Oil leaks

[DShen]

Originally Posted by 78F350

That oil at the rear of the engine could be from the rear main seal, the IMS bearing seal, or just residual oil from the spark plug tubes..

If you are planning to work on it yourself, do the spark plugs/tubes and clean the areas where there's oil. Drive it after it has been cleaned and see how it looks. If it is still leaking somewhere it will be easier to identify.

If you take it to a shop and say, "Fix the oil leak." expect them to say that it needs a new RMS (and IMS while they are in there). ...Clutch, flywheel, mounts coolant tank and AOS. A dealership or respectable Porsche shop could give you a bill of $8,000 to $10,000 once they get finished.
Does it need all that done? Probably not, but it's all maintenance that can easily be added on to an old 986 once you get deep into it.

Again, I'd recommend doing the spark plugs and tubes yourself and the driving it for a while to see if it's acceptable.

Those are some scary repair numbers! Yup, I am planning on doing some cleaning and then changing out the tubes. Then drive around and see if there are more leaks. Exactly as you said.

The previous owner did get the ims, rms, clutch all done together 40K miles/9 years ago. Clutch is fine, but time to refresh the two seals?