Another "guess this leak"

Before I get the car off the ground to look into this, thought I'd see what you folks think. Is it the hose that's wet that is leaking, or something from above leaking down onto it? This is at the end of the engine toward the front of the car. Sorry for the crappy picture. -Mike

Can't tell by the picture. Is this a coolant, power steering, or oil leak you have? Is it leaving a spot on the floor? You could do a good clean up under the area. The process of cleaning alone might reveal what is leaking. If not, reinspect in a day or so and it will be easier to find the source.

I'm seeing oil on the side of the engine above the darker colored tube. Is that what you're referring to? The bolt in upper right center of the picture looks wet in particular.

If that's your leak, then it may not be worth investigating. My tolerance of "leaks" ends when it leaves a couple of drops on my driveway. Otherwise, it's just normal wear and tear. In that particular area of your picture is where you should see a rear main seal leak. But again, if it's not puddling, it's not ready to be addressed.

Thanks for the responses. Nothing is dripping or getting to the garage floor. I took it for a drive the other day, and when I got out of the car in the garage I detected the slight smell of what I think is coolant, which prompted me to start looking around. Coolant tank level is at the "Min" mark when cold. Maybe I'll get it a little cleaner underneath there and watch to see what returns.

The aos coolant nipples r known to fail. Also on the other head there is a coolant cover with a gasket that leaks.

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Thanks for the additional info. I've been trying to find a good visual guide for all the hoses, etc. around the engine, but haven't found anything suitable yet. The diagrams on autoatlanta are pretty good, but the ones for the coolant hoses have essentially no references with respect to where they are on the vehicle.

I'm having a similar/same issue as you. I originally thought this was a leaking water pump but the WP is further in the front of the engine towards the engine cover. Any further thoughts before I take it for an inspection? My car's been sitting for 5-6 months (winter) and noticed a couple of droplets.

If its pass side it can also be the oil cooler o-rings. Here u can see the aos ti the right, oil cooler to the left and the coolant cover at the 7-8o'clock position just outside the bellhousing mounts.

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Does your car have green coolant in it? Is that what the two drops in the pic are?

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I noticed that too! I recognized it because I drained a bunch of the green stuff out of my 996. Either way I�d stick a camera up by the AOS to see if it�s leaking.

Yes, green coolant. AOS was done ~5k km ago. Might be because it's been sitting over the winter and developed a sweat. Will check on the AOS again though. Thank you! Sorry not to hi jack the thread but maybe OP and I should check on AOS as a start.

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No worries on jumping into the conversation The more info we share, the better. Yeah, maybe I should look at the AOS. I'm also worried it might be the RMS. I'll get it lifted and start poking around.

I'd flush that coolant out as well. It needs to be G40 to prevent it from eating your aluminum radiators.

Rear Main Seal (RMS) is an inexpensive seal that will cost you under $20. It likes to leak if your car sits for extensive periods of time. An RMS leak isn't a big deal. Vast majority leak. The IMSB is a big deal because if the bearing fails, you have a major engine problem. See major engine failure points below. As De Jeeper pointed out, the Oil cooler is known to leak at the seals. The cooler is a durable part, the seals will eventually go after 20 years and drip/sweat a bit. I am paying attention to mine at this point as well, of which I will replace the oil cooler and seals, not to mention I may group a few other major items together such as RMS, IMSB, UAOS, check the clutch and flywheel. Big engine failure points you need to pay attention too and therefore need to replace are the following in no particular order but all should be done: 1. Water Pump - replace with OE 2. IMSB - replace with LN Engineering Solution or Retro-Kit 3. AOS - replace with UAOS Items that will become brittle over time that you will eventually need to replace: 1. Water tank 2. Radiator cap 3. All rubber and plastic hoses and bits in the engine bay. Items that you should replace more often than service schedule dictates for your car to run efficiently and eliminate CELs that pop up: 1. Ignition coils 2. Spark plugs 3. Fuel injectors 4. Oxy sensors 5. MAF Pay attention to Porsche maintenance schedule for replacement parts and follow it. Just do it sooner than they tell you. Change your oil at least 2x a year and test it to see what's floating around in it. Do NOT follow Porsche's 15k oil change schedule. It's the quickest way to bore scoring if you follow it. Old oil is bad oil. Bottom Line is that the 996 is a classic porsche that is over 20 years old. This means that over time you will need to replace parts. Yes, it can be expensive if you do it all at once, but you can set up a rotational schedule that groups parts together in common locations and procedures that can help to contain costs. Enjoy your car. It's awesome.

UPDATE : I cleaned up that area on the bottom of the engine and then went for several long drives. So far, I don't see any new leakage. Guess I'll keep an eye on it. I did notice it looks like I have a couple of spark plug tubes leaking. Guess I'll get those taken care of, and change the plugs while I'm at it, since it was on my list to do at some point in the near future.

Update: I took my car in for water pump replacement service as planned. New water pump was put in, new thermostat and new (correct) coolant. The leak was coming from the top new the oil cooler. It's a rectangular looking part near the intake manifold and it's leaking by the gasket and trickling down. That was replaced as well so it's leak-free now.