Leaking oil onto the exhaust from the valves
 

9 hours labour to take it apart and fix it..... yikes!

Anyone ever have a similar problem??

What do you mean leaking oil onto exhaust from valves?

My mechanic told me that the valve gasket was leaking oil on both side (I saw it up on the hoist) and is in need of repair.

9 hours to change out valve cover gaskets,yikes!!

Ohhhh... sorry I misunderstood your post.. Did you actually look for yourself? It seems there are many spots where you can develop a leak in that area that could cause oil to drip on the exhaust manifold... Valve cover gaskets, spark plug tubes, cam adjuster seals, etc.. Can you take a picture?

I did see it myself and noticed oil on both side of the car. I appreciate the feedback and will ask the mechanic about the other possibilities.... it's not alot of oil but I'm guessing that if I left it without repariing it I'm going to be in for other bigger issues down the road.

Apparently it is just sealant between the valve covers and head instead of an actual gasket on the 996... Speaking from experience on other cars. Valve covers will typically just seep oil and do not develop into anything more serious than that. Personally, I would hold off unless you want to drop some serious $$ in labor on the fix.

Couldn't the oil dripping onto the exhaust create a fire hazard??

Oil is not readily flammable all it would will do by contacting the headers is smoke and drip on the ground. I also suspect the leak is from a spark plug tube or variocam solenoid seal leak.

OK this is strange....

first off, no gasket as stated above and second, they dont leak very often... it not too common at all. Is your car a 3.4? you might have a leaking spark plug tube...and there should not be enough to cause any concern other than a little smell....

I would like to see pics.

9 hours to change (re-seal) the valve cover.... I would get together a list of "while you are in there"

check coil packs - replace as needed
change plugs
change all the spark plug tube o rings (if yours is a 3.4)
have them check the cam pads / replace if needed


lastly the wodr "gasket".... was that what the mecahanic said? - I wouold roll the car down to a shop that knew what they were doing... if you inserted that word, well.... thats different

Assuming the oil leak is coming from the camshaft cover/head interface 9 hours (for both cylinder banks) is about right.

BTW, the covers are not gasketed but sealed. Also, new camshaft cover bolts should be used along with new camshaft plugs.

(My 02 Boxster just had its passenger side camshaft cover removed to R&R both a bad VarioCam solenoid and actuator so I'm a bit current on this.)

Chances are one (or more) exhaust fasteners will break and this will take time to address. (One broke on my Boxster.)

But you want to be sure that the leak is coming from the camshaft cover/head interface and not from for instance spark plug tubes or perhaps from something on top of the engine that has oil coming down and looking like it is coming from the camshaft covers/head interface.

Oh, I have the Boxster in the shop for new CV boots and the tech spotted the driver's side camshaft cover was leaking on my Boxster. I looked at it with him (from under the car) and it didn't look too bad and it is not clear where the oil is coming from though he is of course quite experienced and probably right in his diagnosis. There is a bit of damp (with oil) dirt but no signs of any oil getting where it shouldn't.

We talked about it and decided he would clean that side (the other side still quite clean from the VarioCam hardware R&R) and then I'd drive the car and after awhile bring it back on he'd put it on the lift and we'd have another look to see what we could see.

My general rule with an oil leak is if no oil is hitting the ground, or getting on to any wiring, or dripping on hot exhaust, and in general is not flowing sufficiently to flush away the damp dust that an oil seep collects, I'm going to let it be at least until something else in that area requires attention at which time I may have the oil leak addressed.

Sincerely,

Macster.

+1.... what they all said. Get a new mechanic, spark plug tub is usually the culprit.

Go to a car wash and reach under there with the wand and clean off the oily area. Do not spray directly into any wire connectors or sensors. You are washing off residual oil that has most likely accumulated from years of seepage. Jack up your car a few days later and with good light check out the area for fresh oil leaks. This will give you an idea if anything need attention or not. My Jeep has had valve cover seepage for 7-8 years, never a drop, but residual oil collecting dirt. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Thanks for your response. No the mechanic didn't use the word gasket the 'layman' right here did. Hwe was going to changed the plugs at the same time as well. And yes it's a 3.4 with 51,000 miles on it. There is very little oil residue on my garage floor and the car sat the entire winter basically without moving.