Oil Leak & Possible coolant leak - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

cdnboxster · 05-06-2014, 05:21 PM

Ok I have a few things going on - 2000 boxster s

- I have a slow oil leak, drips passenger side near front of motor (I toOK the bottom pan off covering the engine) it seems to be this square box type thing mounted right above the exhaust ok what I think is the exhaust?) not sure its what is actually leaking or something above is leaking.. I'm mot sure what this part is can anyone help? see pic. sorry for the funny angle..(pic marked "leak"

its right above this.. pic marked "above this"

- My coolant light was flashing - temp gauge ws right at normal, topped up coolant and it seems to be OK, but haven't really driven much because of the oil leak

- When the car is running it blows through the heating or cooling (IE AC on or off) really moist air and fogs up the car, I can't get it to de-fog..

Ok what its isn't - there is no oil in the coolant i.e. no foamy coffee color in the coolant reservoir..the reservoir isnt leaking coolant I took all the lining out of the trunk and its clean and dry

healthservices · 05-06-2014, 09:19 PM

Spark plug tube...

healthservices · 05-06-2014, 09:23 PM

does the air threw the vents smell sweet?

cdnboxster · 05-07-2014, 03:23 AM

Hi Thx... so you think its a spark plug tube? aon that side of the engine?

No noticable sweet smell.. could it just be increased moisture in the enginge compartment, as thinks drip and burnu off..getting in to the climate system and blowing ?

healthservices · 05-07-2014, 08:23 AM

Spark plug tubes are easy to do just pull the coil, sparkplug, and most people on this site use a Transom plug to pull the tubes out,

I just use a simple bolt a couple of washers, and a couple of nuts.

JUst make sure bolt is long enough and washer is small enough to fit in hole..

Drop the bolt in until the washer goes past the last part of the lip on the tube...

Use a screwdriver and pry the tube out by placing tip under the washer as shown

This tool allows for more force to be used to remove the tube and less breakage than using the transom plug idea.

I was asking about the smell out of the vents if it was sweet as this is a indicator that the heater core is leaking...

epapp · 05-07-2014, 09:12 AM

Certainly a better idea than mine - wrapping lots of duct tape around a glove on your index finger to slip into the plug tube. Once in, pretend your finger is the hulk and bend/expand it and pop the tube outwards. Ghetto, I know.

cdnboxster · 05-11-2014, 03:52 AM

Ok I took the rear right wheel off.. there was oil residue all over that side of the motor and dripping on the exhaust hence the burning and smoke. I wiped it up, and ran the more for about 30 mins at idle speed up on jackstands.. no sign of oil leaking? would it be noticeable? or would it show more running engine under driving conditions?

cdnboxster · 05-11-2014, 05:20 AM

Here are a few pics of the situation, so what do you think.. also do people remove the spark plugs with motor in place, its tight, do you take other things off or work around things..? not sure I can do my self or off to the garage

healthservices · 05-11-2014, 06:45 AM

LOL all your pictures are upside down making it look like the leak is somewhere else.

It very easy unplug the coil wire before you remove the coil and spark plug. For easier access remove thr inner fender liner ahead of the wheel.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

cdnboxster · 05-12-2014, 02:51 AM

OK I toOK the car for a Lil spin, after cleaning up the oil on the right side..

two things:
- The gf say there was a sweet smell coming from the a/c & heating system..
- and there was smOKe coming from driver side this time.. or more noticeable since passenger side was all wiped up..

does that change your thought process on possible source of the leak..

healthservices · 05-12-2014, 08:31 AM

Nope I think the two places to start are the spark plug tubes, and after tackling that Diagnose if the coolant is from the heater core.

Stop stewing over it and just do it...

It'd be done by now!

healthservices · 05-12-2014, 08:32 AM

Nope I think the two places to start are the spark plug tubes, and the heater core.

Stop stewing over it and just do it...

It'd be done by now!

thstone · 05-12-2014, 10:40 AM

The pictures definitely indicate leaky spark plug tubes. Suggest following the excellent previous advice to replace them.

steved0x · 05-12-2014, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by healthservices

LOL all your pictures are upside down making it look like the leak is somewhere else.

It very easy unplug the coil wire before you remove the coil and spark plug. For easier access remove thr inner fender liner ahead of the wheel.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

+1 I attempted the driver side without removing the fender liner (which is *much* easier to remove than the front ones BTW), learned my lesson and took it off first when I did the pax side.

cdnboxster · 05-12-2014, 02:51 PM

ok I'm on it!

Tucker2 · 05-13-2014, 05:57 PM

CDN....PM me if you get stuck. I've done the tube replacement...it's not bad. I'd be happy to chat with you by phone on what I've learned. After my 'tube job'....my leaks stopped entirely.

mnc-i · 05-16-2014, 02:39 PM

cdnboxster,

I had a class 3 oil leak on the passenger side.

When I changed the oil I saw oil that looked to be coming out of the far front spark plug tube area and also some coming from around the middle spark plug tube.

I purchased six spark plug tubes w/seals from RockAuto for less than $20.00 shipped to my house.

I also purchased a boat plug from Wal-Mart for $3.69. The boat plug worked perfectly. My only issue was pushing the new tubes w/seals back in. I gently used a crowbar and they popped right in place.

I replaced two spark plug tubes w/seals, but my oil leak persisted.
My mechanic identified the problem as a loose oil sending unit.

My car (99 Boxster) has over 213,000 miles.

MNC-I