prince_ramses

Hello everyone,

I'm about to buy my first porsche and its going to be a 993. Just finished looking at a 95 Targa. I took it to my local porsche authorised dealer to get the car checked out. Basically, everything else seems fine except they notice oil leaks after jacking the car up. They told me that i the valve cover and timing chain cover is leaking, but its normal for a 993 to leak oil. They even said that if i do not repair the oil leak, its still acceptable and will not cause any damage to the car.

Can you guys please share your opinion and experince.

Thank you in anticipation.

Edward

Welcome aboard!

As far as "normal," well let's just say it's "common" and your PPI was right on the most part. As long as it's just a seep and not a huge leak, no problem, but I'm not sure you want to really live with it if you haven't even purchased the car yet. The valve cover is easily addressed (an easy DIY job if you're so inclined), and you may even want to figure the repair into the purchase price. The cam chain cover, though, is a different story. If this is indeed a very small seep...maybe fine. But if it's significant, I believe this an engine-out repair. Entirely up to you, but I'd look under there myself and try to "read" the grunge in the surrounding areas in an attempt to discern whether it has been leaking a little or a lot.

As a side note, we on this board love our 993s, and are willing to accept some of these idiosyncracies as part and parcel of owning a truly fine sports car. But if you have the chance to address some of the "normal" bugaboos before purchase, I'd do that ...one less thing to deal with later on, IMHO of course. Good luck with the (future) purchase of the best 911 out there! ..not that I'm biased or aything

Edward

deltawedge

Take the engine tray off and see how much oil there is on the tray and at the leak locations. A wetness would be okay (but it will get worse over time,however) but drops of oil visible on the leak locations will be annoying at best(smoking is likely when the oil hits the exhaust) and downright messy at worst (oil spots all over the floor). I declined on a car that had an engine and trans covered with oil. Yours may not be as bad, but it doesn't get better with age.

TheOtherEric

An extremely leaky lower valve cover gasket is no big deal. A couple months after I bought my car it started REALLY leaking, like a couple drops an hour. It was a really quick fix, just replaced the gasket. Easy and very common. IMHO it doesn't even speak to the quality of maintenance of the prior owner, since such a leak can go from nearly nil to gushing in a matter of weeks, as I found. Dunno about the timing chain cover.

chris walrod

Welcome to Rennlist and potentially 993 ownership. Like mentioned above, valve cover weaping and sometimes chain box weaping is not unheard of. Valve cover gasket replacement is not that difficult and shouldnt be that expensive to have someone else do it for you. If the rest of the car is what you have been looking for, dont let this deter you from buying this car. Actually, you may be able to use this as a negotiating point..

There is lots of info in the archives.

Good luck!

Since you say 95 targa, I presume you are in the UK?

fbfisher

My seals are bone dry. Not one drop - ever - with nearly 100K on the clock. Though the occurance may be common, it is not a situation with which you must live - make the seller fix it. Look at the service history and determine if this is a chronic problem on this particular car. Drips in your engine tray, under the car, on your garage floor are not to be tollerated IMHO.

Enjoy the search and don't let your desire for a 993 lead you into choosing the wrong car.

Mike J

Hmmm, I thought the first 993 Targa's were 1996 models and thus a 1995 Targa does not exist? If you are sure its a 95 then you could have a potential problem....

I have a 96 Targa with 80,000 miles where, after replacing the valve cover gaskets (fairly easy) ,the oil stays in the engine like it should! ;-)

Cheers,

Mike

993Cabriolet

Common and not normal. As previous post, ask the seller to fix it. The worst thing ever is the smell of burning oil.

Jim

It is an inexpensive fix if it is truly the valve cover gaskets. Have the current owner fix it, so you can be sure it is not more of a problem, like leaking between the cylinders and crankcase.

24FPS

i think all (if not most) here prefer to keep their 993 dry... had an ever-so-slight lower cover leak & replaced both lowers & been dry for over 15k miles.

cheers & bol w/ your 993!

prince_ramses

Thanks, everyone, for the your advice and support. Will use your advise to proceed further.

Ray Calvo

86K miles on my 993. Underside still dry as a bone. One data point.

You don't say mileage, but if it's less than 50K miles I'd say look out.

Pete in DC

My chain was leaking bad and it is an engine out deal. I'm having the SAI CEL addressed at the same time, along with 75k service, so there goes Christmas. Not good news, so watch out.

TheOtherEric

Ok, ok, I'll be the one to ask.... Where is the timing chain cover is? I have no idea.

Ray Calvo

- Turn off the computer
- Go down to the 993
- Open the engine lid
- Look at the very rear of the engine
- The vertical metal covers at the very back of the engine going he center crankshaft to the very outer edge of the engine (camshaft/valve covers where the spark plug wires are sticking out of) are the timing chain cover(s). You might ha to really look to see them with the heater air ducts and AC compressor in the way.

If they leak, generally is at the bottom of the engine. Jack the car up, remove the bottom engine undertray, and look at the very rear of the engine where the crankshaft comes thru the engine and attaches to the alternator/cooling fan/AC drive pulley.