honerboys

so i have a slow leak of oil - it appears to be the valve cover gasket (see pic) - is this as straight forward as it looks - remove plastic, coils, plugs? then cover..? - is this a common occurence on these cars? - 80K miles - just need new gaskets?

garrett376

Proper diagnosis is key, and that image doesn't really help...

If that's the passenger side near the rear of the engine (assuming this is your 2012 Cayenne S), the vacuum pump is a common oil leaker relative/compared to the valve covers.

If it were me, I would clean it up, and get some better pics of where it's leaking, to get more accurate and helpful assistance!

honerboys

wow - nice call - that's exactly where that picture is - where is the vacuum pump in relation to the valve cover? - yea, i should have cleaned it then driven it - if i saw actual oil down low on engine i would have - just didn't seem (to me) to be much above that point to leak down - i'll locate the vacuum pump and wipe everything down - and yes it is the 2012 - is the vacuum pump an easier job? - just a gasket?

honerboys

so i finally got to this leak - i pulled the valve cover and replaced the gasket there and the o-ring on the vacuum pump - i had ordered the parts ahead and when i got into it i realized i had the wrong seals for the spark plug tubes - not wanting to wait i called the local porsche dealer just to see what they wanted for what is basically four 1-1/2 inch o-rings - i thought i was willing to pay the extra "porsche tax" to get the job done but after the dealer told me they were $37.50 each i went ahead and ordered them from auto zone...$8.50 each - so it took the better part of a week to get this done - removing the bolts from the vacuum pump was the hardest part - i have thin wrists and hands and i could barely get mine back behind to loosen those - and i really can't see how that pump could be removed even after i got it out from the head - maybe out the bottom? - why does this car need a brake vacuum pump anyway? - but it's done and no leaks

jimmymoO

@honerboys Can you show where the vaccum pump o-ring is at? I think I have similar leaks as well so I'd prob need to diagnose it. But interested to know where it is.

honerboys

the oring is the seal between the pump and the valve cover - only visible after pump is removed - numbers 3 & 4

jk930

Thanks for the comments and insights guys! Super helpful! I had no idea there was a vacuum pump there. That looks like a really hard place to access and repair on a V8. Have any of you had a dealer do the repair? Cost?

honerboys

yes it is tight back there - requires small hands and lots of dexterity - also an assortment of tools that you can cobble together to make different configurations

wyowolf

37.50! hell those are aircraft part prices!! thats outrageous

honerboys

yep - i would replace these since they are "relatively" cheap (if $9 for each oring can be considered cheap) - get these at autozone - they are the same manufacturer (mahle) and about $25 cheaper for each one - they are #6 in the picture below - you will also need #5 - as for the vacuum pump orings...there are 2..one large and one small - i didn't know about the small until i was in there so i only replaced the large, but if i were you i'd do both - i think i got those from pelican - once you get the pump bolts out (3 i think) the pump pulls out to the rear - then you can pull the orings from it and replace - the pump itself is really sort of trapped in that small space so you can't get it actually out of car - maybe out bottom but you don't need to get it out to replace the rings - be careful to slowly remove the odd bolts that hold the spark plug coils - these are aluminum and notorious for snapping off - porsche recommends replacing them each time they are removed - but they are also $9 each so i re-used mine other than the one that snapped off - not really a hard job, take your time, could probably do it in an hour except i took me so long to get the pump bolts out - very tight back there - good luck

11bravo

So, you could probably get it done in an hour if you did it again? Maybe two hours for most of us? Anyone know what the dealership price for parts and labor would be?

Thanks for you info...very helpful.

wyowolf

I wonder if this is where mine is leaking, I have a small leak that I can sometimes smell at a stoplight. looks fun to get out as well. thanks for the info!

honerboys

11bravo - no it would still take me longer than an hour - getting the pump bolts out is a time consuming process - just 3 bolts, 3/4 of an inch long, but getting your hands back there while leaning over the fender, while configuring sockets and bits and wrenches to reach them is what takes most of the time on this - i don't know if porsche has a special tool, or if removing something behind the engine to have more room would speed things along ...hell... porsche probably pulls the head and makes this a $4000 job - the bolts are torx and i think i mostly wound up using a small torx bit taped into a ratcheting 1/4 inch box wrench - since the swing area of the wrench is small it takes 100 ratchets to get it out - all while watching your hands bleed - oh and i forgot to mention the occasional dropping of a tool and it not hitting the floor into the mix - still a doable job

TyreReviews

Sorry for the thread bump, do you think you could do the o-ring without getting the valve cover off? I think mine is leaking again, I guess the garage either didn't do the o-ring or did a bad job on the valve gasket :/

honerboys

hey tyrereveiws - i would not think it's possible to get to those pump bolts without removing the valve cover - it's very tight back there - pulling the cover really isn't that big of a deal - unless things go badly (snapped off bolts, dropped tools)