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YOUR RESEARCHOil on top of engine
Leading reported evidence
Replace plastic housing twice as well as o-rings
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Yeah and my issue is that I replaced the plastic housing twice as well as o-rings.
Leading evidence: 'Replace plastic housing twice as well as o-rings' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check of those suggestions' (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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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
His belief was that a crossover tube like @tommelton surmised, had leaked once upon a time and had been replaced prior to my ownership.
Replace vacuum canister recently and found oil behind the alternator
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I replaced my vacuum canister recently and found oil behind the alternator.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I will check all of those suggestions when I get back out to the car sometime this week.
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Generation: 20261026T074343Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hello knowledgeable Porsche friends. Today I was replacing the alternator on my 2002 C4S manual. I was fortunate enough to get the alternator out without too much of a struggle, but once out I could see oil pooled on the top of the block in the depressions. It is dirty oil so I am not thinking a cracked oil filler tube. Pictures are attached. Has anyone else encountered this and what might be the source of the oil? While the alternator is out I might as well attend to the source. It has not leaked enough to be noticeable on the dipstick or drip on the garage floor so it would seem small (but maybe not �minor�). Thanks in advance for your comments and advice.
Overview with alternator removed.
Closer view of the pooled oil.
Many thanks again.
The oil cooler bolted on top of the engine has 4 o-rings that could go bad (2 for oil, 2 for coolant).
Check to see if the oil is coming from below the cooler.
from behind the car, it�s towards the front of the engine on the right side. It looks like a small box made out of a stack of metal plates (coin edge looking). There are 4 bolts that hold it down, and a hose connected to the top�..
I just had to replace the orings for the coolant, obviously if you go in, replace all 4 o-rings.
-Eric
Thanks all. I will check all of those suggestions when I get back out to the car sometime this week. I did the AOS on the ground about 6000 miles ago and know what kind of a PITA that can be. The oil cooler doesn�t seem any easier. Might be time for some engine out maintenance. Stay tuned.
That was my initial thought that it was power steering fluid but the power steer reservoir is full to the cold level.
Could there be a break in the oil filler tube below the flexible section? The car is 22 years old on the original filler tube.
When I disassembled my engine I found the oil filler tube bolts loose and the area was oily. There is an oring there to seal things up but it was loose enough to let some amount of oil (mist) out.
Another anecdote to agree with the engine oil filler-tube: I smoke-tested my engine recently and found a little bit of smoke leaking out the o-ring from where my filler-tube meets the block. During replacement of the o-ring, I also noticed a fair bit of oil on the driver�s side of the engine (bank 1).
My bet's on Juan not pouring 100% of the oil into the fill tube on the last change...
Faulty aos would never cause oil pool in that area.
would be weird to have fill tube cause that via crack and unlikely.
Juan is cause
edit- in all seriousness may be ps fluid. Take finger and taste some.
@Pulx30 Not much of an update I’m afraid. The oil was pretty old and thick as if it had been coked and residing there for a long time. I couldn’t find anything loose or obviously in need of repair. So rather than throwing parts at an unknown problem I cleaned it up and reassembled. About 10 weeks later I can report there has been no return visit from any oil in the area. Last week I attended a tech event put on by our local PCA region (shout out to Polar region) and explained the problem to our local master tech. I pointed out the area to him on an engine core on the stand. His belief was that a crossover tube like @tommelton surmised, had leaked once upon a time and had been replaced prior to my ownership. So, without much more to go on I am subscribing to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of thought. If it leaks again I have at least had some more time to save up for the pros to fix it. Cheers and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving from up north.
Thanks for the update. I'm thinking something similar is happening to mine. The oil was also sticky like it had been there for a while. I'm going to monitor it.
Oil cooler, AOS would be the only two things that could leak that much oil on top. Otherwise it's PS fluid, which turns brown after getting contaminated with dirt and air. This is what it looks like as a fresh leak:
Power steering fluid ruining my beautiful engine.
Yeah and my issue is that I replaced the plastic housing twice as well as o-rings. Still leaks. Gonna try to smoke test it and/or pressure test the pump itself. It's a major PITA and leaked all over my newly build engine.
I hear you. my indy had the engine out 2 years ago with refreshing a boatload of parts and i didnt think to replace the power steering lines. A year after i sprung a leak. Would have been cheaper to do it WIIT. Hah! Enjoy your videos btw.
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