Unusual, but my '97 986 . . .
 

suffered a FRONT main seal leak. More of seap, but oil was running back underneath the engine so I had my Porsche dealer replace that seal 2 years ago and since then, it's been bone dry. RMS remains bone dry.

RMS--does it affect triptronic tranny boxsters?
 

All: have a 2002 Boxster S with 45K miles--no leaks yet--I bought the car as second owner at 20K miles. Do I need to worry about RMS failure? Thanks, cabjose.

small oil leak
 

Cant for the life of me find where my oil leak is coming from...I have a 98 boxster (AT-Triptronic) Does the RMS issue include automatic transmissions? Does anyone know how you can distinquish from the different types of oil leaks? I found oil on the top of my engine.....? It seems to be dripping down a small hose on the bottom of car.....I have read on one site that if you see oil on top of engine it can be the "oil return tube"???

2001 Boxster S with Tiptronic. Purchased used in 2005, now at 23K miles with no sign of RMS leak yet. Only maintenance has been oil changes at 3K mile intervals.

Great chance tomake lemonade out of lemons perhaps. I have the same sled & I'd love to drop a 3.8l beast in it. It's 10 years old. They are all 'pre owned ' by now & many by satan himself I'm sure. I'm sorry for your loss, however I'm sure a solution will present itself. There's nothing cheap about owning these cars.

Hey Bruce, I'd try what a guy did about 8 msgs above yours. He had a leak & switched to Mobil 1 High Performance 5-50 I think it was & his leaks dried up b4 long. Trusting these guys is tough, none of us want to pay the piper, but boy do we love to bang the gears!

Engine Problems
 

I purchased a 2003 Boxster with 34k on it. I purchased it from a non Porsche dealer.
I was familiar with the IMS issue and purchased a bronze warranty from Mercury Insurance. It will handle a catastrophic failure but not much else. It cost $2k for 3 years. $100 deductible.

I have put 12K on it in 4 months. (Fun to drive) I had the 45K service done at the dealer and gave them the warranty. Turns out my engine mounts had worn out.

The dealer called Mercury and Mercury paid for new ones and installation less my $100. I think it was a $400 job.

No leaks or IMS failure yet but I guess here is my thought.

A used Boxster is a pretty great car for the price. Even if some have the IMS failure one can manage the risk. I got a great car for $24000 including the warranty. That is pretty reasonable for the other convertible sports cars I could have purchased. I looked at them all. I really love my car. It runs through tires but I knew that. It might have a IMD failure but I knew that too.

I'm 55, a young owner for the boxster, live a little.
James

my data
 

Please answer yes or no to the following questions related to RMS and engine failure. Please include particular information in your response regarding the year, mileage, model, whether the car was purchased new or used, transmission type, driving style and adherence to scheduled maintenance and break-in recommendations. Thanks for participating. (hope this appears as intended)


Have you experienced a RMS leak? (/no)
Have you experienced mutiple RMS leaks (/no)
Have you experienced an engine failure (/no)

2004
5-sp
33800 mi
bought new
driven with spirit on roads, but try to be smooth
tracked ~6 days/yr. Auto-X ~ 8 days/yr.
anal about break-in, maint (2 x factory schedule on oil)
alwasy drive easy until warm
use thicker oil that >> ACEA A3 HTHS
perform 90% of my own service

[QUOTE=MikenOH]Please answer yes or no to the following questions related to RMS and engine failure. Please include particular information in your response regarding the year, mileage, model, whether the car was purchased new or used, transmission type, driving style and adherence to scheduled maintenance and break-in recommendations. Thanks for participating. (hope this appears as intended)


Have you experienced a RMS leak? Yes
Have you experienced mutiple RMS leaks No
Have you experienced an engine failure No

2001 3.2S Manual 43K miles Manufacturers service intervals adhered to. Bought used 4 months ago. RMS was weeping slightly when I bought the car (4K miles ago) and has not become any worse. Oil consumption = 0. Very varied driving style from gentle to flat out.

Have you experienced a RMS leak? No
Have you experienced mutiple RMS leaks No
Have you experienced an engine failure No

2000 Boxster 2.7L 5 Speed Manual.
82,000 miles.
Regularly serviced at Porsche dealer for most of its life according to Carfax report.

It went through 1 water pump, 4 light bulbs, and two O2 sensors in its life.
The only problem I have now is a small vacuum leak somewhere.

Have you experienced a RMS leak? (yes)
Have you experienced mutiple RMS leaks (no)
Have you experienced an engine failure (no)

2001 S
6-sp
40,000 mi
1st owner replaced RMS

No problem since then, now at 55,000 mi

99 986 with great engine history
 

Have you experienced a RMS leak? (no)
Have you experienced multiple RMS leaks (no)
Have you experienced an engine failure (no)

1999
5 speed
58,600 mi

Not a daily driver, but warm up engine good before I let the rpm's run

2001 Boxster base...
 

Have I exper. RMS leak - PPI says says minor mist/oil leak from RMS a year ago.Left it as is
Multiple - no.
Engine fail? No

3rd owner. Purchased at 35 k miles.
Now 40k miles.
5 speed
On original IMS.

1998 base model , manual trans, 78,000, 2nd owner, no records, regular maitenance since I have had it. NO RMS leaks. Mobile 1 @ 5000 mile intervals. Spirited driving after warmup. Just renewed the clutch. Replaced the IMSB while in there with an LNE kit. The original IMS bearing appeared to be in perfect shape so maybe there was maitenance by the previous owner

have a 2001 boxster s, 42,000 miles,no leaks!GOD bless

2002 boxster S with 55,000 miles, no leaks but did brake a timing chain, unsure of other damage as i am just starting to get into the engine.

2004 Boxster, tiptronic, 20,000 miles. No leaks, no failure!

Well I have the RMS exposed in my build and at 90K miles I found that there is a small leak that has been dripping into the bell housing. Has not made it down to the point of dripping out and will not with the new seal going in next week.

Ims
 

Been reading a lot about IMS issues for several months. Decided to move ahead and have it done. Also had a new clutch, RMS, water pump, and 160 stat. Picked up the car yesterday and glad I spent the $4k. The IMS may have lasted another 10k but the shop doubted it would. Even an non mechanic like me saw the issue with the bearing.

For those of you who are debating whether to move forward, just do it.

Most parts were from LN Engineering.


2004 Boxster S 44K
Fabspeed Maxflo Muffs, BMC air filter, EXU upgrade

it would be great if those that have found questionable bearings could post pics of it..
FM