Strange Sound and a Puddle of Oil

[Jaxonalden]

I was out of town last week. I get a call from my wife one morning telling me she was going to take the car to work. When she started it she said it sounded funny and when she backed out of the shop there was a puddle of liquid on the floor.

Of course the death rattle, IMS failure and a $10K+ engine swap raced through my thoughts and gave me nightmares for the remainder of the week. :troll: When I got home I started on the Boxster autopsy, this is what I found;

1. Looking under the car there was a sizable puddle. I pushed the car out and yes, it was oil (IMS, RMS, hole in the block?). Jacked the car up and rolled under for a closer look. The oil was dripping from the oil plug!!! :dance: It was loose.

2. When my wife initially started the car, I didn't realize this was the first time she heard the car run with my newly installed secondary cat bypass pipes. Yes, they sound that loud.

Moral to my story; All this IMS talk has me paranoid, don't be like me. Time to unwind by hittin' the twisties!! Later!

[WhipE350]

Wow. Well that ended very well. How on earth does an oil plug come loose? Was it a small drip or a rather large puddle?

[Jaxonalden]

I change my own oil and must not have tightened it enough. It's made of aluminum and I'd didn't want to strip it. It was dripping once ever couple of minutes and yes, a puddle.

[Paul]

Torque wrenches cost less than 9 quarts of oil.

[Jaxonalden]

Originally Posted by Paul

Torque wrenches cost less than 9 quarts of oil.

You are correct Paul, my elbow hasn't been calibrated in a long time. I checked the oil and no indication that I had lost any.

[BoxsterSteve]

Glad to hear there was no major issue!

It's scary how a tiny braincramp could have cause a really big problem. Ask me how I know.

[Homeboy981]

Funny story with a happy ending. Where did you get the cat bypass pipes, what brand and do they add HP or just decibels? Enjoyed the writeup and share your fears…at least until I get the clutch and new IMS put in.

[Jake Raby]

Could have been like the guy that called us last week after he forgot to refill the engine with oil before starting it... He lost 20K.

Of course, he started the phone conversation by stating that he was an Engineer working in the Aerospace industry.

[LAP1DOUG]

O.P. - you missed a golden opportunity to justify a 3.6 swap to the wife. Oh well, better luck next time.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Could have been like the guy that called us last week after he forgot to refill the engine with oil before starting it... He lost 20K.

Of course, he started the phone conversation by stating that he was an Engineer working in the Aerospace industry.

Ouch! He should know better than to work without a checklist.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

I was out of town last week. I get a call from my wife one morning telling me she was going to take the car to work. When she started it she said it sounded funny and when she backed out of the shop there was a puddle of liquid on the floor.

Of course the death rattle, IMS failure and a $10K+ engine swap raced through my thoughts and gave me nightmares for the remainder of the week. :troll: When I got home I started on the Boxster autopsy, this is what I found;

1. Looking under the car there was a sizable puddle. I pushed the car out and yes, it was oil (IMS, RMS, hole in the block?). Jacked the car up and rolled under for a closer look. The oil was dripping from the oil plug!!! :dance: It was loose.

2. When my wife initially started the car, I didn't realize this was the first time she heard the car run with my newly installed secondary cat bypass pipes. Yes, they sound that loud.

Moral to my story; All this IMS talk has me paranoid, don't be like me. Time to unwind by hittin' the twisties!! Later!

Kudo's to your wife!

[AndyA6]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Kudo's to your wife!

Same here! Luckily my wife is the same way!

[Jaxonalden]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Kudo's to your wife!

Yes, you're right. I've tried to teach her the basics about automotive mechanics for our past 22 years together, glad to see it paid off and she didn't just blow it off.

[ekam]

Well that's what the crush washer is there for...

To get crushed.

That and I keep a spare drain plug in case if I strip the existing one.

[rebeltown]

You won't strip the plug, You'll strip the threads in the pan first...

[Jaxonalden]

I have extra washers and drain plugs. I just lost track of what I was doing at the time I guess, and didn't snug it up. I will mark this down as a lesson's learned.

[Mark_T]

So apparently you're not someone who's never made a dumb-ass mistake after all.

Very understandable though, 37 ft-lbs of torque is rather confusing.

[trimer]

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

I have extra washers and drain plugs. I just lost track of what I was doing at the time I guess, and didn't snug it up. I will mark this down as a lesson's learned.

Please tell me you are not an aerospace engineer!!! LOL

[Ghostrider 310]

Originally Posted by trimer

Please tell me you are not an aerospace engineer!!! LOL

I have to LOL at this country and how we exalt people as more capable than another by their profession. I got news for ya, there are plenty of physicians that are common dolts, for that matter they work everywhere at every level of employment in the entire world.

[Jaxonalden]

Originally Posted by trimer

Please tell me you are not an aerospace engineer!!! LOL

I'm actually an Aerospace Structural Engineer.