oil leaks on my 03 turbo..

[atomicveilside]

Hi

New to this site.. got my turbo about 4 months ago.. was driving home when the oil gauge dipped to 0 then gave me a fault.. i got home and decided to take a look under the rear of the car and was shocked to see 4 oil stains/leaks they seam to be coming from joints on the engine.. I have some pictures below.. has anyone had lis or seen them before.. there towards the back near the exhaust box.. one is in the middle and one either side.. the other looks like its were the cylinder block joins the crankcase..

any info greatfull

DRIVERS SIDE LEAK

PASSENGER SIDE LEAK ALLOT WORSE

CYLINDER /CRANK LEAK

MIDDLE LEAK looks like it's coming fro the plug you can see in the picture.. is this a drain plug???

Edited January 27, 2009 by atomicveilside

[jackchung]

Hi

New to this site.. got my turbo about 4 months ago.. was driving home when the oil gauge dipped to 0 then gave me a fault.. i got home and decided to take a look under the rear of the car and was shocked to see 4 oil stains/leaks they seam to be coming from joints on the engine.. I have some pictures below.. has anyone had lis or seen them before.. there towards the back near the exhaust box.. one is in the middle and one either side.. the other looks like its were the cylinder block joins the crankcase..

any info greatfull

DRIVERS SIDE LEAK

PASSENGER SIDE LEAK ALLOT WORSE

CYLINDER /CRANK LEAK

MIDDLE LEAK looks like it's coming fro the plug you can see in the picture.. is this a drain plug???

Hello. I think I am having similar issues. Your pictures did not show up but by the descriptions, my 2002 TT is having the same leaks. I am taking it in on Friday to my Porsche dealer and hope the extended warranty will cover it.

[jpflip]

Can you be more specific about this leak?. You mean the complete tank empty through these joints and plug? When you say the oil gauge your talking about the pressure gauge? These leaks looks like seams and not running leak to me and the fault was it related to oil pressure gauge. It is common to have oil pressure warning but the fault erase itself after restart due to oil pressure sender malfunction.

[jackchung]

My leak is very minor. I lose about a quart of oil every 3,000 miles. No lights. Just oil on the bottom of my engine block on the passanger side and passanger side turbo on the cold air half looks like it is dirty with oil and dirt.

[ScottArizona]

First of all, if you had a leak that was contributing to any appreciable loss of oil (as measured by the digital guage), I suspect you would have A LOT of oil all over your garage and everywhere else you park. In other words, this leak is probably not the main contributor to you being low on oil. I too am a new turbo owner, and was very alarmed coming from a 996 c2 (which uses virtually no oil!), to see the rate of consumption. After checking around I found that the turbos basically eat oil even when everything is operating as it should. I've noticed that upon spirited driving, I use about 1 quart per 1,000 miles (if Jack Chung is only using 1 quart per 3,000 miles...that is pretty good).

As for where your leak is coming from, it could be a number of places. I just had what looked to be a leak in the area of the rear main seal turn out to be a leak from the oil tank breather area which is located at the top and front of the engine (above the rear main seal). Good luck.

[D_Nyholm]

Sorry to drag up a year old post, but I seem to be having similar leaks. Did you ever find the culprit of this leak? I'm about to take off the exhaust to see where it is coming from, but that is tomorrow! :)

[atomicveilside]

Sorry to drag up a year old post, but I seem to be having similar leaks. Did you ever find the culprit of this leak? I'm about to take off the exhaust to see where it is coming from, but that is tomorrow!

Hi,

glad im not the only one with leaks!! I took it to my local Porsche dealership and they took a look at it for me.. they said its normal and something that they see on most if not all engines! im not sure if they ment turbo's or all of them. so i have kind of left it how it is. it doesnt seam to be getting any worse though and i have no oild dripping on the floor..

I was reading a post on rennlist today about a guy who had done 150.000 miles had an oil leak like this (but it sounds like it was dripping) so he got a new engine as the price of taking his leaky one apart would cost just as much as new one.. this has now made me a little3 scared about my leaks..

can someone please confirm that these are ok? as I really dont want to have any nasty surprises in the future that I cant afford!

A

Edited May 20, 2010 by atomicveilside

[RFM]

The leaks looks not that bad, i would clean the engine thoroughly in first place, and than take a look after a couple of days.

[Sunnyside]

I have staining like that under my 996tt 2002 also. Is it a real leak or just a very small amount of oil over a very long period of time that you have. When is a leak not really a leak??? Put a tray under the car as soon as you stop and see if there are any spots on it. Clean the area thoroughly and keep an eye on it.

I dont think you have a real leak looking at the pictures and 600 to 1000 miles per ltr Oil is normal for a Turbo Car depending on driving style.

If there is no dripping, no stains on your drive, no hot oil smells from the car then just clean up the areas. Drive the car. Enjoy the car. Check it often and stop worrying.

Let us all know how long it takes for the Oily patch to return after you clean it. It would seem allot of our 996tt have a similar issue( if it is an issue).

Keep posting your findings. If it is going to be problem is would be nice for us all to know whats in store for the future. :)

Frank.

[Mikelly]

Couple of things here...

First, no "leaks" are acceptable, ever. Get them addressed.

Second, there are some expansion plugs in the motor... They leak coolant. That coolant mixes with grime and dirt, and looks a lot, like oil... Don't assume it's oil unless it is wet enough to tell the difference.

Previous owner had my car into the shop a number of times over those plugs leaking, and coolant leaks... After I'd bought the car from the dealership I met the previous owner and he'd told me that they advised him to sell the car due to the leaks... Funny thing is, they fixed all of them, and I've not a had a single issue with ANY leaks in 3+ years of hard tracking and driving on the street.

Also, My car has never used any oil between changes... During track season I typically see an oil change every other track weekend, but from the fall until the spring I don't change the oil at all and still don't see any oil consumption. I put on several thousand miles per year on the car, too!

Mike

Edited June 12, 2010 by Mikelly

[Sunnyside]

Couple of things here...

First, no "leaks" are acceptable, ever. Get them addressed.

Second, there are some expansion plugs in the motor... They leak coolant. That coolant mixes with grime and dirt, and looks a lot, like oil... Don't assume it's oil unless it is wet enough to tell the difference.

Previous owner had my car into the shop a number of times over those plugs leaking, and coolant leaks... After I'd bought the car from the dealership I met the previous owner and he'd told me that they advised him to sell the car due to the leaks... Funny thing is, they fixed all of them, and I've not a had a single issue with ANY leaks in 3+ years of hard tracking and driving on the street.

Also, My car has never used any oil between changes... During track season I typically see an oil change every other track weekend, but from the fall until the spring I don't change the oil at all and still don't see any oil consumption. I put on several thousand miles per year on the car, too!

Mike

Hi Mike ,

No disrespect intended but the statement (no "leaks" are acceptable, ever. Get them addressed.) There is a difference in leaks and an recurring oily patch. Good news if you have a Warranty but some people dont. I dont know what Job you have but be assured if my local Porsche Garage wanted to remove the engine to cure a small oil stain patch that took 20,000 miles to develop I know where I would tell them to go.

In an ideal world the statement( no "leaks" are acceptable, ever. Get them addressed.)would be true.

Before atomicveilside forks out loads of dosh getting an almost non existent oil patch repaired all he has to do is follow the advise from most of us on this site and assess it himself a bit more before paying somebody else to. For sure any PG / Indy will want to fix it but they will want you to pay for it.

Get a British 1950's motor cycle, then worry about Oil Leaks. :rolleyes:

However if atomicveilside oil leak is significant then your advice is very good as a true oil leak that is dripping or any other type of coolant leak is not a good thing.

Frank

Edited June 12, 2010 by Sunnyside

[Mikelly]

Frank, I understand well that everyone has a difference economic situation and that we all can't spend cash the way we would like. However, ignoring an oil or "other" leak could well lead to more expensive issues long term...

This is "my world"...

I do as much as I can myself to offset some of those expensive costs...

Zero leaks is the only acceptable answer, period. Didn't come from the factory with "leaks" so in my book, zero leaks are the only answer...

Mike

Edited June 12, 2010 by Mikelly

[Sunnyside]

Frank, I understand well that everyone has a difference economic situation and that we all can't spend cash the way we would like. However, ignoring an oil or "other" leak could well lead to more expensive issues long term...

This is "my world"...

I do as much as I can myself to offset some of those expensive costs...

Zero leaks is the only acceptable answer, period. Didn't come from the factory with "leaks" so in my book, zero leaks are the only answer...

Mike

Hi Mike, agreed I not saying ignore a leak if it is a dripper but clean up the area and asses how bad it is. An oily stain that might take 10 to 20k to develop is nothing major.If an owner has the ready cash to spend on a car to keep it A1 show room condition all well and good. But if not and the car is safe and the staining has no real detriment to the car there's no harm done. Here in Scotland it is hard to see any oil staining from the salt corrosion. That has a much bigger impact. So I suppose there is no right or wrong just an amount in £££ $$$ that an individual can justify spending.

Frank. :)