Riz

Is this true, or is it higher track usage?

mjb

That's what some say, but I think it's more urban myth not backed up by data. Probably came from Porsche as they were grasping at straws to try and identify root cause. I know it continues to occur in the 997 gen with people that drive the sh#$t out of there car.

LVDell

It seems to be more prevalent in the low mileage cars but not so much low mileage as those that don't get driven often. The problem is that you don't allow the RMS to seat properly. Of course, there is NO empirical data published by PAG and PCNA to substantiate this hypothesis or any other.

The one thing you see is the RARE occurrence in the higher mile cars. Seems to happen sooner rather than later.

Further, it's EXTREMELY rare in the GT1 block.

Steve B in SD

mine drips just a little, my car has 8400 miles. I've been running Mobil 1 0W/40. I'm going to switch to Mobil 1 10W/40 high mileage. It has a seal conditioner that's supposed to help with leaks. It might, will be interesting to see. In addition, the "High Mileage" formulation is supposed to have a higher level of ZDDP, which is needed for valvetrain components. It has the ACEA A3/B3 designation, so it meets the requirements. I'm just curious if it will stop my slight RMS drip.

roberga

I was talking about that today with the shop manager. He stated that the cars that is are more prone. My car has 59,600 miles and never had a RMS leak. Means nothing though to the guys that have the problem.

996FLT6

**** I gotta put more miles on my 6gt3- it's at 17k now. Problem is aint enjoyable in San francisco. It's just miles to track bout 12 De's a year(wish it were more). It's been leak free so far. Mike

mooty

bring your car to my house.
i will add 3000/month for you free of charge.

996FLT6

Mooty- the problem is I know where that 3000miles/month will be. "To and Fro ....." : ). Mike

swbatte

When I bought mine with 8000 miles on it the RMS was leaking and replaced under warranty, but I can't comment on the prevalence of this on low vs high mileage cars.

Question - once fixed, are we good? Or is this something that will continue to plague the car?

mfennell

Does anyone recall the Excellence tech discussion on this topic? Alledgedly from a PCNA source, the claim was that low mile cars ARE more likely to see the leak. Something about the installed orientation of the seal.

9500 miles on my '04 and no leaks. *shrug*

datax

49k miles here. No leak. Drove 20k miles in last 13 months.

va122

mine never leaked but once when i moved the car around in the garage (on, off no warm up) i saw a leak. But it was right after I installed the LWFW...

4sound

Being a shop owner, I can honestly say there is no rule regarding when the RMS can fail. I have seen cars that are several years old with low miles with a leak and cars with high miles that will leak. Remember, it is also possible there is a leak at the IMS. When replacing the RMS it is important to also replace the "rubber" on the IMS. If you have a early style IMS with the "round rubber", you need to update it with the newer style which has a "flat rubber". ( I believe the update part # is 99610501702)
If you already have this updated style, then replacment of the flat rubber is part #99610511201. Also, replace the 3 bolts that hold the IMS in place.
As for installing the RMS, we have a factory tool that installs it correctly. I have a feeling there are some independent shops out there who do not use this tool. If the RMS is not installed correctly, you could back to square 1 with a leaking RMS.

robmug

My RMS has just been done byt he OPC...40,000 miles. Mind you, I think they could have been just filling up workshop/warranty time...the car wasn't dropping, or even using any oil, yet they found the RMS leaking...

Holger B

I had exactly the same situation when my car was about a year old. Never leaked a drop on my garage floor or was low on oil. The best part was when they had it up on the lift and I stopped by the dealer before they ripped it apart. The service writer and I stood underneath and he pointed out the problem...except that he pointed to the wrong end of the motor and the whole thing was bone dry. Clearly, it was "make work" time for them at PCNA's expense. (Most of the other service bays were empty.)

The good news is that the new one is as good as the old and has never leaked a drop!