Autowerks32

Hey everyone, hopefully this is allowed to be asked here. Looking at this 2003 986s 6spd with 32k miles and 2 Cali owners. Had a few concerns though. I got under the car and noticed oil leaking from what appears to be the RMS after a 30min drive?

The leak was pretty wet after a 30 min drive. I didn't see any oil leaking from the top so that would indicate a leak at the seal?

IMS was apparently done with IMSolution, the only proof though is a doorjamb serial sticker with a number stamped on it. I looked it up on lnengineering and it was registered, so hopefully that's enough proof? What's the likelyhood it's actually the IMS again, and if not, how bad is a RMS leak? Will I just have to constantly check the oil? The dealer offered to have it looked at for free, and sounded like they would fix it but I doubt that.
The other big concern, maybe I'm not use to the amount of brake dust these cars can create but the control arms (I think is what they are) in the rear are very sooty and black. I've seen leaky struts before but thought nonetheless I'd ask.

The control arm looks kinda black and sooty. It wasn't oily or crusty like oil or grease though, so is this just caked on brake dust?
Last concern, looking at the Carfax, a dealer recently disabled the alarm system on the car, so the fob doesn't remotely lock the car, you have to put the key in the lock. Why would they do this? Can I get it reconnected or is this a permanent change? I will get a PPI hopefully on the car Monday by a European mechanic that is knowledgeable on these cars, but wanted to get a feeler for what some people thought? The car is competitively priced for my market, and it's the trim and color I've been looking for. I did put a deposit down just to buy myself time to think (maybe stupidly). So is it worth biting the bullet and fixing the leak for potentially $4500 + other WYIT parts? Or is this just something not worth messing with and cut my losses?Thanks guys for any advice

stl_986

I would be worried about it only have 32k miles then anything else.
Alarm disabled? Dealer wouldn't have done that as it would have made the car inoperable. I would have the dealer fix this.
Oil leak...could be the RMS or the LN IMS leaking. Only way to know is to drop the transmission & check. If RMS isn't a $10 seal but 20 hours labor at most places.
The black stuff is called road grime & dirt. Happens with each and every car that is driven on roads

Lugnutty

That braided steel line that is running near the back of the engine by the steel retaining cable looks like the oil feed line for an ims solution to me.

Autowerks32

Ok glad to know it's just road grime.
As for the alarm, all I have to go off of is the Carfax stating a Toyota dealer in Cali "deactivated/ disabled/ or removed security alarm". The fob and spare have the red light flashing but the locks do no engage. I saw that some people had troubled with their alarms and disconnected a ground wire attached to the radio from my understanding? Hopefully the mechanic doing the PPI can look into this.
As for the RMS leak, I guess I'd need to decide if I'd want to deal with constantly watching the oil level or just get the seal fixed and a new clutch while in there?

Autowerks32

That's good to know. If I was understanding the lnengineering website correctly, the IMSolution is a permanent fix compared to the retrofit. That and the hope the dealer will make good on their promise to pay for the work on the RMS leak (or at least price it down) is keeping me on the hook. They have shown a lot of good faith on their part so I'll wait to see what the PPI shows and go from there.

Autowerks32

To anyone who may care, I think this is falling through sadly. Dealer backed out paying to fix the leak. They also won't let me take it to a private mechanic. Big red flag. They are taking it to a mechanic we mutually agreed on and if they state there's no leak or won't drop the price then I'm out. Better to lose the deposit rather than my wallet.
thanks everyone for the advice, hopefully one day I can contribute to this forum!

mikefocke

could be a third party alarm the Toyota dealer installs on every car on the lot to track the car after theft. And they just removed it when they sold the car. I doubt a Toyota mechanic knew anything about the alarm system built into a Porsche.

Could LN tell you who bought that The Solution and put it in the car? Were they a certified installer? Did they use a new RMS seal when they did it?