911dull

I have a 964 C2, I went for a drive earlier and when I got home I left the engine running idle for a few minutes as I was going to check the oil level- however- after a few minutes suddenly there was lots of smoke coming out of the right side rear wheel arch and it stank of smoke. I immediately switched the engine off and checked the engine bay...........the only oil I could see was on the small sill under the oil filter area- the actual oil filter appears dry, could anyone shed some light on the situation having looked at the photos below......the thin black cable is attached to the car alarm- what is the braided looking pipe's function? Where does it go? It feels wet along this pipe- could this be dripping onto the hot manifold causing the smoke? Any advice appreciated......

cscrogham

That braided "pipe" is the rear light wiring harness, if the filter is indeed tight and dry I would check the fender side where the oil housing is located (other side of the oil filter). There are several oil line connections there that could be loose or fractured. Also if the tank is overfilled and the o-ring is missing or bad (or cap not installed correctly) the oil can come right up the pipe too. Check those out and get back to us unless someone else has a better idea.
FYI I am the king of having to replace everything related to oil...have done the tank, lines, gaskets, return tubes, hoses, etc etc. If oil runs through it I have replaced it on my C4 and it never seems cheap.

Mr.Alex

If you are saying smoke was coming out of the wheel arch you need to remove that passenger rear wheel and check the oil line that runs through the wheel well and into the case. You could possible have that oil line leaking on top of the heat exchanger.

Andy Roe

You sure it's oil and not power steering fluid coming from the fluid resevoir?

Rocket Rob

I would clean the area thoroughly to make sure this is not just residual oil from the last oil filter change. Also clean the right rear fender well. Then take the car for a spirited drive and recheck for leaks. They will be wet or shiny spots.

Keep us posted.

R6XTERRA

I kinda of agree as I had a loose hose on mine.... but if you look close enough, that does not look like power steering fluid and the level is on the Max mark resevoir.

LM964

Yup, had exactly the same issue just over a year ago. In my case a combo of two things; small steering fluid leak from the feed pipe into the pump plus an additional small leak from the oil filter housing pipe to engine (inner wing mounted). The oil working its way to the lowest part of the pipe then dropping on to the exit end of secondary muffler.

The steering fluid leak was small but found its way through the engine bay drain hole and on to the front end of the rhs heat exchanger.

Both leaks not noticable when driving (naturally) only when stationary.

Dropped the engine oil and stripped the filter housing down (pipes a real pain in the **** to remove). Refurbished and dressed up the housing and with new seals I refitted cleaned up pipes. Then...

Drained the steering fluid reservoir and removed the feed pipe and changed this for a spare I had with new seals. Completely flushed through the fluid with new Dexron (it needed it too).

All perfect now and not one drip from either area despite being tracked and driven hard at full temps.

Worth the patience and time spent to do. Good luck, keep any updates coming.

Gordon52

Looks familiar,mine had a leak at the seam on the steering reservoir bottle where the clear met the black,it was virtually undetectable. New bottle solved this.

mike9186

take a look at the weld joint where the oil filler neck connects to the car (hidden behind the oil filter in your photo). I had a 1" hole right at the weld point and used some JB weld to seal the hole.

Harry Apps

Lots of good advice already but you should first check the oil filler cap for a good seal and screws on tight (the thread wears and slips) - mine had this until I replaced the cap. Clean the whole area down and then put some paper towel around the filler base to check for a leak.

911dull

Thanks for the replies. This morning I put the car on a friend's ramp....I removed the under tray and gave everywhere a good clean. I went for a quick blast and then rechecked for leaks. I could only find one tiny leak on one pipe at bottom of engine bay.....I think the oil that was sloshing about near the oil filter was spilt by the previous owner ( I have only recently bought the car) when he topped it up- this may have been dripping down onto exhaust etc Also the oil mark was right up by top of max so I loosened the oil drainage screw and let a couple of mugs worth of oil out so it's now bang on middle of the markers. I've been out in the car all afternoon and so far no more smoking wheel arch - thank God.....fingers crossed