudden for me anyways

 

interesting thought - I will check that. I assume oil as it drops right where the old slow drop used to be.

 

Well the steeriing pump is in the back of the motor pretty high so as it leaks it runs down the motor and I pretty much saw it everywhere but on teh ground on the inside of the rear right wheel as you described. Worth a look it should be redish color too.

 

Or it could also be engine oil leaking from the PS pump drive.

 

so what is the outcome love the updates

 

No update at the moment - I have been recovering from surgery so it will be a bit before I address it. i will post a follow-up when I do.