Oil leak please help - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

dcs9654 · 07-02-2016, 05:19 AM

Hello everyone,

First post, sucks it has to be this one. Excited to be a Porsche owner but....

I purchased from my cousin and drove the boxster home yesterday. Fairfield CT to Baltimore. When I got home I noticed a fist size oil stain in the driveway within minutes. Noticed the oil was depleted from the dip stick.

I took some video from under the car. Was hoping someone could take a look and give me your thoughts. Plan is to take it into a certified repair shop but want second opinions. Appreciate the help!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B59qJNVJCE9yZTV3a3ZoOFhrTXM/view?usp=drivesdk

Tweedboru · 07-11-2016, 11:43 PM

Hi DCS,
Clean away the dripping oil then drive 5 miles and examine where it is coming from. seems like the leak is where the bellhouse (clutch housing) bolts to the engine block , near the cross support and the 2 security flex steel cables. If so then it is most probably the crankshaft rear main seal (RMS) or less likely the seal at the intermediate shaft bearing cover (IMS) which is 8" below the RMS .
To repair either or both requires the gearbox,clutch and flywheel to be removed to get to and replace the faulty seals.
The RMS is easy and cheap $20 and 30mins (hook out the old and carefully tap in the new.
If the leak is at the IMS then the IMS bearing has probably got play (slack) and if so will need to be replaced or it can wreck your engine, the bearing will be a double row ball race or a single row, can't tell until you remove the cover mounting plate (3 screws)
Not good news but if it is the IMS you are lucky to catch it before major damage
check out..... IMS on Utube good luck
Regards Brian

Smallblock454 · 07-12-2016, 02:02 AM

Hello DCS,

so you have a movable camera that makes funny noises.

I can't really see where the oil is coming from. Everything is in oil. Might be IMSB or RMSB.

So first clean everything up, than drive the car for 50 miles put it on a lift and show us where the oil is coming from. I'm shure then you'll get much more precise answers.

Regards, Markus

Bootlegger · 07-12-2016, 02:54 AM

Difficult to tell. I agree with Markus, clean it up and reshoot. Not sure I would drive it much more until you figure it out. Also, pull the oil filter off and look for metal in the filter. You will lose a bit of oil but you can do that without draining the sump. Repost what you find, this forum is a wealth of information and guidance. Good luck.

FauxDiablo · 07-12-2016, 10:31 AM

Looks like it's coming from the RMS/IMS area...there should be a small weep hole or indentation on the front lower edge of the bell housing where you will see oil trying to escape from that part of the car if it is the RMS/IMS.

What we used to do was clean such areas, get it as dry as possible, and then spray a men's powdered deodorant over the suspected area. This way, migrating oil is VERY easy to trace.