Oil leak question

[Jay Laifman]

On my 2000 Boxster S, my son drove it today to work. When he got there, he reported oil smoke coming out of the right engine vent - on the side of the car. I'm debating what to do - that is, if the car can be driven or if it needs to be towed.

Anyone know if there is anything on that side of the engine that could be leaking oil onto the exhaust that could fail with catastrophic oil loss? Or is it just the air/oil separator over there? Or something like that?

His work is not a convenient place to leave the car or pull off the rear engine cover to see.

[pilot4fn]

Sounds like a good chance of oil dripping on to the exhaust. If that's the case, do not drive it - fire risk is rather high...

[The Radium King]

coolant overflow is on that side.

[Jay Laifman]

That's good info. Not sure which is worse - running out of oil or running out of coolant!

Ha, of course both are bad.

At this point, I think I simply need to go there and open it up, start the car and see if I can see what is leaking. Ugh. It is not parked in a parking lot that would allow me to mess with it there.

[The Radium King]

spewing a bit of coolant when it gets hot (if that is what it is) is no biggie. a cracked aos hose, however, can dump a lot of oil quickly. also, the oil fill pipe is on that side, and if your son was driving hard the moving engine can crack it and splashing oil can come out. drive sensibly and no problem getting it home for a closer look.

get your son to see if any fluid reaching the ground. if not then i'd say drive it home. if yes then what fluid - coolant? oil? transmission? brake? the salty tears of a young man who just broke his dad's porsche?

[Jay Laifman]

One thing I've noticed about my Boxster which I've had for 20 years, is that a lot of different plastic pieces have become brittle and are breaking. I'm assuming that is a likely cause here. That certainly goes to the coolant tank which has been known for problems for a long time. As well as the "funky" squeeze ends of the hoses, like on the air/oil separator. I also had similar failure with smog/air hoses cracking and breaking.

It's a bummer because the car has usually been garaged, and in California. So as much as I like the Boxster and think it's really one of the best overall sports cars ever, and I have other old Porsches I will keep running forever, I'm worried about all these plastic parts. And even if I can go buy a low mileage 2000 Boxster S on BAT. I'm worried that it too will need all of this. Ugh.

We'll see what it is.

[The Radium King]

lots of plastics on the car. and if you frequent the forums the usual suspects become routine maintenance replacement items - aos, fuel filler hose, coolant tank. there's other bits that also fail (the underbody panels take a beating) but not catastrophically. what worries me is all the plastic bits inside the engine that can't be replaced without tearing it apart.

and hey, at least you are at the top of the food chain in the VAG group. i've also got a 2002 audi allroad and all the cold solder joints in the electrics failed pretty much all at once.

[Jay Laifman]

I am following up. It turns out it was either or both spark plug tubes and transaxle mounts. Apparently the mounts are filled with oil that was leaking, and the spark plug tubes were leaking. Both could get on exhaust.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by Jay Laifman

I am following up. It turns out it was either or both spark plug tubes and transaxle mounts. Apparently the mounts are filled with oil that was leaking, and the spark plug tubes were leaking. Both could get on exhaust.

You'll know if it's the mount(s). Shine a flashlight on the bottom of the mount. See any fluid drops on it? Failing mount.

Replacing them? Have fun.