New 996 Owner

[JRW-910]

So, I recently purchased my first Porsche ... a 1999 911 Carrera 4 coupe. I had previously driven my uncles '03 turbo and decided I wanted one. My plan is to use it as a daily driver as much as possible here in the northeast so it will replace my '91 BMW 850i which I've had for the last 6 years and 45k miles.

The 996 is a 6-speed with 94k miles in silver with blue interior. It drives extremely well and was a bargain in my book at $15k.

It will join the other cars in my garage which include: '91 Dinan 8 (twin turbo v12), '88 Corvette coupe (406cid v8), '90 B2K Callaway Aerobody (twin turbo v8), and the '90 Corvette vert (supercharged 396cid v8 / NOS / cage / etc).

I have a lift and workshop so I try to do all of the work on the cars myself and the Porsche will be no exception.

So... I have my first issue which needs attention and I was looking for a little guidance from the experienced owners here. I took it out yesterday and drove it fairly hard... nothing stupid, but harder then I would drive it normally. Anyway, I smelled some oil burning which of course scared me a bit.

It turns out that there was an oil leak that was dripping on the drivers side header. Up on the lift, I was able to see where the oil was coming from. After some research (https://sites.google.com/site/mikefo...torreplacement) it appears that the oil is coming from the AOS bellows. I was thinking about just replacing the bellows and using newer style screw type clamps.

Why not replace the entire AOS? Well, the previous owner had it done a few years ago. Secondly, the link states that its probably functioning correctly if I could pull the oil cap off easily with the engine running... which I was able to do.

So, does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks,

-JRW

[Gonzo911]

JRW...I am dealing with the same issue now. On my 03 Carrera Cab (50k miles) I have an oil leak from the crankcase breather line. From what I have read here and on other blogs, replacing the AOS seems to be a popular move. Unlike you, I do not have the skills to do this myself, but I will let you know what I found out from my shop. Good luck!

[Gonzo911]

AOS was fine. Just replaced the lower hose to the AOS. $275 at my Indy.

[phillipj]

JRW-910,

You may want to see if the leak is coming from the spark plug tubes. This is a common issue with the early 99 3,4's. Oil can seep from the tube and land on the headers. It's an easy and inexpensive DIY to replace them. Also check and see if the cam covers may be leaking.. This is also common. To remove and re- seal the cam covers requires a special Porsche tool holds the cams in place. What was recommended to me was to take out the bolts and put sealer on them and re install them. You do this one-by-one without ever removing the cover. Therefore no tool needed. Sometimes just doing the bolts will do the trick. I did this on my 99 996 that had a leak just like you are describing. I did the tubes and re-sealed the bolts and no more leaks! Just a suggestion if the AOS passes the test. You have quite a car collection there! Congrats on adding the 996 to it! :thumbup:

Edited December 1, 2011 by Loren