Rod Croskery

Just before I bought my '04 CS "Ruby", her caring owner replaced the valve cover gaskets and some O rings associated with the camshafts, according to my son, who brokered the deal. Ruby used no oil in the first two years of ownership. Now she makes oil disappear at a rate rapid enough to cause me some concern.

There is no smell of burning oil and no change of the appearance of the exhaust tips. I blamed the first oil-level warning upon my stinginess in reusing a pair of compression washers when the supply in the drawer fell low during an oil change. I topped the engine up a couple of times and then at 5000 km rationalized that it's winter, so I'll just change it again and put on new crush washers and fix the problem.

When I checked the oil this week I found the dip stick down a litre and a half. Of course there's no easy way to check under the car without removing the panel.

But I remembered at the time of the last oil change wondering why oil allegedly leaking around the drain plugs would have fouled the little radiator which lies forward of the drain plugs.

Has anyone had a leak in that engine oil cooler, and what are the symptoms? My engine oil looks pretty good, free of coolant. While I haven't checked the coolant reservoir for oil contamination, I don't expect any.

The car runs very well with new Continentals ordered for summer. I just want to stop the oil loss.

Thanks,

Rod

deilenberger

I know of one case of that cooler going bad - but it leaked externally not into the cooling system. Of course it's a PITA to replace. You really do need to drop the bottom panel and look, and open the coolant reservoir and look.

Rod Croskery

I put Ruby up on the hoist this afternoon and examined the belly plate. Yes, there is some oil present. I also wiped a bit of oil off the steering rack and other protuberances.

The first thing I noticed was that the filter canister was oily to touch, though not dripping. The oil cooler looks dirty with evidence of some crud on the bottom of it as if from rain water shifting some dirt down to the bottom.

With the plate off I ran the car for three miles on the highway to warm it up and then looked at the potential trouble spot with my camera. It seemed to me as if a fine bead of oil would keep reappearing at the top of the filter canister, regardless of how often I wiped it away with a tissue. While the cooler was dirty it did not feel oily to touch. Of the drain plugs only to top one showed any oil around it and I was able to tease out a drop or two with some effort. I retorqued it to 34 lb. but I am confident that it was not loose.

At the moment the car loses about 1/4" on the dip stick per 300 miles, to give an indication of the magnitude of the oil consumption.

I shot a video which shows a plausible spray pattern from the top of the filter canister, but the server here doesn't accept MP4s.

Rod Croskery

J'sWorld

If your plastic housing is leaking then now would be a great time to add this:

https://lnengineering.com/spin-on-oi...e-s-turbo.html

It's near the top of my list of basic upgrades every cayenne should have.

I noticed what sounds like a knock and possibly an exhaust leak in the video

Rod Croskery

The canister came off this morning with minimal fuss. I replaced it with a spare I had bought on Amazon in case of emergencies. When I started up, it leaked like a sieve. Useless, counterfeit product. The top edge seems as though it had been broken off the mould. On went the OEM one, duly cleaned and inspected.

Now I know what a leaking filter canister looks like, anyway.

Next steps: There's a bit of black munge around the oil filler cap, not a lot, which wasn't there a year ago. During the winter some sludge would accumulate under the cap. On a tractor one often checks for blowback, an indicator of the health or lack of it of an engine. I didn't detect any blowback with the oil cap off, though there was a moderate vacuum on my hand over the hole.

Would a PCV valve in need of replacement cause oil consumption?

BTW: I called the service department of the local Porsche dealer. The guy on the phone was useless, and he did not pass me on to someone who knew stuff. Up until this point they'd been pretty good on parts sales, even if they are two hours away.

A look on You Tube led to the order of a new PCV valve membrane from Vanos-BMW.com, to have in hand before I break through that plastic cover cap. The symptoms of a perforated PVC membrane generally align with Ruby's complaints, though I haven't noticed any smoke, nor error codes.

Rod Croskery

"A look on You Tube led to the order of a new PCV valve membrane from Vanos-BMW.com, to have in hand before I break through that plastic cover cap. The symptoms of a perforated PVC membrane generally align with Ruby's complaints, though I haven't noticed any smoke, nor error codes."


It's been two weeks and all I have received from Vanos-BMW is an email stating that they have completed the order. Has anyone dealt with these guys? Feedback on their site indicated quick shipping to Canada.

dr914

that is good that you have an oil leak, much better than the car burning the oil.

Rod Croskery

I'm not at all sure that it is leaking. I now suspect it's burning the oil because of a defective membrane in the air/oil separator, but I don't want to take the thing apart until I have a replacement membrane in case it is shot. The new one is somewhere between Moscow and my home in the mail service.

It seems I have a slight history of repairing the wrong thing, so caution is indicated and informed advice is welcome.

J'sWorld

http://www.klaindustries.net/diaphragm/air-oil.htm

I have been using this brand for a while and they work great. My engine develops much more PCV pressure than ya'lls because Its built a lot looser and makes a lot more boost.

19psi

A 1/4" down on the dipstick every 300 miles is a lot of oil. If leaking, it should be marking its territory wherever you park it.

Hate to say it, but I also hear a distinctive knock in that video. I'd pull all the plugs and look at them.

v10rick

Yes...it took awhile to arrive but it appears to be top quality. Did not install, purchased just in case.
The way my luck plays out...when I acquire spare parts they are never needed.
A good thing I suppose.