A.J. - 95 993

When I was changing my spark plugs last week, I noticed oil on the outside of the engine:

<a href="http://members.rennlist.com/movies1/Mvc-432f.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

I would guess it is slowly seeping past a gasket somewhere. I never get any oil spots on the ground. OK, except for recently, when I drove a few miles with the gas cap off and flooded the rear of the car with oil. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> But that's another story.

I don't suppose this is any cause for alarm, is it? I add a quart about every 1000 miles, which I know is "normal" according to Porsche, but I'm jealous of Ray going 3000 before needing to top it off. I have a hard time believing a quart of oil is making it through here (both sides of the engine are like this) in a thousand miles, though.

fbfisher

After 3,000 my dip stick shows about half way - about a quart low I think. I have 64,000 and no leaks that I know of. No smoke either. Hope this gives you some perspective but I am not sure that the comparison has any real meaning - though I am glad that I get 3,000 rather than 1,000.

I am sure that others with more knowledge may chime in.

Chris W. - '96 Targa

From the picture, looks like a valve cover gasket leak. I had to change the driver's side one on my car about 5k miles ago. Got the gasket through my mechanic (about $20-30). Took about an hour to do (it was the first time I'd done it).

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

-Chris

Tito

I agree with Chris.
But I also had the cover changed. This is made of plastic and warps over time - apparently.

Tito.

A.J. - 95 993

[quote]Originally posted by Chris W. - '96 Targa:
<strong>From the picture, looks like a valve cover gasket leak. I had to change the driver's side one on my car about 5k miles ago. Got the gasket through my mechanic (about $20-30). Took about an hour to do (it was the first time I'd done it).

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

-Chris</strong><hr></blockquote>


Did you do it yourself? I would be relieved if $30 is all this will cost!

tom_993

A.J.,
These valve cover leaks are very common on 993’s, or should I say all air cooled 911’s. They happened to me. I was lucky and got mine repaired under my extended warranty, but as I understand it, it is not a difficult DIY. I believe someone wrote up a DIY someplace. You might try searching for it. It’s pretty much just removing the cover, scraping off the old gasket and putting it all back together. FYI oil leaks can also occur at the oil return tubes.

Tom
’95 993

Edward

A.J.

Yes, the valve covers are easy to replace yourself (I did both exhaust covers). Before you take anything apart, though, get a long (at least 5") hex socket for the exhaust manifold bolts (8mm allen bolts I think, but don't quote me, I'm not in my garage). It's a straightforward DIY project. Take your time, tighten down the valvecovers from the center bolts and work outward in a criss-cross pattern, and don't overtighten. Mine are still dry at some 20K+ ago.
OTOH, I'm not convinced that this will address your oil consumption concern. These covers "seep" oil -not enough in most cases to explain the consumption you mention. My guess is that you'll swap the gasket(s), you'll fix the leak, but still have the same rate of consumption. My point?...Drive it and enjoy!!!

Edward

Chris W. - '96 Targa

[quote]Originally posted by A.J. - 95 993:
<strong>Did you do it yourself? I would be relieved if $30 is all this will cost!</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes, it's pretty straightforward (at least for the driver's side -- I didn't do the passenger's side, and have heard it's more complex simply because of other parts that have to be removed/worked around). The black plastic valve cover is held in place by the allen-headed bolts across the top and bottom (6 of them are visible in your photo).

The only trick is getting the bolts out on the bottom-rear of the cover, as the heat exchanger makes it tough to get a ratchet in there. It can be done though, without removing the heat exchanger (which is an option as well, although then you'll need a new gasket for that too).

While earlier I said it would take about an hour, I took about 3 hours to do it, but only because my 8 year old wanted to help (for the first 15 minutes, anyway ), and I took my time, cleaning everything up with Gumout carburetor cleaner (including the underbody tray, which had approx 1 qt. of oil in it) . Doing it again with a focus on efficiency would take ~1 hr.

The only other thing to remember is you'll want to drain off the oil that's not in the resevoir before you get started, as the valve covers are low in the engine.

Good luck!

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

-Chris

Robert Henriksen

My car was level (up on jackstands) and the amount of oil that came out from behind the cover was minimal. Enough that I was glad to have a paper towel or some newspaper handy, but not enough to make me feel I should have drained the crankcase first - FWIW.

I've posted about my positive experiences w. this DIY as well... let me know if you need any help finding them in the archives