Head gasket on a 2.5L?

[YellowJacket]

Well, I had a few drops of oil on the garage floor (looks like it's about a drop per 24 hours of being parked there). I suspected RMS, took the car in today, and was told that it's actually the head gasket. He said that if I chose to have it replaced, it would be a 26 hour, $3200 job, but that he would not have it replaced. He said it is not likely to get worse ever, and is a known design flaw w/ the Boxster. He said he sees tons of them like this, and that almost all owners just let them leak.

Have any of you heard of this? Why, with all the RMS discussions, does this never come up if it's so common?

Also, would you all agree that it "won't get worse"? If it's going to be a problem, I'd rather get rid of the car now while I still can get something for it!! On the other hand, if it takes 5 years before it's a real problem, I'll have gotten more than my money's worth out of the car and would have no problem at all convincing the wife to let me drop $10-15k (or whatever it is) on a 3.4L conversion when it dies. :-)

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Actually, nobody can truly say. Leaks almost never stop leaking, and only a few don't get worse with time. How much time? Again, no one can say definitively. Live with it so long as you can.

But, the head gasket not only seals the Oil passages, it also seals the water jackets surrounding the cylinders. So, the thing to be watchful for are drops in Coolant Level and keep an eye on the dipstick for signs of a mayonaise-like emulsion which would mean you're getting Coolant into the Oil supply. If this happens, you'll need to address it right away.

The one thing one can say however is that unless the car is going to the crusher, someone is eventually going to have to change the headgasket. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but sometime. I'm sure you wouldn't sell it without making this issue known to a potential buyer right?

I'd start saving for the 3.4L now and hope you get there before the HG does require attention. Also, avoid using any of the so-called Sealers out there in an attempt to correct the problem - there is no quick-fix for a headgasket except replacement. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

PS Headgasket issues with these cars are not common at all. The Cam Cover gaskets though do leak frequently...

[YellowJacket]

Oh, good -- you read the implicit "Jim: please help me!" at the beginning of my post!

That is exactly the type of information I was looking for --
-confirmation of what the future holds (not as good as I hoped, actually),
-how to tell if things are really going downhill (coolant level and emulsion),
-info on whether this is common or not, and,
-a free unsolicited ethics check (yes, I would disclose it, but I'd rather disclose a slow drip than a $4/week Mobil1 addiction!).

Thanks!

[Sammy]

I would really take a close look to see where the leak is coming from. A cam cover gasket leak should be much less expensive to repair and is in the same vicinity on the car.

[RandallNeighbour]

Cam cover gasket leaks are also very common in our cars. I have a tiny one and I'm just keeping an eye on it vs. fixing it.