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I took my 2006 Carrera in for a dealership oil change.
They informed me that the passenger side valve cover was leaking oil.
That explains why I can't keep the oil at the full mark.
They quoted me $1,600 to change the valve cover gasket.
I am still in shock they would want so much.....
Ideas? I know I won't have this done a Porsche, what should I expect
to pay for this work?
The resealing of valve covers is more involved than say an American v8. The crank needs to be rotated to TDC on cyl 1, cams locked down with a special tool and then the valve covers can be removed. They don't use a gasket, but a dri-bond sealing liquid. I would say a couple hours of labor and the specialized tools, so maybe $500-800 at an indy, but that is just a WAG.
Another concern would be the inability to keep the oil full, what type of mileage are you getting before adding oil? How much oil? Seems like if you were leaking out of the valve cover at a rate that you noticed you were adding oil, you would see evidence of the leak on the garage floor.
If they told you about the leak, that tells me there is no spotting on your garage floor. Is there spotting? If there is no spotting, then the volume of oil seeping is very low and I strongly doubt related to your overall oil consumption.
Both engines in my 2000 Boxster S seeped oil from everywhere including valve covers. My indy, and ex-Porsche shop foreman, said to just leave it alone. I did.... 47K miles on my first engine, 150K miles on my second. Engine failures in both appeared to be not related to seepage. I would occasionally get spotting, so I moved to a slightly heavier oil and it would stop.
No oil on my garage floor. I was not surprised to hear, as I need to add small amounts of oil every month.
It does not consume much oil at all, and I have never worried about consumption as it is so small.
But I cannot keep the oil at full level. $1600 to fix leaking valve cover?
The resealing of valve covers is more involved than say an American v8. The crank needs to be rotated to TDC on cyl 1, cams locked down with a special tool and then the valve covers can be removed. They don't use a gasket, but a dri-bond sealing liquid. I would say a couple hours of labor and the specialized tools, so maybe $500-800 at an indy, but that is just a WAG.
Have you done this before? My drivers side is seeping a little bit (no spots on the floor) and I want to reseal it, but the factory service manual claims that the engine must be removed.
That would explain the $1600 if the engine must be removed....
I put out feelers this weekend and just got a call back from Motorworks in Houston.
They quoted $1,350. I asked about the engine needing to be dropped.
They indicated that the engine and transmission needed to be dropped out of car.
There is no gasket, just a silicon sealant.
So the question is, "is this something I should have done?"
I hate to have oil leaks, but this is an expensive fix.....
I wouldn't bother. These M96/97 engines leaked so much oil when they were introduced that the joke was "it is marking its territory". Seriously, if it is just seepage, save your money.
I have not done it, but I am 99.9% sure you don't have to drop the engine. I had my lifters replaced on my 996, the shop had them replaced and sealed back up in 3 hours.
Same process for sealing the valve covers but don't have to remove the cams.
Originally Posted by idlook2
Have you done this before? My drivers side is seeping a little bit (no spots on the floor) and I want to reseal it, but the factory service manual claims that the engine must be removed.
I have not done it, but I am 99.9% sure you don't have to drop the engine. I had my lifters replaced on my 996, the shop had them replaced and sealed back up in 3 hours.
Same process for sealing the valve covers but don't have to remove the cams.
That's good to know, hopefully the process is the same for the 997. Was it a Chicago shop? If so, would you mind sending me their contact info?
That would explain the $1600 if the engine must be removed....
I put out feelers this weekend and just got a call back from Motorworks in Houston.
They quoted $1,350. I asked about the engine needing to be dropped.
They indicated that the engine and transmission needed to be dropped out of car.
There is no gasket, just a silicon sealant.
So the question is, "is this something I should have done?"
I hate to have oil leaks, but this is an expensive fix.....
I plan on doing mine. I also hate oil leaks, I figure if you take care of them as they pop up they will never get too far ahead of you!
I would look underneath and determine for yourself if it is in fact the valve covers. Neither of my 997s currently leak a drop of oil. One has 50,000 miles on it and the other 85,000. I did have a leak that developed in mine that turned out to be oil migrating through the threads of the bolts that seal the case halves. It was odd that sometimes it would drip a cap full of oil after being parked and other times, none. Dripping mostly occurred after high-rev spirited drives.
Here's a photo so you can see if you have the same issue. If you do, the solution is easy and inexpensive. You simply remove each of the bolts one at a time, apply some oil resistant RTV, thread it back in, tightening to the proper torque spec and move on to the next one. Let them cure for 24 hours and your leak will be resolved. Fixed mine about 4,000 miles ago and not a drop since.
This pic is from someone else's car (clearer pic of the area) and on mine it was from the area further inward from where the 4 vertical red dots are, dripping off the point at the bottom.
The attached PDF is the photo of my car where you can see the oil staining.
That would explain the $1600 if the engine must be removed....
I put out feelers this weekend and just got a call back from Motorworks in Houston.
They quoted $1,350. I asked about the engine needing to be dropped.
They indicated that the engine and transmission needed to be dropped out of car.
There is no gasket, just a silicon sealant.
So the question is, "is this something I should have done?"
I hate to have oil leaks, but this is an expensive fix.....
I would be leery of having the camshaft cover -- it is more than a *valve* cover -- resealed at any place but a dealer or at the very least a highly regarded -- and I mean highly regarded indy shop.
Whether the engine has to come out or not I don't know. My 2002 Boxster had its passenger side camshaft removed to replace a VarioCam solenoid and actuator and the engine stayed in the car. But that's not quite the same car as a 997.
But I would have the camshaft cover resealed. Why? Well, one reason is I hate a messy engine. If the oil gets on wiring or hoses it can over time ruin these.
But there is another reason: A leaking camshaft cover brings with it the risk -- small but still a concern -- that there is an internal leak which can result in less oil pressure or even oil flow to critical areas of the top end. Lifter buckets may run with reduced oil supply or even camshaft bearings, which are part of the camshaft cover.
The resealing involves laying a precise bead of special sealant down to not only seal the oil from leaking out of the camshaft cover but to also seal the high pressure oil feed holes that pass oil from the head to the camshaft cover and its bearings.
If this sealing isn't done right as I touched upon above then even if the camshaft cover was oil tight to the outside it might not be oil tight inside and high pressure oil leak could be present.
I just purchased a 997 2002 911 Carrera. I took it for an inspection and a couple of issues came up, some easy and some hard. One thing identified was the Valve Gasket was leaking oil. He mentioned he needs to drop the engine, I am trying to figure out how much oil is actually leaking from the engine. If I decide to move forward with the repair and he needs to drop the engine, is it worth fixing the IMS while the thing is pulled apart? Thanks for your patience as I am a novice into the Porsche lifestyle.
is it worth fixing the IMS while the thing is pulled apart?
Not sure if you mean replacing the IMSB or pinning/welding the IMS sprocket, but in either case the answer is still no.
For these valve cover leaks, before approving any work, I'd make darn sure it is actually the cover that is leaking. A cam position sensor or something else nearby could be leaking.
10-31-2016, 07:42 AM
Oil leak from valve cover gasket
valve gasket and IMS repair
