Oil Leak

[cab713]

Changed the oil in my 1999 996 C2 yesterday. In jacking up the car, I discovered a good deal of grimy oil caked to the drivers side of the engine. The oil level was a bit low, but there are no drops in the garage bay so I don't know how long it's been like this. Any idea as to what is going on here?

Thanks,

Chris

edit: rotated the images to the proper orientation.

Edited February 14, 2011 by cab713

[kbrandsma]

I would check in the following order.

1. Spark plug tubes leaking

2. Bellows (accordian hose/ tube) on bottom of AOS (more on passenger side though)

3. RMS (most likely), especially if it appears to me a nosebleed dead center where the engine flywheel/clutch meets the bell housing of the transmission

4. IMS (same as 3# above) but more serious. The car is usually undriveable.

You probably won't be able to determine #3 or #4 until you remove the transmission. Great time to also replace clutch ad tranmission oil.

Here is a DIY if interested. PRESS HERE

[cab713]

I would check in the following order.

1. Spark plug tubes leaking

2. Bellows (accordian hose/ tube) on bottom of AOS (more on passenger side though)

3. RMS (most likely), especially if it appears to me a nosebleed dead center where the engine flywheel/clutch meets the bell housing of the transmission

4. IMS (same as 3# above) but more serious. The car is usually undriveable.

You probably won't be able to determine #3 or #4 until you remove the transmission. Great time to also replace clutch ad transmission oil.

Here is a DIY if interested. PRESS HERE

Thanks!

3. RMS was replace just over a year ago at 30,700 miles with a new clutch. Odometer just turned 35,000 so I hope that's not it. From what I read here, RMS would dead center of the engine. This is the drivers side. You can see it just behind the wheel well.

4. I'll do some searches for IMS, but the car runs perfectly from what I can tell. Smooth and fast with plenty of power.

I will also explore 1 & 2.

cab

Edited February 14, 2011 by cab713

[kbrandsma]

I would check in the following order.

1. Spark plug tubes leaking

2. Bellows (accordian hose/ tube) on bottom of AOS (more on passenger side though)

3. RMS (most likely), especially if it appears to me a nosebleed dead center where the engine flywheel/clutch meets the bell housing of the transmission

4. IMS (same as 3# above) but more serious. The car is usually undriveable.

You probably won't be able to determine #3 or #4 until you remove the transmission. Great time to also replace clutch ad transmission oil.

Here is a DIY if interested. PRESS HERE

Thanks!

3. RMS was replace just over a year ago at 30,700 miles with a new clutch. Odometer just turned 35,000 so I hope that's not it. From what I read here, RMS would dead center of the engine. This is the drivers side. You can see it just behind the wheel well.

4. I'll do some searches for IMS, but the car runs perfectly from what I can tell. Smooth and fast with plenty of power.

I will also explore 1 & 2.

cab

It is also advisable to clean up the oil and then monitor it closely to determine the exact source. RMS's can also re-offend. I'm not sure where the oil cooler is located on your 996.

[cab713]

I cleaned and scrubbed the offending area once the oil change was complete. Only a short drive today, but nothing there upon my return. I'll do a longer drive tomorrow and see if anything shows up.

I've also found mention of motor mounts loosing oil. I need to find the DIY on that, but in all my searches today, the only leak that almost matches mine perfectly turned out to be the hydraulics for a cabriolet top. Mixed emotions when you're hoping a suggestion is wrong, but turns out to be correct and doesn't help your problem as well.

[Dharn55]

It is not the IMS or RMS. The oil is too high up the side of the engine for those to be the source. Could be the seal around the can advance solenoid.

[rb101]

I vote on #2 being the issue.

[cdupont0734]

My 1999 C2 had a cam solenoid leak too. It's a pretty minor thing to fix.

It is not the IMS or RMS. The oil is too high up the side of the engine for those to be the source. Could be the seal around the can advance solenoid.

[Cefalu]

The '99's do have spark plug tubes whose O rings leak. That is probably the source of some oil. The cam solenoids tend to weep also. You can buy new seals for them as well. All in all pretty easy DIYr job.

When I did my 60K service I changed the spark plugs, tube O rings and cam seals. No more leaks.

[cab713]

It's been a few months since discovery and the leak is very minor.

Is there a DIY for the cam solenoid seals? Perhaps with a part number? I've done some searches, but no luck.

[Dharn55]

The cam solenoid seal/plates hold on with two bolts, 7.5 ftlbs. torque. The latest part number is 996.105.244.03 and they list for $8.31@ so about $6.33 at Sunset or Suncoast. Right and Left are the same. Once you get access it is pretty easy to remove them, but to get access you may have to take the wheels off. Just the two bolts, but there is the wire to each. This is a simple plug on the other end but can be difficult to reach it. You have to undo the wire if you want to replace the seal/plate.

Mine had leaked once the the indy I used had put what look like JB Weld or epoxy on them to seal them. When I did my engine work I did not replace them but used some Permatex copper RTV silicone sealant. If you want to try this just loosen the bolts and slide the plate off the solenoid, put a bead on RTV on the reddish seal on the plate and slide them back on. Works like a charm, actually better than the seals themselves IMHO. Here are some old pictures of the left side.

[Cefalu]

I bought new seals , then decided I didn't want to chase down the connectors to unplug the solenoid wires. So I cleaned it all really well, and RTV silicone sealed them. Have not leaked since. I noticed that the solenoid was not exactly centered on the seal, so even a new seal was probably going to leak again.