New Boxster Owner - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

aperkins · 06-05-2006, 09:05 PM

Just bought a nice 2001 Boxster S w/ 31K miles. I inspected the car comprehensively especially the undercarridge around the motor/tranny area. It was clean as a whistle. So far I had the car for about a week and have taken a few sprited romps. I've checked the garage floor on every occasion and found no oil or liquid of any kind. So I'm pretty sure the RMS is good.

My question is . . . Does the RMS fail prematurely due to a workmanship or quality defect or is it related to wear (ie. heat, vibration, etc)? I'm keeping my fingers crossed (as well as my legs, arms, etc) that I bought one of the RMS problem free Boxsters.

Are oil leaks the only way to tell if the RMS is bad?

Any advice, comments, etc would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Arnie

ps. I love the looks and performance of the Boxster and so far it's a blast to drive.

Ronzi · 06-06-2006, 06:53 AM

I have not heard the RMS problem be traced to quality/workmanship. Most of the time it is attributed to a design/engineering shortcoming of the water-cooled flat six engines.
The fact that only a portion of the cars experience premature failure (whatever that is) does make you suspicious that there is a workmanship component in play, as well as perhaps a useage component.

Brucelee · 06-06-2006, 08:04 AM

Yes, it is now assumed to be a design flaw in the engine which Porsche keeps trying to find a workaround for.

Good forbid they fix the flaw for real.

Do I have an attitude or what?

RandallNeighbour · 06-06-2006, 08:28 AM

RMS leaks start as small leaks and get bigger from what I've read, then lead to failure with a blowout of oil. So if you do get one, you should be able to catch it before it does any engine damage.

Just keep an eye on your garage floor. If you see no drips, no worries my friend. When and if you do see drips, get it checked out... it might just be a cam cover like my boxster and it's no big deal and most would say it's not worth fixing.

Do not let a potential RMS failure freak you out. Enjoy your car and cross the bridges that you actually approach, not the ones you may never see while owning the car.

Ever since I adopted this attitude about my much older, much more beat up and abused Boxster, life has been a lot more fun and less stressful!