Oil Leak :(

[Samir]

I got back from CA a week ago (bought the car in CA and drove it to AL), and my friend noticed a small puddle of oil on my garage floor. :( It was engine oil. I checked the oil level and it was mid-way. It never leaked in CA at in my friend's garage for the 3 days I had it there. I looked at it briefly and it seemed to be coming from the drain plug. But I was tired after driving and just went to sleep.

I'm going to look at it today since I haven't spent any time with the car in over a week. Any suggestions as for what to look for? I'm going to look specifically at the RMS and the drain plug. Anything else to look for?

[djantlive]

if the sides of the engine have oil, it's probly cam seals. if it's between engine and tranny in center of engine, it's probly rms. if it's just from drain plug, tighten it may help.

you could just take it to the dealer for a check and also get a car wash too!

[Samir]

Thank you for the feedback. You have to remember, I'm in Alabama. Most of the guys that do work around here can't even work on Japanese cars correctly, and those are the dealers that are "trained". The last thing I plan on doing is letting them work on my $50k German machine.

There is a fairly active Porsche club locally and I've had recommendations from them to go to either Nashville or Atlanta for service routine service. I'll probably look into the same for this problem.

I spent some time under the rear of the car after I put it up on ramps. The entire underside on the rear is coated in what looks like a goldish undercoating--but it's not undercoating. It's old hardened oil. :(

I found some fresh areas after driving it for about 20 minutes and putting it back up on ramps still running. I crawled under while it was running and could see some seepage in the seal where the tranny and engine meet right beside the holes in the tranny where you can see the flywheel. That sounds like the rear main seal. :(

I'm going to give the dealer I bought it from a call and see if they had their Porsche/Ferrari people actually inspect it. If they did, then they knew about the problem and didn't tell me when I asked. There was a few other minor problems they didn't tell me about as well. If there's any legal action I can take, I'll be taking it while I try to get this mess fixed. I should've just spent a few extra thousand and got a new one. :( This sucks. :(

[Loren]

I spent some time under the rear of the car after I put it up on ramps. The entire underside on the rear is coated in what looks like a goldish undercoating--but it's not undercoating. It's old hardened oil. sad.gif

Nope, that is Cosmoline. That is a protective coating put on by the factory for rust prevention. There still might be oil on top of the Cosmoline but the goldish/brown coating is supposed to be there.

[Samir]

Thank you Loren. That makes me feel a little bit better as the oil leak is very hard to see unless you look for it.

[Samir]

...if it's just from drain plug, tighten it may help.

I bought the 8mm hex socket today from Sears. The correct plug torque is around 37 ft/lbs, right?

[Loren]

The oil change DIY is here. This is for the Carrera but the Boxster is the same.

[Samir]

Thank you Loren. Good write up. I just wanted to make sure I had the torque spec right. It feels weird to work on a car without the service manual to reference to. :( I'm so used to answering all my own questions that way.