Oil leak 2000 Boxster S

[jordon198]

Thanks for the input, I'm going to drop the car off at a local Porsche guy and hope for the best.

[thstone]

This is easy to check yourself. Get under the car and look to see where the oil is dripping. If its in the middle of the car where the engine and trans mate, then its likely RMS and take it in to have it verified.

If the drip is on the sides of the engine where the cam covers mate with the heads (just under the spark plugs), then its most likely the cam cover seals. Cam cover seals seep/drip/leak all of the time and its not a big deal unless its a lot.

Also, check to make sure that you don't have oil running down the side of the engine from one of the spark plug tubes. This will look at first like a cam cover leak but the oil is really coming from a leaking or cracked spark plug tube. If so, spark plug tubes are easily and cheaply replaced as a DIY project.

My '99 seeps (not leaks) oil from the cam covers and the dealer said to just let it be unless it gets a lot worse. They quoted $1,000 to re-seal the cam covers (they have to use a special sealant and its supposed to be quite a difficult job). My local indie shop quoted about $700 for the same work. So far, I've let it be and not touched it.

[SeanZ4]

thstone, I believe there is a diy on one of the other forums or possibly Mike Focke's site for re-tightening the cam tower bolts to stop leaks. When it happened to my car they had it for quite awhile, citing that it was a labor intensive job. I think you can maybe slow it down a little by re-tightening the bolts. I don't know.. just an idea.

sean

[Dimitris]

Good info for those leaks . The IMS and RMS sound like trouble and big $$ . I will be looking on a 2000S tomorrow. Would it drip after a 5-10 min test drive ?
The car has 68 k miles

[laphan]

Originally Posted by Dimitris

Good info for those leaks . The IMS and RMS sound like trouble and big $$ . I will be looking on a 2000S tomorrow. Would it drip after a 5-10 min test drive ?
The car has 68 k miles

Actually having oil leaks was not bad if you have not made the purchase. I managed negotiate for lower price by $2K because of the leak and the car still had the original clutch. You have more negotiation power especially if the leak comes from RMS/IMS.
With all the scare of IMS failure all over the internet and inability to check the actual source of leak without having to remove the transmission, the seller might just want to get rid of the car quick before the engine fails on him. That was what happened to me, the seller would not budge on the price until I told him about the IMS horror story and he immediately changed his mind and wanted to dump the car fast.
Spend that savings on IMS upgrade, RMS and clutch, I can guarantee that you are going to sleep better at night without have to worry about your engine failing.