Freakin out even more... oil everywhere!

[Ghostrider 310]

Maybe a dumb question here but if you still are not sure if it's oil or tranny have you tried looking at the stick level for clues?

[stateofidleness]

dumber question: how do i check the transmission fluid level??

i just let it ran and revved it a few times.. as soon as I revved it (while still on ramps), the puddle came back... about 5 inches around.. then it stops leaking (not a continuous flow)

what else can I check?? it's starting to look more and more like a RMS thing, but that might mean a tow...

there is no oil above the skild plate and it is still clean/dry. The oil drip is right at the lowest point of the tranny by that steel cable that connects the engine and tranny together...

gettin' scared guys... how can I further diagnose a RMS? seems like that would leak without me revving no?

ps: i checked the manual and it doesn't tell me how to check transmission fluid level

[The Radium King]

remove the transmission fill bolt and stick your finger in - you should be able to feel the fluid. pelican is your freind here:

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Differential / Manual Boxster Transmission Fluid Change - 986 / 987

perhaps info here also:

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/33349-leak-around-transmission-linkage.html

[ubii]

stateofidleness,

I had something similar happen to me last month, in the drive through of Pizza Hut. In a matter of a few minutes, I managed to lose over half of the oil from my engine. When I went to pull up to the window, after the car in front of me left, I heard a loud ticking sound and that was when I noticed my oil light flashing. I pulled the car around to the back, parked it, and got out only to discover a 6 inch wide trail of oil leading all the way through the parking lot and out to the intersection. After verifying the obvious culprits, I had the car towed back to my house. At first, I thought that I blew a seal on the oil cooler, as it appeared that oil had sprayed from the that area down the driver side of the engine. But, once I got it up on jack stands and cleaned up a bit, I discovered that lower camshaft seal on the rear driver side of the engine was missing. There are a total of six of these seals, 3 on each side, with 1 front, 2 rear on the driver side and 2 front, 1 rear on the passenger side. Since your leak appears to be located more towards the center, it probably is something else, but it doesn't hurt to at least verify that these seals are not leaking or missing. Below, is a photo of the missing camshaft seal.

[WhipE350]

Oil and transmission fluid smell completely different. Transmission oil has a smell that makes me sick...oil well it just smells like oil..kind of sweet with a scent of gas.

Sounds like you have pin pointed the leak at the bottom of the bellhousing. Wipe things down again real good if you still need to double check the location.

[crumbum]

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

dumber question: how do i check the transmission fluid level??

i just let it ran and revved it a few times.. as soon as I revved it (while still on ramps), the puddle came back... about 5 inches around.. then it stops leaking (not a continuous flow)

what else can I check?? it's starting to look more and more like a RMS thing, but that might mean a tow...

there is no oil above the skild plate and it is still clean/dry. The oil drip is right at the lowest point of the tranny by that steel cable that connects the engine and tranny together...

gettin' scared guys... how can I further diagnose a RMS? seems like that would leak without me revving no?

ps: i checked the manual and it doesn't tell me how to check transmission fluid level

There are a number of technical articles on the Pelican Parts site that you might find useful.Click here

The link to checking and changing the transmission fluid can be found here.

I often try to review sequence of events to help troubleshoot a problem. If I understand you correctly you found:
1) a large trail of oil and a huge puddle under the car.
2) no drop in engine oil when looking at the dipstick.
3) no drips while the car is just sitting.
4) as soon as you started the car, another huge puddle.

Questions I would try to answer are:
1) Is there a drop in engine oil now? If not, I would DEFINITELY check transmission fluid level.
2) Do you see any obvious damage like a crack in the transmission or a hole? Have you put the car up on jack stands to have a look? (dont crawl under it with just a jack).
3) Have you looked under the car while it is running to see where the leak might be coming from?

I would not run it again unless you have made sure there is enough engine oil and transmission fluid that would ensure that you dont fry the engine or transmission.

But that is just me.