The begining of the end ...

18 months and I found my first drip :sad: All is lost :damn: Now looking at a nice Honda Accord.

To be honest I'd sell it quick. I won't tell anyone about its poor maintenance plan and general driving abuse. uh: :grin: :friends:

:floor: it's when it's a gush that you have to start worrying! I dumped 8 litres of oil on my driveway recently when the oil filter split and was really worried someone might call Obama

OK, the good news is that the drip was ATF, not RMS/IMS. The drip was clear (not dirty) and actually completely evaporated from the concrete garage floor within a few days. Thanks to an AutoFarm free clinic last weekend, it was discovered the ATF, was if anything overfilled and the plug not tight. They were kind enough to affix a new clip for free to the gearbox cable lever and now reverse snicks in perfectly (previously when warm it took a few wiggles to get it into "R"). LEAKAGE SCORES: RMS/IMS : 1/10 OIL PUMP: 1/10 OIL SEPERATOR: 1/10 DIFF SEALS : 1/10 1/10 is the slighest score (ie "misting"). Apparently nothing to worry about, if and when it gets a new clutch (and the engine dropped), probably worth replacing the seals on these areas. Thanks AutoFarm. :thumbs:

You must be happy bunny :thumbs:

Well along with ideas of a 3.7 X51 putting out 387 PS (for which I would ideally need my engine to go pop to justify) and the clean bill of health, I probably ragged little GT4 the hardest she's had after seeing the good Doctor Bartholomew. :nurse: Hit the rev limiter a few times

FREE clinic!!! WTF!! That's racist - there isn't one of those up norrff! You should still go for the Accord mate - lovely motor. Now, how about £7k for that old blue thing? :bandit:

I'm actually considering one of those new Vauxhall's with the "infinity" warranty. You now, the "infinity" that lasts a lifetime (which is pressuambly less than 100 years of driving a Vauxhall, hopefully a lot less!) or 100,000 miles, whichever is the sooner. I thought it was neverending, but maths was never my strong point. They have bid me £10,815 :thumbs:

Seriously, your car looks superb...and with so few leaks :mrgreen:

Damned with such feint praise, I am honored. :worship:

I honestly dont know why everyone is so bothered abut RMS/IMS for ???? I had both mine replaced and a new clutch put in my C4 for £900, yeah it was a bitch parting with £900 but wasnt the end of the world. Also a slight RMS/IMS drip is nothing to bother about anyway, just top the oil up if needs be, it only becomes a major problem if oil contaminates the clutch.

The issue is not the RMS or IMS per se (in the strict "Seal" meaning of of the "S"), it is the fact an external drip may be from the RMS or IMS and without cracking the engine open (particularly involved with Tip or AWD) it is not possible to know which. The issue with a leaking IMS is that when the lubrication is lost, then the bearings fail and the engine WILL destroy itself. That is far from trivial. Having said all that, the probabilities are minuscule. This is little consolation when you own just one 996/997/Boxster/Cayman - which will either survive or not. I guess the mentality is like that applied to fatal diseases - the overall population probabilities are irrelevant - you either die or don't.

I completely understand all the issues surrounding the RMS/IMS and if i could have been bothered i would have changed the clutch and seals myself. I think that the newer style seals are made from an improved synthetic however they still leak. i just make a point of checking my oil regularly and i shall have the seals changed everytime i have a new clutch. . the point i was trying to make was that for the small amount of money involved in changing the seals its nothing to worry about really, whilst the gearbox is off you may as well get a new clutch at the same time, kill three birds with one stone. People just need to be more like us and check their cars regularly. :thumb:

But their is no dipstick for the intermediate shaft, and even though there is one for the main sump, if you wait until the RMS has breached enough to show on the digital or analogue dipstick, it is probably too late. Bear in mind if the seal fails completely, initially this just means the outer casing will flood, contaminating the clutch, but probably losing little more than the full-scale digital dipstick range (1.5 L). The RMS is not a scheduled maintenance/service part. Because even a new seal may sporadically not mate or align correctly, it is generally advisable only to be changed if the old one leaks. Sometimes this is an original or age/wear based minuscule casting or intrinsic case assembly quirk. Either way, this is Porsche's take on "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". You should be looking for wetting on the engine casing and drips on the floor to determine RMS needs (and even then an independent expert's view is no bad thing). Depending on severity this could be the next clutch, the next service or now! It is dependent on nothing else. The new 997/Cayenne RMS are PTFE (Teflon).

The RMS has only one meaning. Can I just clarify, when you dismiss the "IMS", do you mean only seal or the shaft itself?