Oil build up on intake distributor

[clickstyle]

Have a 98 Boxster with a slight build up of oil on the passenger side of the center part of the intake distributor (The T shaped piece that connects to the TB). Also, there is a build up of oil on the back side of the engine block.

I've read that the air oil separator could allow oil into the intake, but also read that a leak in the AOS would be accompanied by blue smoke and a difficult to remove oil cap. I'm not getting either of those symptoms.

Anyone have any guesses?

Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[secretagent214]

Have a 98 Boxster with a slight build up of oil on the passenger side of the center part of the intake distributor (The T shaped piece that connects to the TB). Also, there is a build up of oil on the back side of the engine block.

I've read that the air oil separator could allow oil into the intake, but also read that a leak in the AOS would be accompanied by blue smoke and a difficult to remove oil cap. I'm not getting either of those symptoms.

Anyone have any guesses?

Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

It still could be the AOS. It's only when the AOS has totally failed that you get the blue smoke and other more extreme symptoms. I replaced mine this winter after I noticed some build up around the throttle body. There wasn't blue smoke, but the oil cap was very difficult to remove. After replacement, I haven't noticed any new oil buildup.

If you decide to replace it, Sunset has the part for about 85 dollars. It took me about 2 or 3 hours to switch it out.

Another thing to check is the oil level. Too much oil can cause your symptoms.

[traquair]

I had a problem with oil building up on the top of my 99 engine. Several people suggested AOS. As I started tear down to replace it, I noticed that the oil filler tube was a little loose. Unfortunately, to get to where the oil filler enters the engine (in the front) you have to remove the throttle body and the T.

Turns out that the oil filler was known to crack and leak in the past. After replacing the oil filler, car is running clean and dry and has a lot more pep (probably was losing compression.

Philip

[rshon]

+1 on the broken oil filler tube (especially if the oil is on the OUTSIDE of the intake manifold). Imagine an oil leak which only manifests itself when you brake hard and turn left hard. And then gets worse when you try to put more oil in the engine!

Edited March 13, 2010 by rshon