In my hunt I came across a 2002 with 84K miles. Looks clean and has pretty comprehensive records. The Carfax shows it was originally a lease and has always been serviced by a Porsche dealer. The Carfax does show that the RMS was replaced 4 times within the first 20K miles. My question is, why would the RMS leak so often? Is this indicative of a bigger issue, or is it a case of the dealer not doing the work correctly? Otherwise the car looks to have been well maintained.

 

The original RMS was a POS. The revised seal fixed many of the cars that were habitual leakers.

A car with a leaky RMS does not necessarily indicate any other issues; in fact, some people just gave up on the RMS and live with the leak, since it's not exactly trivial to access the RMS.

 

Check the serial number on the motor to see if it has been replaced. SOP back then was if the RMS leaked 3 times under warranty Porsche replaced the motor (3rd RMS was the charm on our 2001).

As I understand it there were 2 cases. The first was that the seal was bad or not installed correctly and the second was a machining defect in the case. In the later case there was nothing you could do as any seal was going to fail. With Jake's revelations about machining issues around the IMS, I wonder if the two aren't related actually...

The upside is that most RMS leaks were found early on while warranties were in effect. Now we are seeing them fail simply due to age and milage.

If it's last RMS change was 64k+ ago, I wouldn't worry about it unless your PPI finds signs of it leaking.

 

Do you have a link?

 

Here's the Carfax info. Four times in 24K miles, not 20, but no mention of a new motor.


03/18/2003 13,886 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
15,000 mile service performed
Airbag system checked
Interior trim checked
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Tire condition and pressure checked
05/29/2003 15,323 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Vehicle serviced
07/01/2003 16,410 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Airbag system checked
Coolant reservoir replaced
Cooling system checked
Drivability/performance checked
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Wipers/washers checked
07/29/2003 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Body side molding(s) replaced
Exterior trim checked
09/02/2003 17,112 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Interior trim checked
09/26/2003 17,125 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Reverse light switch replaced
03/18/2004 22,411 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Pre-delivery inspection completed
Airbag system checked
Computer module replaced
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Safety inspection performed
Tire condition and pressure checked
Tire(s) replaced
03/19/2004 22,415 California
Inspection Station Passed emissions inspection


Owner 2
Purchased: 2004
Type: Personal
Where: California
Est. miles/year: 4,901/yr
Est. length owned: 3/20/04 -
2/26/11
(6 yrs. 11 mo.)


Low mileage! This owner drove less than the industry average of 15,000 miles per year.

Date: Mileage: Source: Comments:
03/20/2004 22,431 California
Motor Vehicle Dept.
San Francisco, CA Title issued or updated
New owner reported
Loan or lien reported
08/11/2004 24,747 Sonnen Porsche
Mill Valley, CA
415-380-8000
Airbag system checked
Brakes checked
Clutch checked
Engine checked
Engine oil/fluid leak checked
Interior trim checked
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced

 

I say you don't have much to worry about the RMS seal, 20K was a long time ago!

Just curious, is this a cab?

 

No, it's a coupe.

 

If you check the "Blown Engine" thread you will see an explanation of why the depth placement of the Rea Main Seal is critical but over a surprisingly large acceptable range.
Renntech has the best detail on making an effective diy tool to control the depth.
If the c/s has a wear mark on it ,a different strategy is required.
Ignore any/all of this & more leaks are likely.

 

My recollection is -- and this lines up with what gnat had to say -- if an engine exhibits a chronic RMS leak this can be a sign the crankshaft journal to RMS bore is not concentric.

But it has been since mid-2002 at least when the RMS in my Boxster engine was replaced for a dealer tech to check the concentricity of the crankshaft journal to RMS bore and if this is found out of spec to replace the engine. The RMS will never stay oil tight and often the engine fails.

(Porsche even made a special go/no go gage a tech could use for this. Early on the tech had to check this manually with an inside micrometer.)

Another thing is it was SOP even back in mid-2002 to when replacing the RMS to replace the original IMS end flange and its original bolts with new/improved hardware.

There was no way to distinguish between an RMS leak, an RMS/IMS end flange/bolt leak, or just an IMS end flange/bolt leak. So both the RMS and IMS end flange and its bolts were replaced.

The new IMS end flange has 3-ribbed seal (vs. the single o-ring of the old flange) and the 3 bolts are micro-encapsulated to seal the bolts as they thread into an area which can be under water, err oil.

(This was done on my Boxster in mid-2002 and at around 25K miles. Now with over 307K miles the RMS and IMS flange/bolts are still oil tight.)

I note in the services listed there was no mentioned of the IMS flange being replaced.

If you elect to have the RMS replaced again the tech must/should check the concentricity of the crankshaft journal to the RMS bore in the block. If this is found acceptable he must install the new RMS so its seal rides on a virgin area of the crankshaft journal. As the engine runs the previous seals wore a groove in the journal. If the new seal is installed at one of these positions it will leak.

Last but not least the IMS end flange and its bolts should be replaced.

 

That's some great info! Thanks guys. I'm going to take a look at another car next Tuesday that hasn't had any such issues reported on Carfax. If it looks clean enough I'll get a PPI done and go from there.

 

Macster, by the 2002 MY they should have all had the new flange/seal on the IMSB right?

Our 01 never had its flange replaced, but it was a triple rib on a dual row bearing.

 

Yes...Mr. Gnat...?

 

I haven't found a specific date for the change to the updated RMS (not IMS), but Pelican states: "The seal has been updated to a 997 "Cayenne-style" part number since the engine was originally introduced, and for the most part the engines no longer leak from this area when this new and improved seal is installed."

 

Macster mentioned not seeing a line item for the IMSB flange/seal being replaced which was protocol for any older style flange/seal the first time the dealer pulled the transmission.

 

Does Macster have the highest mileage Boxter on the forums at 307K miles?? Impressive.