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YOUR RESEARCHHelp, my car is dripping oil!!!
Reported or suspected cause
minor--- pretty common
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
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Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
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Reported cause
I've had much bigger looking messes that turned out to be minor--- pretty common when driving 15-20 year old cars....
Leading evidence: 'minor--- pretty common' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'minor--- pretty common' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check color' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Just temporary coz the pan will be replaced anyway!
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Suggestion
I'd use a paper towel on the oil and check the color.
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Suggestion
For the time being, they replaced the missing screw and cleaned all residual oil traces so we can trace if the problem reoccurs.
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25 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
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Help
, my car is dripping oil. The whole rear underside is stained with oil and I'm seeing oil droplets on the right underside flap. The strangest part though, the oil level as per the computer indicator is NOT dropping. Suggestions??
I'm not sure what the right underside flap is, but snap a couple of pics and post them here. Could be anything at this point from a loose oil filter or drain plug to a RMS failure, hard for us to say without more info. If your car is under warranty, which it should be, you should take it to the dealer and have them fix it, that's what the warranty is for.
It doesn't take much to make a mess - if there was a big enough leak to show up on your measurement, it would be a REAL mess. My guess would be the right-hand side cam tower has a small leak...
brad
Here are some pix I took earlier,
You can see the 2 underside flaps in the second picture, as you can see the one on the right is pretty soaked up and it is the one that the droplets drop from.
The car is indeed under warranty, but because of certain circumstances I'm unable to visit the dealer before next week, that's why I'm asking
I would take the engine cover off, check my power steering level, and take a look in the engine bay with a flashlight. Like K-Man S said it could be a lot of things. I would avoid driving the car until I had a better idea what the problem was. The dealer could say you were negligent to continue driving the car with an oil leak.
Good luck with everything. Keep us informed.
Just remain calm and take it to the dealer next week. Put some cardboard under the car to catch the oil so it doesn't stain your garage floor. Good luck and be thankful for the warranty although this could be a very minor repair.
Thanks a lot. Is the PS level easily checked?
the oil was last changed ~11000 kms ago. Which washer r u talking about though?!
Thank you all very much, I truely appreciate it!
He's talking about the sealing washer on the oil plug bolt.
You could have what appears to be an awfully big leak and not trigger even one bar down on the oil level indicator.
From the looks of things, I'd say it's dead and you need to go get yourself a 2010 PDK CS as a consolation present
Sorry to hear about the leak, but park it and have the dealer look at it next week. I've had much bigger looking messes that turned out to be minor--- pretty common when driving 15-20 year old cars....
IMO that's a small leak, but can't tell where. I would tend to believe it would not show up on the oil meter as your probably looking at a 1/4 cup (if that) of leakage. A few tablespoons of oil blown back down the car will make a bigger mess than you think. The underside looks to be stained and "moist" (small leak), but not wet and dripping all over (big leak).
I'd put cardboard under it each night and see how much it drips,....none or very little I'd keep driving until dealer could take a look (watch oil level), lots of drops or puddle, stop driving and have them come and pick it up if necessary.
That looks more like the tranny pan,.....but its been a while since I've been under my car and I don't have an automatic. And that does look like it is a good candidate for the leak,....and this would be tranny fluid as opposed to engine oil. All speculation though.
My thought as well, I don't have a tiptronic to go look underneath but that looks like the tranny pan to me, not the engine oil pan cover since the engine oil pan cover is a flat piece of aluminum (see the deep sump install article for details)
Yep - it's the transmission/gearbox pan. (I don't have a tiptronic either, but it's not the engine pan and it's under the gearbox - I just looked under mine). I agree with the others, I would park it if you can and take it to the dealer when you can. Pls let us know what they think caused it.
I'd use a paper towel on the oil and check the color. I can't say for sure on our Caymans, but on older Fords you could tell by the red ATF fluid. You'd get nearly the same mess with power steering or transmission leakage on those cars. There is also a distinct smell, once you are used to it. Transmission fluid tends to be less viscous and spreads thinner than an oil leak does.
That said, I've not dealt with ATF on a Porsche. Blotting a paper towel to see the color would probably help those here to figure out what it is.
The Porsche ATF isn't red, it's clear (or at least what's in our Tip). Engine oil leaks can easily spread and accumulate in those same areas (from person experience).
I had a drip a couple weeks ago under the front of my cayman. It was fairly humid but not too hot out. I scratched it up to condensation due to the AC. It stopped when I turned the AC off and didn't reoccur when I turned it back on a few days later. The drip didn't leave any discoloration on my cement garage floor and evaporated.
I'll have them take a peak next time its in just to make sure though.
I can totally relate to your situation, but it is a car and it can be fixed.
Took her to the dealer today. It appears to be a leak from the transmission oil pan. And strangely, we found one missing screw from the bazillion that hold it in place, no one has any idea why this screw is missing, but one theory suggests it might be the cause of the leak. No other info so far.
The guys in the dealer were great, they shot a couple of pix of the problem, said they would replace the whole oil pan under warranty.
For the time being, they replaced the missing screw and cleaned all residual oil traces so we can trace if the problem reoccurs. Just temporary coz the pan will be replaced anyway!
