Control arm link & oil vent
 

Hi, I was just checking the rib belt through the access behind the seats, on my 2001 boxster when I noticed the following 2 items:

The rear driver side (rear passenger for US cars) rear control arm link mount (not the side that links to the wishbone/control arm) seems to be oily (there are rubber bellow to the top and bottom of the rubber mount). Is it normal to grease those joints or is it a sign that it's failing ? In fact both sides are greasy, just the driver's side is much more greasy.

Also on the rear passenger side (rear driver side for US cars), there is a pipe with a vent that seems to be venting out oil - not much but enough to coat the surrounding area with oil but not enough to drip to the ground. What is that vent ? It's to the right (if u are facing the engine) of the a/c compressor.

I had taken pictures but still trying to figure out how to insert them into the post here ! (ah success !)

the control arm mount is nothing to worrry about it just grease seeping out, they all do it, the vent , hard to tell from that pic where you are but it appears to be your air cleaner drain which cannot spill oil unless you have a K&N air filter and overoiled it in which case your MAF sensor would not be working correctly. Porsche Boxster does not vent any oil, that I know of, to the atmosphere, even the crancase breather is recirulated and ingested by the intake manifold.

Are you still running the stock airbox? If you are then you need to check the fittings going to it. That second picture is one of atomized oil being vented to the atmosphere and then moved around by turbulant air under the car to land on the closest surface. It does not look like a dripping leak. I say simple green the area. Clean it up good. And then check it again in a few days. It will be easier to tell where your problem lies.

the 'oil' in picture 1 is cast-off from the crank pulley & is normal.

picture 2 shows your PCV. it connects, via a long tube, to your oil separator. if it's spewing that much oil, it's possible that your oil separator is going bad.

I'm still on the stock airbox and filter. Just changed the filter yesterday. Nothing unusual there.

I had done the oil filler cap test and yes there was only alittle pressure there. Cap can be removed easily.

I guess it's a good idea to clean it off and see what happens.

Actually I noticed a grimy oily patch on the cylinder head and was shocked as it looked like cracks. But after cleaning off that patch I was relieved to find no cracks and that the oil came from the vent hose above it.

For what it's worth, my PCV valve looks every bit as oily as the one in the picture. Not sure if it's "normal" or not.

The only other thing I can think of, is the engine oil level.

After my last oil change, I noticed that the electronic oil level is above the max level, BUT from the dipstick, the oil level is ONLY at the max mark (or slightly below).

Which one do I trust ?? My mechanic claims that the dipstick is the more accurate one.... maybe he just didn't want to have to mess with releasing some oil..

I presume too much oil may cause more blow-by ? (amongst other things)

Dipsticks don't lie........
My combination of guage vs dipstick reads exactly as yours.