csertich

I have developed a very recent oil leak (last 24 hours). It appears that oil has 'soaked' the inside of the right rear wheel well ('front' of the rear wheel well, closest to the passenger door as opposed to the back side of the wheel well). And there are oil drips on the underside of the car, between the rear wheel well and the passenger door. The drips kind of line up between the front and rear tires (passenger side) as opposed to being in the middle of the underside of the car.

The engine compartment is clean-no oil leaks are visible.

My sound tray is still in place. I realize that oil can 'travel' and the leak could be anywhere, not necessarily right above the leak. I will be getting under the car tomorrow to take a look. But I was wondering if anyone has ideas for 'likely candidates.'

I know it's impossible to diagnose stuff like this in writing and I may be wasting your time, looking for answers. I guess I'm just writing this for 'mental therapy' until I can get under the car tomorrow.

Thanks for listening.....
chuck

viperbob

Read Robins DIY site about an oil change. Did you have this done recently? Something is loose inside the front of your rear wheel well. This is where the oil tank is located. It could be the filter is a little loose, or more likely the drain plug is was not seated properly with the aluminum gasket. It could also be an oil line, but this is not very typical.

Luis A.

As you might know, the area you describe in front of the RR wheel well is where the oil tank and the oil filter are. Did you have a recent oil change? You don't have to get under the car to unscrew (one phillips screw IIRC) the plastic cover and shine a light in there to look around.

csertich

Thanks fellas. You are right on the money-I had my oil changed about two weeks ago. SO, it looks like not only was I overcharged (I'm ashamed to tell you what my independent charged me), but the work was possibly not done properly. Double whammy.

I only have myself to blame. I was going to do the oil change myself but I got lazy and impatient and had someone else do it.

Maybe this will be an easy fix.

Thanks very much. I really appreciate your responses.
chuck

chris walrod

One other source in that area is the oil level sender plate. I believe it uses an o-ring for a seal. If the car is cold, get access to that oil filter and (by hand) see if you can tighten it more.

No worries, prolly something simple.

Greg Fishman

It could be just oil that has gotten into the molding (side skirts) and is now working its way out. When you undo the drain plug oil can and does get into lots of places.

csertich

Just a follow up. It appears that my leak is at the oil tank drain plug. I tried to tighten it but it was pretty tight. There does not appear to be a drain plug seal between the plug and the tank.

Altho I swore I wasn't going to go back to the independent who changed the oil (because of the oil change price-in excess of $160), I guess I'll go back and ask them to make this right.

Thanks to all for the responses.
chuck

viperbob

The seal is the aluminum gasket that I was referring to in my previous post. They are like .25 cents each, but you will find a number of shops reuse them instead of doing the proper thing and replace it. Sometimes that works, and some times it doesn't. The problem is that to replace it now, you need to drain the oil tank and then refill. Pain in the butt not to do it right the first time...

Good luck.

max911

Chuck, $160 is an OK price for an oil change on a 993.
2 filters = approx. $28
9 liters oil @ $6 = $54
1 hr labor @ $75= $75
=$157

add some tax, oil disposal fee (if applicable) etc.. and it's over the 160 mark.
I am sure a Porsche dealer would be a lot more.

What is NOT OK is them failing to put the seal/washer on the plug!!

it is definitely not a $39.99 mr. goodwrench drive-through special

max

csertich

Max--Thanks. It appears my expectations were off. I'm glad to know that's not an issue anymore. For some reason, I was thinking more in the $120 range but I honesly don't recall where I came up with that number. It was probably one of my fantasies.

But you are right, NOT OK to fail using a crush ring.

I've decided that I'm not going back to the independent to fix this after all. Now I'm disappointed with the level of competence displayed.

Bob, I'm going to remove the plug and catch the oil. What size container should I have handy? I'll have the seal waiting.

Thanks you guys. You sure have been helpful.
chuck

viperbob

Chuck,

Never really measured just the oil tank, but would guess between 5 and 6 quarts.

Good luck...

TheOtherEric

I think you'll get about 8-9 quarts out of just the oil tank. I say that because only about 1-2 quarts comes out of the engine sump (which I've measured).

A word of warning...I have rocker panels on mine and they have a hole that's intended to be lined up with the drain. I had oil splashing all over the place and running down my entire rocker panel since I failed to use a funnel. Total mess. Also, DO NOT buy the oil containers with the huge yellow tops. They WILL fall off when it's full of oil. Ask me how I know.

chris walrod

I would at least write a letter to that shop pointing out the awesome work they do. The previous sentence was written in a sarcastic tone BTW....

csertich

Thanks to the information provided by everyone, I'm all fixed. I bought a seal, had a funnel, and a big enough oil pan to catch all the oil.

I bought a new oil pan so it would be clean and so I could re-use the oil, since the oil was 'new'. I intended to measure how much came out of the tank, but pored it back in without doing so. DUH. I'm guessing it was in excess of 6 or 7 quarts.

Chris, I called the shop and expressed my 'appreciation' for their competence and dedication to perfection.

Thanks again everybody,
chuck