6 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHOil Viscosity and RMS leaks
Reported or suspected cause
design of the original rms
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
From the RMS threads I've read here and elsewhere, my opinion/conclusion is that it was the design of the original RMS that was the problem--nothing to do with oil viscosity.
Replace 02's rms developed a leak at around 25k miles
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My 02's RMS developed a leak at around 25K miles and was replaced along with the IMS end plate with an imroved seal and 3 new micro-encapsulated bolts.
Leading evidence: 'design of the original rms' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'design of the original rms' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace 02's rms developed a leak at around 25k miles' (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.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
There were a few replacement RMS that leaked and this was traced to bad installation.
Replace 02's rms developed a leak at around 25k miles
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My 02's RMS developed a leak at around 25K miles and was replaced along with the IMS end plate with an imroved seal and 3 new micro-encapsulated bolts.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My car, which I purchased pre-owned, had its RMS replaced under warranty at about 10K miles.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
The tech tells me to fix this the camshaft cover needs to come off and be cleaned and resealed but since the leak is not even bad enough to get oil beyond just a dirty smudge we're letting this go.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Replace 02's rms developed a leak at around 25k miles
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My 02's RMS developed a leak at around 25K miles and was replaced along with the IMS end plate with an imroved seal and 3 new micro-encapsulated bolts.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Might mention that early on in many cars just the RMS was replaced but with too many comebacks the problem was determined to be a leaking IMS end plate with its single small o-ring for a seal.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
This last oil change I had 0w-40 used since the dealer price on this oil is a bit less than what I pay for 5w-50 oil at the local Mobil oil distributor.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
in the early days (and still some now) Porsche used a "tool" made to test concentricity - if the two where found to be "out of tolerance" Porsche replaced the motor - the whole F'n MOTOR!!
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
The tech tells me to fix this the camshaft cover needs to come off and be cleaned and resealed but since the leak is not even bad enough to get oil beyond just a dirty smudge we're letting this go.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
My Boxster now has over 260K miles on its original engine and I might mention the front main seal -- the RMS gets all the press but there's a FMS too -- and 235K miles on the replacement RMS and IMS end plate and these are still oil tight even though I run either 0w-40 or 5w-50 (not a typo for 15w-50) oil.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
in the early days (and still some now) Porsche used a "tool" made to test concentricity - if the two where found to be "out of tolerance" Porsche replaced the motor - the whole F'n MOTOR!!
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
design of the original rms
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
From the RMS threads I've read here and elsewhere, my opinion/conclusion is that it was the design of the original RMS that was the problem--nothing to do with oil viscosity.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
Might mention that early on in many cars just the RMS was replaced but with too many comebacks the problem was determined to be a leaking IMS end plate with its single small o-ring for a seal.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
6 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261027T000231Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Guys,
I'm not an engineer and I don't claim to be but I'm wondering if the Porsche recommended Mobil 1 0W-40 oil is what maybe causing RMS issues. I was reading the LN Engineering article on their website and it got me wondering. I live in Florida and it seems that by using a 0W-40 oil that it is probably to thin for this hot climate. My temp hardly ever drops below 0 C/ 32 F. What Oil weight are you running and have you had a RMS leak issue?
yippy !!
NO - the reason they leak is because the crank cradle is drilled and pinned off center to the case/block causing the two surfaces to be non concentric - this "gap" cannot be sealed by a concentric seal - so it leaks
in the early days (and still some now) Porsche used a "tool" made to test concentricity - if the two where found to be "out of tolerance" Porsche replaced the motor - the whole F'n MOTOR!!
now some newer seals have been developed to compensate for the uneven gaps and seal even if they are slightly out of concentric alignment - but they can only do so much - so as stated, the ones that are "too far off" have to be scrapped
now
back to your oil tread already in progress
From the RMS threads I've read here and elsewhere, my opinion/conclusion is that it was the design of the original RMS that was the problem--nothing to do with oil viscosity. Replacing the RMS with latest design appears to cure leaks permanently.
My car, which I purchased pre-owned, had its RMS replaced under warranty at about 10K miles. Car has nearly 55K now with zero RMS leaks since replacement.
FWIW, I've run Mobil 1 0W-40 or 5W-40 in the South Texas heat with zero issues.
+1
FYI, RMS leaks were an issue I first heard about in '97 with the Boxsters before the 996s were even released. The 911s were still air cooled and 0w40 had not been produced yet.
Agree. My 02's RMS developed a leak at around 25K miles and was replaced along with the IMS end plate with an imroved seal and 3 new micro-encapsulated bolts. That work was done back in July of 2002 and here it is Oct 2012 and 235K miles later and the replacement seal and IMS end plate/bolts have remained oil tight since.
Might mention that early on in many cars just the RMS was replaced but with too many comebacks the problem was determined to be a leaking IMS end plate with its single small o-ring for a seal.
So the procedure became replace the IMS end plate with a new 3-ribbed seal and 3 new micro-encapsulated bolts and the RMS.
There were a few replacement RMS that leaked and this was traced to bad installation. One variation of this was when installng the new seal to put it right back where the old one had been thus the new seal was running in a groove worn by the old RMS and would soon be leaking. The 'fix' was to not shove the seal in quite as deep as the original one to avoid putting the new seal at where the oil seal had worn a small groove into the crank jourmal.
Then there are of course just the botched installations. Damage from rough handling or a clumsy installation (even a tiny nick/or cut of a seal lip can be enough, more the enough) and it can leak. Or get a seal started crooked and it deforms the seal slightly and seal lip pressure around the diameter is not the same and a leak ensues.
In a few (very few) cases a leaking replacement seal leak was traced to an out of position crankshaft. To detect these Porsche revised its RMS replacement steps to include a check for this. When my car was in for this the SM hadn't heard of it but called the factory and confirmed it and the tech had to measure this by using hand measuring tools to determine the position was within spec.
This can be hard to get right, or easy to get wrong so soon after Porsche would issue a go/no go gage.
But this gage caused some false positives and some engines were replaced that didn't require replacement thus making the out of crank condition appear more common than it was.
The cure for the false positive was a hole drilled into the go/no gage's housing to let trapped air escape so the gage would not be prevented from sliding over the crank end and into the block bore.
My Boxster now has over 260K miles on its original engine and I might mention the front main seal -- the RMS gets all the press but there's a FMS too -- and 235K miles on the replacement RMS and IMS end plate and these are still oil tight even though I run either 0w-40 or 5w-50 (not a typo for 15w-50) oil. This last oil change I had 0w-40 used since the dealer price on this oil is a bit less than what I pay for 5w-50 oil at the local Mobil oil distributor.
The Boxster gets driven in triple digit temps here in the Livermore area and nary a drop of oil hits the ground and the RMS area is free of any hint of any oil leak.
Now the engine has a slight oil leak -- has had it now for 10K or more miles -- from the driver's side camshaft cover.
The tech tells me to fix this the camshaft cover needs to come off and be cleaned and resealed but since the leak is not even bad enough to get oil beyond just a dirty smudge we're letting this go.
Generally unless the fix cost is small I'll let a leak go until oil hits the ground or gets on other parts of the engine or car.
Sincerely,
Macster.
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