LLTurbo

Well, I should have listened to my instinct of getting a PPI done, and instead, I thought the owner of the car I just bought, who had annual services done, had disclosed everything to me ... perhaps not so.

The vehicle checklist next to engine oil leaks reads: "Turbo scavenge pumps; left chain box; possible leak at top of motor." The service center put tracing powder on it and said to come back in a couple hundred miles so they can identify the potential causes.

I don't want to know, but how ugly could this get?

Also, the seller of this car said it has never been driven in the rain since he has owned it - over 8 years. Does the bottom of the car look like it was never in the rain?

Appreciate any thoughts? And, yes, I know, next time get a PPI!?!

rmc1148

Cant add much about oil leak but looks like some corrosion=a better photo showing bigger area would help. My car has 13k and has been on east coast ny and pa and doesn't have that type of corrosion.

Kevin

I tend to think that the owner was NOT lying. If you look at the header bolts they are new new condition. Similar to the coolant feed pipe bolt. You have a combination of oil leak/sludge and heavy cosmoline.. I wouldn't worry about the leak unless it's puddling on the garage floor.

LLTurbo

Thank you, both.

Kevin, you just made me feel considerably better. The report said possible leaks at the "turbo scavenge pumps, left chain box, and possible leak at top of motor."
I'll see what happens after they recheck in a couple hundred miles, but if they see oil leaks from any of these areas, would you not worry about it unless there was a decent amount of oil leaking on the floor? Thanks

[Also, yes, I did question whether everything was disclosed to me by the seller. I truly would like to believe that people are good ... and I felt that the condition of the car, the regular annual services, and other factors suggested there wouldn't be any surprises. Some oil on the engine of a 10 year old car shouldn't be a big surprise, I suppose.]

Anyway, trying to hang on to the otherwise elation of getting this beautiful machine....

LLTurbo

Any other thoughts out there on how much to tolerant when it comes to oil leaks? There are numerous posts about normal oil consumption levels; however, I haven't seen any clear guidance on how much leaking is fine and when does leaking before a red flag? Is it only a matter of oil leaking onto the ground, and some leaking as in the above picture may be perfectly normal?

Thank you!

XR4Tim

Personal tolerance. That amount of leaking isn't going to hurt anything, but does it bother you enough to get it fixed? And I agree with Kevin, that looks more like cosmoline than corrosion.

F1CrazyDriver

The Metzger motor is an interesting motor to say the least. At least it was to me on my 996t. When driven hard or at the track it consumed 0 oil. When pampered sometimes it consumed about 1/4 of a qrt of an oil every 1500 miles. Sometimes none. I used what Kevin recms 5-50 m1.

tomofva

cosmoline for sure.

Clean off the oily spot with a little break clean and reapply good feeling.

thomapa1

get more data. Wait a bit, re-evaluate. While leaks will not fix themselves, there might not be a huge urgency to react.
Bundle your jobs. Labor is a killer on these cars, typically $800 - $2k once they start digging in, mostly labor. So plan for big bills and doing multiple jobs when they go in. (Assuming you don't DIY)

For peace of mind, you might want to send an oil sample to Blackstone Labs (or similar), at least to establish a baseline of 'health'.

dubyaTT

I am so sorry to learn this.

If it makes you feel any better I have seen much worse.

I would do a fresh oil and filter service and check the level when refueling.

See how long it takes to effect the level and base your decision for repair on severity.

Good luck, and again sorry to learn this.

Please do not let this get you down. You have one hell of a car!

enzowho

Kind of hard to tell from that photo, but that looks maybe to be under the power steering pump and reservoir. That system can and does routinely leak it seems. May be worth further investigations next time you or a tech is working in that area. That leak probably isn't enough to ever see a noticeable change in fluid level.

Otherwise enjoy the car

LLTurbo

Thanks all of the encouragement and suggestions ... trying to get that good feeling back ... UPDATE

1. When the above picture was taken yesterday, I also did a fresh oil and filter service and brake fluid flush. They also put tracing powder on the engine.
2. Today, 24 hours later, no oil leaks on garage floor.
3. Tonight, started the car and about 30 seconds of apparently dreaded white smoke.
4. Drove 95 miles (in pouring rain) with stop in the middle.
5. When I got home, smelled a slight burning smell, but I don't know what's normal for these cars.
6. Oil level was at top of normal zone (although, dubyaTT, I didn't have the base level, so it may have started higher).
7. May take someone's suggestion of getting second opinion/look at dealer tomorrow.
8. Let car idle for a couple of minutes (think i read the suggestion that it helps minimize white smoke at start up) ???
9. BTW, car has been a garage queen last couple of years.
- Oct 2011 - 30K service performed with 30,595 miles at Porsche Dealer (no mention of oil leaks)
- October 2012 - Annual service (oil service) done at 35,272 at Porsche Dealer (no mention of oil leaks)
- November 2013 - purchased with about 36,400 miles on it ... and performed services above.

Looking forward to not worrying for awhile at least and getting on with having fun ... it is phenomenal ...

drh

If you park the car on a slope after driving, or move it out of the garage, turn it off and restart after a couple hours, you can expect a puff of smoke on startup. Not white smoke, but blueish.

I've learned to not park on my sloped driveway after a drive...so as to prevent that embarrassing puff

As a side note relative to the "never been driven in the rain" comment by the previous owner. That makes me laugh. Is that supposed to be some measure of the quality of the car being sold? I would actually feel a bit sorry for the previous owner because these cars love the rain and I love driving mine in the wet stuff! (regardless of what some future owner might think)

Tytus

You are going through the same steps as I did when I first got the car, over 3 years and 50,000 miles ago. During the PPI I was told the case may sweat oil a bit but not to worry. When I changed viscosity to a bit thicker oil from 0-40 the sweating went away. Then I had some puddling from time to time under the oil tank and after all kinds of analysis it turned out the level was actually overfilled and when it dropped a bit below the second bar on the gauge the leak would go away. Concurrently there was what appeared to be a rear main seal leak and when the oil level was lowered it went away as well and never came back; not sure it was related but it did go away. Bear in mind that this is a car that sees close to 20 track days a year and is a daily driver to a train station 2 miles away. Oil changes are between 3,000 and 5,000 miles due to track use.

Stop sweating about the oil (pun intended) and enjoy the car...they are magnificent!

BTW the rust you see is probably due to heat and not necessarily due to being driven in the rain. I drive my car through the NE winters and have no issues. These are amazing cars just drive it like you stole it and you'll be fine.

Tytus

LLTurbo

[QUOTE=drh;10919039]If you park the car on a slope after driving, or move it out of the garage, turn it off and restart after a couple hours, you can expect a puff of smoke on startup. Not white smoke, but blueish.

I've learned to not park on my sloped driveway after a drive...so as to prevent that embarrassing puff

As a side note relative to the "never been driven in the rain" comment by the previous owner. That makes me laugh. Is that supposed to be some measure of the quality of the car being sold? I would actually feel a bit sorry for the previous owner because these cars love the rain and I love driving mine in the wet stuff! (regardless of what some future owner might think)[/QUOTE

Thanks,drh! no doubt on the rain ... another rainy drive today ... was great! Good reminder that I bought this to drive!