Hi guys, I'm trying to find out if this is an unusual amount of seeping for my RMS. This picture was taken 24 hours after a spirited 125mi drive.
I've researched the forums here and are all over the board, from 'never leaks', 'always leaks', to 'only when it's sat for awhile', to 'only when driven hard'. And some saying 'use the 997 turbo RMS instead of the gt3 RMS'.
On my car, I drive it at least every couple weeks (more like weekly this time of year). 45.5k miles currently; RMS was replaced prior to my ownership @ 40k (during engine-out pinning, so don't know if RMS was actually leaking at that time or simply as a preventative replacement), same shop replaced again at 43.5k under warranty. Let's assume the shop is careful during installation -- with regards to setting the seal to the proper depth and inserting perfectly square to the recess, along with using the OEM Porsche seal tool.
If, like occasional smoke on startup, this is simply a characteristic of the engine, I can live with that.
I can say this with certainty: I have now driven this car more in my 7 months of ownership than the average of each of the 8 prior owners over 17 years did. They missed out on a lot of smiles per mile.
@RAudi Driver I saw your thread from '15, though unclear what your outcome was.
TIA for any helpful feedback.

 

I’m wondering if the cardboard is making the leak look bigger than it actually is. For instance, if you have a drop of water on your table, it’ll be pretty small and contained. If you place that same drop on a napkin, it is going to spread out.

Mine had a small RMS leak, never a huge concern to me. Was maybe a drop or two after a couple of days of sitting.

If you replace with the Turbo rear main seal, it’ll stop the leak, but it will make a chirping sound at idle. I confirmed with Alex at Sharkwerks that this is normal and doesn’t cause any harm.

 

I dont' know what this thread you speak of is. Can you post up the link?

Also, my .1 had RMS rebar by McKenna Porsche by original owner. Second owner bought it then my as the third owner. I installed an RSS center delete and once again it started leaking. I lived with it for almost 10 years as it only leaked when parked and not when the car was running, as evidenced by a clean engine. The leak was small but not super small. I'll look for a pic and try to post up if I have the time. Anyways, I then installed a full Brombacher exhaust system and the leak stopped and never returned. So the dealer's stating that the leak can be caused by the exhaust, which I always thought was hogwash, well maybe there's something to that. Who knows.

What's alarming is that this warrantied RMS repair only lasted 2,000 miles. Who did the work, are they close and, if they are legit, will they replace again for free?

 

Agree.
Pick up a plastic Boot Tray off Amazon and slide it under, that will give you a clearer picture.

 

My guess is this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...eak-again.html

As I'm sure most in this thread are aware, Porsche released a bulletin stating that the RMS leak is "normal" if it is not driven. Granted, I'm guessing we can all say any leak is not normal and it could have been them simply trying to get out of warranty repairs.

 

I've been told that the RMS will 'weep' when not driven. I noticed something similar to that when I did not drive the car for a couple weeks. Never noticed it again when I drove it consistently every weekend.

I think your car wants you to drive it more.

 

Totally normal. If you want it to stop completely, replace with a Turbo RMS as I did with my 2007 GT3RS. Never a drop since.

 

normal. never replaced rms on my 2007 RS. more drive = less weap

 

I had the same issue a small amount of weep but after driving it a couple times a month it stopped. No more weep.

 

Mine will leave oil spots on the garage floor during winter storage. But once the driving season starts here in New England it stops. I wouldn't be overly concerned.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Mine had a slight weep when new; I even took it to the dealer for documentation purposes. They said it would go away; naturally I was very skeptical.

They were correct. It weeps no more!

 

We just did both FMS and RMS in mine. FMS had gotten quite bad, but RMS was more like yours. We used the Turbo seal.

Good excuse for RS re-gear and flywheel / clutch package.

 

Did you notice the chirping with the Turbo RMS too? Only at idle, once revs are applied it goes away.

 

A local guy had one on his 996 GT3, and it sounded like the flubber machine when it idled. It was way more than I could tolerate. I would definitely prefer a small weep to that noise. Not sure if that's normal, or what the actual difference in the seal is.

 

It makes so much drivetrain noise now with the RS 4.0 stuff installed, but yes, I do notice the chirping. I don't mind it. So far . . .