what does this mean, concern?

Hi ive noticed a damp patch under the engine case , i actually noticed it since the day i got her, about 3 months ago, she is a 1998 3.4 ROW 996 MK1 with 115000kilometres, Engine is Factory as far as i know The Airfilter seems to be non factory, The Headers seem to be also non factory Maybe someone could enlighten me on these parts? History; Has had LM Engineering Update first and second gear replaced reconditioned? i have it somewhere on paperwork , The PO was an elderly concourse judge (better than an old lady as a PO?) and looked after her quite nicely throughout, Ive driven her across country to visit family and she ran well with no problems, the only thing ive noticed is that the Idle speed is low sometimes , around 500 and one day last week she stalled due to very low idle, She doesnt seem to miss otherwise , the engine is very quiet almost completely silent and im new to these motors so i odnt know what to look for, I have experience with older 3.0 engines though. Anyway pls see damp patch , on pic it doesnt seem to be getting bigger , my only thought was maybe when they did the RMS upgrade maybe the nuts werent retorqued after a 1000kays ? but i dont know if that is necessary or not.

I can't tell if that's coolant or oil. It's right below the water pump, so my first guess would be that your water pump bearing is failing and allowing coolant to escape. Remove the serpentine belt and wiggle the water pump pulley. If it has any play, it's time for a new water pump. The low idle may be due to MAF fouling courtesy of the cone filter, which looks fairly clean. Have you re-oiled it recently? I see what looks like fresh rash on the component marked 198 - so if was bottomed out or high-centered, that could be the cause of the leak. You aren't finding anything under the car in the morning? Anyone else recognize the intake? That's the first 40% cold-air, 60% hot-air intake I've seen for the 996...and damn, the compartment looks so much more clean without the smog pump. If the substance is oil, it could be your sump plate seal is compromised and is weeping oil - there are scratches and gouges on the plate...

I would use some brake cleaner to thoroughly clean up the area first and then keep an eye on it everyday to see exactly how where is it sweating. For idle issue, try cleaning the throttle body and the idle control valve first. The aftermarket CAI may also be an issue like Schnell said.

Hi thanks schnell, Ahsai Well the coolant issue possibility you suggest im not sure of because since ive had the car (3000)kays, there has bee no need to add coolant as it is always full i have checked, so i thought it might be oil as i have added 2 litres of oil during this time but i thought that was normal too because my 930 uses that much too. Im stuck on the reoiling term you used, ??? as ive never oiled it, recently however a spider was making its home in the inside edge of my rear spoiler so i hosed it and it fell through the cracks to the engine (i hate spiders) so i blasted the hose into the engine bay through the grills, maybe this could affect rthings? but that would be dry by now im sure, re bottoming out, big possibility on that one as this sits lower than my 930 and i did bottom out on the first day i bought her and gave me a fright since then i havent done it as i know how high things are, but its something to check for sure ... So ill giver her a good clean underneath then watch it for a few miles see if it is leaking from exactly that area, ill post back on that , there are no spots on the ground where i park her, i park her in same place everynight and the ground is still markless. So im thinking that even if it is oil it isnt losing enough when parked to leak on ground but yet im still using a bit of oil regularly, granted it was on a long trip but its hard ot say, Ill clean her first i guess and see then Ill also go through the reciepts see if i can shed some light on the intake, i thought it may have been a popular brand like fapspeed or k and n, but as pointed out its 60 hot 40 cold so this is less than ideal isnt it? should it be 100% cold? might have to mod it if thats the case, or get a factory one perhaps...

I Just remembered, she overheated on me twice last week when temps were in the low 40'celcius, this could suggest waterpump?? is it possible im not losing a lot of coolant because there is only low circulation of the coolant due to faulty pump?

BTW, it could also be just the normal cosmoline protection on the engine. If it can't be removed by brake cleaner easily, it's cosmoline.

What do you mean precisely by "overheated?" RE: oil consumption - some 996's use oil, others don't. RE: The cone filter - that you don't know what I'm asking means you haven't done it. Many of the cone filters (like K&N) are reusable - you wash them to remove particulates. Some of them then require applying the K&N oil to the filter to improve filtration. If you apply too much oil, it can foul the MAF sensor. Since you didn't do this stuff, it's nothing to worry about. Of all the things you've mentioned, the overheating would be the one that would concern me most and warrant investigation immediately...

Clean it off , then check it after a good drive . If it reappears , where does it appear first ? Wipe it with some paper towel, and see if it smell or look like coolant or oil.

You could always give it the taste test....if it's sweet, it's coolant.

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Because the leak fluid isn't removing/washing the dirt/cosmoline away it is probably not oil or some other petroleum fluid but coolant. You have to be careful about checking the coolant level. The coolant tank can develop a stain that is nearly indistinguishable from the appearance of real coolant but of course the real coolant level is quite low. An overheating event or two suggests at least a problem with the cooling system even if the leak proves to be something else. To check the level you need to remove the cap -- with the engine cold! -- and then possibly the screen and visually with a long clean screwdriver determine just where the coolant level is. If it is ok then that's that. If not you can add distilled water to bring the level up to where it should be -- do not overfill -- and get the car to a shop to have this looked into. Because the water pump may be leaking -- unless you confirm by inspection the pump is not the source of the leak fluid -- you do not want to risk a pump failure so my advice is to arrange to have the car flat bedded to the shop of your choice. Be sure you put the cap back on and tighten it down all the way. The cap can require considerable force and many unsuspecting owners may not realize just how much force is required to tighten the cap. No need to put a pipe wrench on the cap -- you can overtighten and break something -- but it can require more muscle than many are used to using on a cap.

^ Or if you're mechanically inclined, order a water pump and get ready to do some wrenching and spend your tow truck money on beer.

HI re overheating, the dash light flashed red, on off on off etc , the temp guage rose to just under the 100celsius mark, normally she sits on 90celsius (Australia),i think 90 celcius is 200 farenheit? i pullled over immediately both times and checked the manual, flashing red light can mean Fan Fault so i checked that with ignition on and that works fine,re coolant level i did not physically check level with screwdriver , but good idea it could be lower than it looks!!, if after cleaning engine base and source turns out to be water pump ill swap that out and replace . ITs good to get onto things with these asap, keeps it major problem free in the long run, I think the major advantage to having watercooled is that the air con works really really well, otherwise theyre arent any, unless you like a Quiet engine not that im complaining as these are sexty cars, But Im glad i still have my 930 to run amok in and terrorize the neighbours with

If it was the temp gauge light flashing on and off every second, that's the low coolant warning. The engine compartment isn't likely to overheat when you're moving, so if you were driving at a decent pace, I'm more inclined to think it was the coolant level warning. 1. Engine coolant level too low -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) 2. Engine compartment temperature too high -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) (engine compartment blower might be faulty) 3. Engine coolant temperature too high -- light is lit; pointer on the right 4. Temperature sensor at water outlet faulty -- light flashes rapidly (1 Hz) ; pointer on the right

My main concern would be the low coolant, like 5CHN3LL said above^^^. Also clean and re-oil that K&N filter, but don't oil it too much. -Jason

Last year I noticed just a slight 'ticking' sound for the first few moments after startup. I posted a video and someone suggested water pump. I took the serpentine belt off and gave it a wiggle and had lots of play. It only took me 10 minutes to take it off, make a video and put it back on. I wasn't having any coolant leaks yet either. Its really worth it to take a few minutes to check this. Heres my thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...any-ideas.html

Taking of the serpentine belt and wiggle the water pump wheel it is one of those rally easy things to do on a 996. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...cing_Belts.htm If the pump impeller goes, the blades shreds to pieces and might get stuck in the narrow paths the coolant runs through. Which in turn might create hotspots leading to bore scoring or cracks. A well worth check, and something I did whenever I was in there.

My car had similar oil stains when I first purchased it, given your car is the Mk 1 model, it could be as simple as the spark plug oil tube O-rings, 2 O-rings per tube IIRC. I cleaned the area, then changed the oil-tubes and O-rings when I put new spark plugs after I got the car, no more oil stains.

Thanks Guys and Gals, its Friday night now so ill have a nap and have a fresh start in the afternoon.. Im sure ill have the problem sorted by tomorrow night, will post back with sympyoms pics to finished pics If yous dont hear before have a nice weekend (Driving in a very enjoyable way!!)

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For sure if i suspect anything wrong with it ill replace it..

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Got it thanks zak UPDATE>>>>I checked the coolant level by physicially putting my finger in tand then tasted it (joking) anyway it may have been 1/2 inch under the full mark While cold, so i put a little in to top it up, So it could be a little Coolant, Sorbolene or and oil.. Tomorrow will tell have a nice weekend all