New 996 owner concerns. Oil Leak

1998 Carerra Tiptronic S 106k Good morning all, Some time ago I realised that 996 prices may not go any lower and if I ever wanted to fulfill the dream, now was the time. I bought a 98 996 Carrera Tiptronic S. I am fully aware of the IMS/RMS issues on these engines, but took the view that at 106K and 18 years old, any issues would likely have been addressed by now. 6 Month warranty also helped to ease any anxiety. Car is great fun, but needs a bit of work to get it to the point where I am satisfied. Rattling heat shield needs addressed. Comedy horn application under braking & over bumps, a self emptying washer bottle etc. Nothing serious and the car is going into the main dealership for a full service, gearbox flush and a couple of bits. At least 1.1K of work required that we know about, but well worth it to maintain this car. However, I have just noticed a number of oil stains on the driveway. Predominantly on the drivers side below the engine. Not big pools, but a couple of spots over a three week period. I do not have a ramp, so inspection is limited to inserting my head underneath and having a look. There is some oil caked unto a flat component with a drain nut. Not sure if this is the sump or the gearbox oil cooler as I am completely new to these engines and not much of a mechanic. Certainly, when driven hard, you can smell cooked oil when you exit. No issue with oil pressure, exhaust runs pretty clear without so much of a hint of smoke and the level seems to be pretty static over 500 miles. I bought this car rather than a newer one as the price allowed me to set aside 3k in the first year for maintenance. If I had bought newer, I would have to skimp on the maintenance budget, but I preferred an older well maintained 996 to a newer one that I would struggle to cover big bills on. Also, if no big issues, I can start getting the car back to perfect, rather than acceptable. TBH, I am not overly concerned as the car drives and sounds fantastic and it is not a great volume of leakage. Can anyone advise on likely cause? As stated, I have a reasonable, although not unlimited budget and if I can get an idea, I may decide to sell the 19" BBS lobster claws that came with the car before I put the 17" twists on to add to the 1st year budget. Thanks, Spark

For my 996, it was the RMS causing the oil leak. Porsche in Atlanta replaced the RMS twice. The one that's on my car now is suppose to be "the fix" in their words. It hasn't leaked yet. (knock on wood)

Rattling heat shields and leaking washer bottles are common 996 issues. The oil leak could be any number of things, but I suspect the RMS. Best to get it up on a lift for a good eyeball inspection. BTW, sometime ago, I regressed from 18" wheels to OEM 17" wheels (bought used from a local P-car guy), and I consider that change a wise choice; i.e., better ride, cheaper tire prices, greater resistance to pot hole damage, and no discernible sacrifices. Full disclosure: I do not track my 996, its primarily a "fair weather" ride. relinuca '09 996 cabrio w/hardtop 82K miles Porsches Forever

I'm thinking spark plug tubes. Do a search here and you will find it is common on the early 996's. One comment though...I don't believe there was a Carrera S 996. Post some pics!

relinuca, TBH I kinda suspect the RMS as its the one aspect of the engine that I know about. If it is, it will be done, question is will the warranty pay for it ......? Porsche main dealer asked if I would like to see under the car before service starts, so will take them up on that. The difference between the 19" and 17" was a revelation, felt like a totally different, sorted car. b3freak, thanks, its going to the main dealership on Tuesday. I know they are expensive, but a main dealer history is always good, the coffee is good and there are plenty of historic models to look at while you wait!! Sneaky Pete, hadn't considered that, will do a search. BTW, you are of course right about the S. According to the log book etc, it is Porsche Carrera Tiptronic S. (this caused some consternation while buying new wheels!). Apparently in this case, as the S comes after Tiptronic and not Carrera, it just refers to the fact that it has a tiptronic box, rather than a wide body. No good photos as yet as I have been concentrating in getting purple?!? tint off the windows (tint off, glue being stubborn) and getting off the 19" BBS lobster claws, which are nice wheels, but to big for this car and currently shod with brand new snow tyres!?! Despite being sold in June. Anyway, thanks for all the hints, time to x my fingers and hope its the cheap fix... Thanks Spark

Welcome and good luck with your new 996. I wouldn't worry about a bit of smell after a hard drive, that's pretty normal. Post pics soon.

Thanks Triple. Have posted a low res photo for my avatar, once I get the rest of the tint glue off the windows, get the new rears on I will do a photo shoot. If only to remind myself in my dotage that I once had a version of the car I dreamed about as a kid.. Still have my hotwheels 911 in metallic bronze from my childhood!

Well, the good news is that the obvious leak from the car is just the air con......., quote about �600 to replace o-ring and pressure line. Its just had a full service and gearbox fluid flush at OPC (�1.1k).....They threw in a full car check for free (at �156 p/h for labour..... thats nice of them) The bad news: Required work Oil bank 1 tensioner chain seal leaking. Oil misting around cam cover. wishbone covers and bushes (safety item, they want this replaced before I pick up the car, quoting �2.5k). new heat shields required as they have corroded off the fixings. new Oil sump cover due to corrosion. rear struts corroded. Suspension components and front d rings heavily corroded. Anti roll bar bushes need replaced. Exhaust system corroded and new mounts required. Drivers seat leather detaching from the base. Driver side air vent busted up. Oh & they also recommend a 4 wheel alignment! It would seem the previous owner who put the 19 " BBS with snow tyres on did so to drive the car through salt and grit for several years to get it into this state!! Independent specialist is looking good right now as labour is 50% of OPC. I am inclined to get the car up to spec, but looks I will be spending �5/6k to do so on a car thats worth maybe �11k tops (and then the b pillars need attention) Just goes to show, the cheaper the Porsche, the more expensive it will be. Part of me says run away!! The other part of me says invest the money and drive the thing safe in the knowledge that at the end of it, you have a 996 whereby you know everything is tickety boo. Am I insane for considering getting it back to OPC standards? I suspect values will increase in the next three years, but theres no way I am getting the �'s back for it and I would not sell it in current condition, as I have no ability to lie to potential buyers... Can anyone console me. I have considered this may be the last car I ever buy, should last forever(ish) if I maintain it, so from that perspective is it worth the investment?

OPC have dropped their labour costs to �80 p/h, so saving roughly half on the hours needed. Sod it, I will get this car perfect if it bankrupts me. Too much fun/kudos/mojo to be had to sell it off at this point! Will be making friends with the specialist up the road though...... AT least I know exactly what is wrong with it and little of it is engine related.....

A few years back I asked Squire Tomasi to do a PPI on a car. He called me after about 30 minutes and reported extensive corrosion, saying "every operation on this car will be more difficult and expensive - do not buy it". He didn't charge me for the inspection and I learned a valuable lesson. My advice is to cut your losses and dispose of the vehicle.

sounds like the car lived by the humid salt air(ocean) or saw heavily salted roads. this is why west coast cars are much more desirable

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The difference should be easily ascertained - if protected connections like wiring terminals in the frunk are corroded, this issue will will never subside. Never.

Guys thanks for all the updates. Here is the result. The car was inspected by OPC. I was given a list that would make your eyes burn. So far it has had, New wishbones front and rear. New Anti roll bar and bushes. New Drop links. New Air Oil Separator New AFM Full Porsche Service Full gearbox service New LHS radiator New Transmission Fluid Oil Pan. Air lines renewed and air con serviced. New timing chain tensioner seal & about a gazillion quids worth of Meguires and autoglym aqua. The car has been reinspected by a specialist in Bristol. When I asked what else would need doing he smiled and said drive it and enjoy it, that is all thats left to do. Admittedly the exhausts have seen better days, but there is no hurry on that. Its going for 4 wheel alignment this weekend. It feels and drives like a totally different car. Honestly, I have driven new cars that didn't feel as tight and as planted as this one. With every pound spent the car has become more sublime. Latest inspection reveals exhausts will need done at some point, but as stated no rush. Everything else is sorted and I am truly in love with the car again. Yes it has cost a bit. I did get the car pretty cheap, but even at that I have more in it than top book price. Net result is I don't care. I am keeping the car from here on as I have a sorted 911 & it is unlikely to ever be in sale again. I might buy a winter hack if the weather looks bad, but otherwise 911 gets cleaned and polished every time it is used (hard to stay on top of a metallic black Porsche in terms of dirt) and I have cleared enough space in the garage to park it inside with my Vespa! Thanks for all your assistance and encouragement. It has taken a while, but I now have a 911 with a clean bill of health and a very sore face from smiling so much when I drive it. It seems you can turn these cars around if you have the time and really big pockets...... Spark 1998 996 Carrera 2 Tiptronic S (Basalt Black Metallic) 1997 Vespa T5 Classic (Lancia Delta Yellow, although considering a repaint to match the 996..)

Is the S in 'Tiptronic S' not only used from the 996 Turbo onwards? So basically 996 Turbo and 996 mk2 cars and onwards. I always thought the S indicated the tiptronic transmissions which have the 250 different gearing maps instead of the 5 maps the 996 mk1 have.

Hi Silk, good question... every time I mention the car, someone who is familiar with 996s asks this! The guy I bought the turbo twists off initially refused to sell them to me as he said they would not fit w/o spacers as it was a wide body. Yes it is a Porsche 996 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic S. This refers to the gearbox, not the the body. (It is not a wide body) From the RAC site "The 996 series was launched in the UK in October 1997, with two variants being available, the 3.4-litre Carrera 2 (for two wheel drive) coupe manual and a Tiptronic S semi-automatic version with steering wheel gear shifting buttons." ( http://www.rac.co.uk/drive/car-revie...he/911/207691/ ) Hope this helps....

If you read my reply you could see It was not referring to body style features of the different 996 models but to the automatic gearbox used and more specific the naming of it. It was just a question to get some info when the Tiptronic S naming was introduced. So indeed it was with the introduction of the 996. So basically the Tiptronic S has the buttons on the steering wheel compared to the 'regular' Tiptronic What's in a name ...

gl with your updates to the 996. An honest comment I've read: All 911s are $30k USD cars, pay now or later is the saying Nice thing about your position is there are several others justifying 'financially irrational' decisions and simply enjoying the car. I've put money into mine on mechanical refreshing and am redoing much of the interior to my personal liking - removing easily worn parts with pieces that have a more durable finish. The end result is MY 911 and I never really thought I'd own a sports car that is this composed at speed and under Gs in the corners. Cheers & good luck bringing it up to the condition of your liking!

Well, you've fixed damn near everything you can fix; whoever told you to just drive it and enjoy it was spot on.

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This ^^^^.

brianbbs67/5CHN3LL Thats exactly what I intend to do. I can almost feel every � spent on it, it is sublime. Top Advice... TonyTwoBags Nailed it dude! 'Financially irrational' is where I am at with this car. It has really got under my skin, but as you said, 'My 911, the car I never thought I would own' and I am proceeding as such. Its nice to see that I am not the only one that 'gets' it..... Thanks for the encouragement guys, really appreciated.....