michaeld

I just bought a 1998 Boxster w/ 98K miles on it. I have a couple questions:

1. I have a small oil leak (about the size of a quarter over night)...what could that be and what is the fix?
2. When I start the car, it makes a noise for about a second, like a rattle; then stops and I never hear it again...what is that?
3. What is the proper oil to put in the car, I am in Tucson, AZ?

Those are my major questions right now. Anyone able to help me out?

Ray S

1. Depends on where the oil is leaking from. Pics would help, but a random guess would be you have a leaking RMS.
2. Again, some specifics would help. Where is the sound coming from
3. Here is Porsche's list

http://www.wrightune.co.uk/downloads/approved_oils.pdf

Silver Box

1. Agree - most likely RMS (Rear Main Seal) - pretty common problem. You can live with it, you can fix it now, or you can wait and get it fixed later. Really depends on how bad it's bothering you.

2. Most likely it's a loose heat shield on the exhaust. You should be able to track it down - probably a loose or rusted bolt allowing it to rattle - again, not uncommon.

3. I've been using the Mobile 1 10-40 High Mileage. I like the additive package. I also like a little thicker oil for higher heat areas. You may even try the 15-50 version - it may help reduce your oil leakage.

Marc Gelefsky

Congrats on the Boxster, Welcome to Rennlist!

Macster

1) As others have indicated need more info as to where -- as exact as you can be -- where oil spot is.

2) Normal. Camchains are tensioned by oil feed tensioners and when you shut off engine these tensioners can and will lose oil pressure and allow chains to be a bit slack. Upon startup this slackness creates noise. I liken it to the sound of heavy chain being dragged over log. As long as noise goes away within a second or so and the engine has no other odd behavior the sound is normal.

3) With those many miles I'd recommend at least Mobil 1 10w-40 "high mileage" oil.

However, some have run Mobil 1 0w-40 and engine's just fine. Myself, I drove through that area a few years back in my '02 with (fresh) Mobil 1 0w-40 with ambient temperature in places reaching 116F degs and engine suffered no ill effects.

And some in your area or similar (hot) locations run Mobil 1 15w-50. Some of these owners have reported the heavier oil "fixed" small oil leaks.

Mobil 1 not the only approved oil. For a list of approved oils do a search for Mike Focke and his web pages. On one has a link to a recent (circa 2008?) list of approved oils. Mobil, Castrol, Valvoline, and many other brands to choose from.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Tierce

2) I run Mobil 1 15w-50 on all my family's higher mileage vehicles including my 2000 Boxster S. I'm in NC and we have moderate temperatures, but it works great for higher mileage cars.

michaeld

Thank you for your input and the welcome.

The oil leak I am referring to is located on the passenger side just in front of the rear wheel; does that help? No pics until the weekend. It only seems to leak when I 'get on it'. If I drive relatively sane, it doesn't appear to be dropping any oil. Just wanted to put that out there and see if that helped in a diagnostic.

Macster

Could be spark plug tube o-ring leak. When were plugs last serviced? Recently? Or has it been a long time?

Another possible source is the air/oil separator (AOS), one of the hoses/rubber tubes (the large pleated one most likely) has a crack/hole and is allowing some oil to leak out. When you run car hard this puts more oil vapor in the crankcase "air" and the AOS pulls more oil out and if there's hole in the pleated hose this oil can make its way out and form a leak.

Be sure oil level is ok. Too much oil only contributes to the oil vapor the AOS has to deal with and can make the leak worse.

'course, if the oil is coming from this location a new AOS should be fitted.

Then there are other oil leak candidates. The camshaft cover end plugs can leak.

Regardless: An inspection with the car safely in the air and you and tech both armed each with a good flashlight should be able to eliminate the places where the oil is not coming from in short order.

BTW, this is no guarantee you'll have the same experience with your car but I have over 225K miles on my 02 Boxster -- original engine and clutch tho has RMS replaced once (long time ago) and AOS replaced (twice: 80K miles, 180K miles) and car and engine and transmission work as good today as they ever have. The Boxster has been the best car I've ever owned, which is one reason why the last two cars I've bought have been Porsches. (new 2008 Cayman S (totaled after 25 days -- Not my fault!) and a used (9500 miles) 03 Turbo.)

Sincerely,

Macster.

rob76turbo

Using Castrol Syntec 5W-40. Same oil as my wife's Touareg so I buy it by the case. Could also be the valves sticking a bit until they get some oil.

When you change your oil, you may want to run something like Motul Engine Clean through it. Helps get all the crud out. You do not know the frequency of oil changes and it could have gone a long time between oil change intervals.