Shift Linkage Shaft Leak

[TimR]

I have a '99 Boxster with 49k where I just started seeing a few drops of oil under the engine. Nothing to be too concerned about, but I was wondering if this could be an RMS leak. What are the the signs of an RMS leak, and if it's only a few drops, should I even be concerned until it gets worse?

[dragonwind]

I have the exact same thing. A few drops of oil on a 99 with 49k on it. I just got the car (first Porsche) and all the talk of RMS has me nervous.

Chris

[Tool Pants]

There are many places where oil can leak from the engine. A common source is from the cam covers.

If it is from the rear main seal or intermediate shaft seal then you will see oil in the area in the picture. This is where the transmission bolts to the engine. Where the cable is.

[TimR]

There are many places where oil can leak from the engine. A common source is from the cam covers.

If it is from the rear main seal or intermediate shaft seal then you will see oil in the area in the picture. This is where the transmission bolts to the engine. Where the cable is.

That looks a lot like the underside of my engine. My guess its the RMS. At 55K now, do I need to be that worried about a few drops of oil per day (maybe two drops per day)?

[fasterjames]

I have an 02 with about 65K and over the past 6 months I have had 3 occassions where I've found 2-3 drops on the garage floor. Looking underneath I've identified it as a probable RMS leak. I took it to my Independant Porsche Repair Shop and they said not to worry about it until it starts leaking on a very regular basis. He said he's seen them go 2k like that and 50K like that. Keep an eye on oil level and consumption and all should be fine.

That seems to be the advice I've found in the rentech forum too. So I will wait until it gets worse and do the clutch at the same time or wait untill the clutch goes and do the RMS/other seals then.

I got nervous about by all the talk but have decided not to stress over it anymore.

[dragonwind]

Mine looks similar too. I am going to have the dealer take a look tomorrow in any event.

Thanks

Chris

[dragonwind]

Update: Mine turned out not to be the RMS and just a little out of the crankcase. My Porsche mechanic mentioned an update kit but said it was so slight that unless I was everly concerned that it really didn't need to be done. In fact, it was dry yesterday as well. I will just keep the usual eye on oil level and such.

Thanks all

Chris

[swankboy]

I have a small oil leak as well. 2001 Boxster with 25700 miles on it. I haven't gotten under the car to see exactly where it's coming from yet. I hope to this weekend. I've only had it since January and I haven't pulled the top engine cover or really taken anything apart yet and I've been itching to. I need to set aside half a day and just play around checking things out including that leak.

It only seems to leak when I've gone over about 4000-4500rpm and when it leaks it's not much at all. I've noticed in about 2-3 months the oil level go down about one bar on the digital dash readout. I'm two bars below completely maxed out and on the dipstick I'm "full". Just can't be that bad. Still I hate thinking the thing is leaking _at all_.

[Glyn]

RMS is just a little poxy oil leak, dont worry unless you have masses of oil loss.

The end of the crankshaft has the flywheel bolted to it- then its the clutch and finaly the gearbox,

Where the crank joins the flywheel there is an oil seal with a cost of only a couple of dollars (in your money - but about £5 in brit stuff) so i guess about 8 to 10 dollars, oil seeps past the seal and drains down the bellhousing of the gearbox and drips out from underneath the middle of the car engine - all manufactures place a drain hole in this area to ensure the oil leaks away and does not build up to contaminate the clutch.

Contamination will happen when the leak becomes very bad- most Porsches start to leak but seldom develop.

Some manufactures put a split pin through the drail hole to encorage the oil to drain away easier - though i haven't seen that on a Boxster.

Dont worry abot it, if you want it doing because you want to be on the safe side your garage will always reccomment a new clutch at the same time, so either way you incur the cost of changing the lot, drive the car and wait for the leak to get worse (which it wont) or until other signs that the clutch needs changing - then have the seal changed at the same time.

Relax -

[Larry Nakamura]

I have a 2001S and had an oil leak that turned out to be

the shift linkage shaft that goes into the transmission bell

housing. Not good as there is no rebuild kit for this and

the whole transmission bell housing needed to be replaced.

$850 in parts (Porsche covered) and 9 hrs of labor (dealer

covered some), and I payed $820. I was hot happy as

this is something that should never leak (IMO).

The leak was 1-2 drops of oil on the garage floor after

I had driven the car some distance. I'm not sure if it leaked

when just driven a short distance. The oil looked to drip

through the hole in the cover plate below the transmission.

You could see it by kneeling down and looking up from

the drip on the floor.

Hope your leak is not this one as it is way beyound the RMS.

RMS --- $1,200

Trans Bell Shatf Seal --- $2,300

Cam Cover --- $850

They said they had just fixed this on another boxster too. Hope

this does not turn out to be a common boxster problem. By the

way I do not autoX and have only tracked the car twice, so I

don't abuse the car.

Also, You can live with small oil leaks, unless you plan on selling

the car soon or something like that. Keep in mind that just because

you only see a couple of drips on the garage floor, it may be

leaking more when driven out on the road. Just my 2 cents.

[leathers101]

I think I have the same leak as what Larry is describing, coming from the shift linkage shaft. Can this seal be replaced or is it a case of replacing the entire bell housing?

[RFM]

Are you sure, looks like melted protection product mixed with dirt, i cant see any traces of oil on the shaft pivot point self. I should clean the area and check later on after a drive.

[leathers101]

I cleaned the area yesterday, took it for a drive and checked again this morning, again a small puddle of oil found on the floor. I will continue troubleshooting but it does look like it is leaking from the shaft circled in blue on the photograph.

[leathers101]

Looking for help with an oil leak that I have been troubleshooting for most of the weekend. It is coming from the gear shift linkage shaft were it enters the gearbox bell housing (area circled in red on the picture). Oil is visably dripping from the linkage counterweight (circled in blue).

Is there a replacement seal kit or ???? for this problem.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Loren]

Chances are the transmission will need to come out for this repair.

Are you sure the transmission is not overfilled?

Item 17 - 996.303.517.01 shaft seal 15 x 21 x 7 -- US MSRP $5.18

[leathers101]

Thanks for the reply Loren. Yes, if the seal is gone it is a case of removing the transmission, item 2 on the image is a fully fabricated item, the fastener for which must be internal.

I have not checked if the transmission is overfilled. Is this a common issue from the factory? I am the second owner of two years and have all of the records for the car and none show any transmission related items.

How do I check for correct oil level, do I just remove item 10 or 11 and see if any seeps out?

[Loren]

Your car is a MY2001 - I would hope the transmission oil has been changed at least once in 7 years. ;)

Yes, remove item 11 (while the car is level) and see if any seeps out.

[leathers101]

Good point Loren, I will check the level. The car has always been serviced at the dealership. Should they have changed the transmission oil as part of say a 3 year standard service or do they leave it till 60,000 miles or so?

[leathers101]

Unfortunately no oil seeped out of the plug, so it's doesn't appear to have been overfilled. Thanks for the idea though Loren I hadn't thought of that. Pity, that would have saved a lot of time and money!! Looks like it's seal replacement time. Any idea of how big a job this is. Is there any special tools required?

[Loren]

Sorry, I do not know how big a job it is.

I think I would not fix it until the leak gets bigger.

[leathers101]

Loren,

Do you have an exploded view of the transmission internals? I am trying to find out how the shaft is held in place.

Thanks

[Loren]

This is a top down view so the shaft is at the bottom of this diagram.

[leathers101]

Oh boy! To get access to that is going to mean a full strip down of the tranny!!

[Loren]

Oh boy! To get access to that is going to mean a full strip down of the tranny!!

Hence my comment about waiting until it got worse.

[leathers101]

Yeah you're right, although it is quite bad now and I don't know how much is dripping whilst driving. It only appears to seep when the car is warm. I'll get my head around it and make the appropriate decision.

Thanks for you're help. I'll search for instructions on how to remove the rear of the tranny.