I've got a 2002 996, only 26 K miles. It has a small oil leak, probably from the rms, but it's been trouble free for 8 years. From what i have read over the years on this forum, a small amount on the floor is no big deal, I understand this happens a lot. Any opinions on this ? BTW, I check my oil frequently, is there any need to worry about a tiny amount ?
The car isn't a 1980s Honda where you can ignore maintenance, nor is it an (insert any year) Jaguar where the engine's life blood leaking out is acceptable - it's a Porsche. If you have had 8 trouble free years, bite the bullet and have the oil leak addressed. Outside of the RMS, which would have likely leaked prior to now, the M96 doesn't normally leak oil. But that is also a good thing as it means wherever the leak is coming from can hopefully be easily addressed.
If the engine does have to be dropped to fix the leak, consider replacing the air/oil separator and, if it hasn't been done (recently), the IMS bearing with an LN engineering bearing, and also the clutch. No sense in paying the labor in dropping the engine twice.
Ok thanks, now when I say a bit, I mean a just bit of oil, ( about the size of a quarter, and just now and then) after running it all day, and a day later, after it sits.
The car still has only 26,205 miles on it now. When it had 14,551 miles, 9 years ago, it was leaking then, and under warranty, so I took it in to where I bought it, Orlando Porsche (anyone got comments on them ? )
The invoice from them ( 9 years ago, at 14,551 miles ) says, and I quote :
"Verified problem, 34351900 Transmission removed &reinstalled. 194 WP . 999-217-150-09 3 hex head screws 6 X 20 . 996-105-024-01 shaft housing. 6 qts 0/40 mobil 1. 15211950 Bearing cov F Intermed shaft removed & rein. 194 wp . ???
Then it says at the bottom of the invoice :
" 14553 R&R trans found oil leak from Inter. Shaft Flan removed chain tensioners to rear chain, replace flange and bolts, added oil ck. ok " Unquote.
That's it, can anyone decipher this ? Is this the rms problem ? I'm not that much of a tech guy, just oil changes, filters, and drive belts, so can anyone tell me if this could still be the issue, and how about those other quotes below about a little oil is to be expected with a 911 ? See below
Yes, when I mentioned this a few years ago, several 996 owners on this site, said not to worry, and so did the service manager at Orlando Porsche !
He said , and I quote : Hey it's a Porsche, they all drop a bit of oil now and then, don't worry about it " Unquote.
And other owners on here also said , a small amount is nothing ? So I'm really confused now :cursing:
I'll get it checked out, and I do maintain it well, but should I worry that much based on what others on here, and what the Orlando Porsche dealer said ? Thanks guys :thankyou:
Your car has the IMS flange seal update during that service. When they do this, they do not replace the IMS bearing, only the flange for the bearing that bolts to the rear of the engine case:
This was a fairly common practice at the time to address leaking oil.
As I know nothing about the dealer, I cannot comment on them.
While many owners are content to drive cars that leak oil, I for one am not. Very little oil in the wrong place, like on the clutch disc or the dual mass flywheel elastomer, and you are in for major headaches. Oil leaks also tend to grow with time, which does not help. Even if the car is driving well, we consider oil leak in the bell housing area a major "deduct" item when doing a PPI for a prospective buyer, so it can also impact resale values as well.
We see cars like yours daily, and even with a lot of miles on them, many are bone dry underneath. The car should not be leaking, but it is not going to be cheap to fix either.