Sudden RMS leaking/weeping ... I think.. :(

I have an '04 with the x51 package and approximately 47k. I took the car out last Monday for a pretty spirited drive. Drove like a champ. Got home and put her in the garage. The car has been sitting since yesterday. Well yesterday needed to do some work in the garage, so I backed the car out for some more room. Oil spots on the floor! I looked under the car, and it looks like there's a very slow drip. I put a piece of cardboard under the car after I moved it. Had 1 drop of oil fall down pretty quickly after moving it out. After that nothing for the next 4-5hours of the car sitting. I assume this is the RMS leaking. I haven't had a chance to get an up and personal look. Oil levels is fine per (if anything 1-tick above the high line) the electronic measurement (haven't had a chance to check the dipstick yet) Just strange that the RMS (i'm making an assumption here) started to leak/weep all of a sudden after a nice hard drive. Would getting on the car like that cause this (bought the car 1k miles ago - no service records so I'm not sure if the RMS was ever replaced)? Does anyone have any pictures of what an RMS leak looks like from under the car? (where would the drips come from? I searched and couldn't fine anything) I assume it's safe to continue to drive the car like this as long as I can tolerate the minor dripping? Thanks! EDIT: added pix of initial leak on garage floor

Probably your air oil separator. More of a PITA to replace than expensive.

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Hmm, off to researching AOS now then! Based on the (little) knowledge I have about the AOS, would that cause a weep/leak? I thought the AOS would cause the exhaust to smoke and scare me into thinking the car was burning oil? So is there a danger in driving the car with either a damaged AOS or RMS? (What are the long and short term side effects?)

I don't think I would be driving until I had the leak rectified. Best you find the source and then have it repaired or diy if possible before you even think of moving it again. Thats IMHO. Better safe than sorry.

Take a pic of underneath the car to pinpoint (hopefully) where the leak is. A spot on the floor really doesnt do anything. Dont jump to rms or whatever because theres a spot on the floor.

Put a large piece of cardboard under the rear of your Porsche so you can pinpoint where the oil is leaking ie. center of engine where the transmission mates with the engine, or left or right side of engine where other leaks may occur. That way you ought to be able to identify the leak. Lots of reasons for leaks, some not as serious as others.

Wipe the underside of you car clean first. Then follow new leaks and post pics. It can be anything from your spark plug tubes leaking to XXX...

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Do the MY04s have spark plug tubes Chao?

No tubes in 02+

Don't jump to conclusions.. could be the IMS... Damn I've been gone for a while!!

Pewx3, Hope this helps. Look at lowest point where engine/trans meet for RMS/IMSB leak. You may have to clean first then watch. The good news, it may be a chance to replace both and do the clutch if you have not.

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WTH?! I'd rather it was an RMS than the IMS! I thought if the IMS goes, there's not tell tale signs (unless you have a Guardian) and it just blows up! I haven't had a chance to look/clean the leak yet. Hopefully towards the end of this week. I need to clean it and get my bearings on where it's coming from. I'd prefer not to replace the clutch until it needs it. Then at that point I'd do the IMS as well. I read a couple of other threads and someone actually had their leak stop after driving the car everyday! Given all the choices, I'm hoping it's a SLOW rms. Then I can just leave it until the clutch goes.

Pewx3, not to alarm you but if either one is leaking your best to do all three things while in there.

I suggest driving it my 996 used to drop a few drips once in a while...but driving it would "seal" it back up and it wouldn't drip either that or it will get worse and be easier to find.....wipe the floor clean and if it becomes a daily habit of dripping - go in and fix the drip....you might be surprised to find it only drips 1-2 days out of a month and isnt a emergency just a thought PS I never did fix my RMS but did change the AOS and cam solenoid seals and a few other small items - but the rms weeped for sure...just not much, and not everyday

An RMS leak could just a easily be an IMS leak, mine was. No way to tell without opening it up.

Fix it. RMS leaks are part of life with a 986/996 series car. They are not usually serious, but need to be dealt with. The more up to date seals are much more effective. The leak is most likely not IMS related... but why not install an upgraded bearing while you are there, an extra $500 or so? And no whining about the cost. This is a Porsche. They are occasionally expensive to maintain. That is part of the fun

SELL IT Before it blows!!!

KABOOM!! Too late.

God forbid, DONT drive it. Are you crazy? You could destroy a 20K engine. Relax, pinpoint the leak as all have suggested. Keep a watchful eye on it. Have you seen anything in the oil filter? If not, maybe its just the RMS. It will give you a chance to have some fun repairing your car or the horror of being r@ped by your dealer or an indy. Either way, its part of the Porsche experience!

All these fricken comedians on this forum. Ask a question and get stupid comments. If you're going to jump in the thread and be an idiot, then don't comment. For the "veterans" that tell people to "search," why do you bother coming in to post and comment? You're just bumping the thread up. I'm just trying to learn more about the car. Telling me the car is going to blow-up is funny maybe the first time. But I think it's been said 50million times in regards to the m96 motor already. That's why there's the stigma attached to the motor. If you want to be a comedian, join the circuit or hop into the OT section.

now I feel all bad and stuff - OH WAIT - I actually DIDN'T post crap on this thread --- sorry it's not my style, confused myself all you Kaboomer's should go give yurselves wedgies!

OK, to clarify. JOKE!!! SERIOUS!!! Have you done any of the suggested things and raised the car to look for the leak? The picture shows where to look. Post some photos of what you see under your car.

Ed, yes you did. These comments could be alarming and upsetting to some.

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I know I need to get off my butt (or spend less time at work) and take a closer look at where the weep is coming from. I wasn't directing my previous post towards you. But rather to the folks that come in, say "bomb" and that's it. Not helping anyone really. If anything any future newbies that check out the forums will only see "bomb." Way to spread positive information. Honestly, I like oil threads more than threads with all the negative nancys commenting.

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Nice way to introduce yourself and this certainly isnt' the first time it's happened as this is the kind of culture that exists on Rennlist. So lighten up and learn to take the jokes with the serious posts. You get the good with the bad sometimes. As stated by someone else that was "helpful" take a pic of your underside of your car. It would be impossible to just tell by posting oil on some cardboard. There are quite a few areas where leaks can occur. BTW, if you're trying to learn, searching is the best form of education that I've found and you don't even have to deal with any idiotic posts as well. I highly recommend it for basic or common issues. If you want to be spoon fed, there are also a good amount of angels here that will help you out as well no matter how common or obvious something may appear. Welcome

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ED gawd darn it - get the name right - it's ED just search for "most likely to buy GT2 parts for a NB 996" - the interwebs light up like a Christmas tree!!

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Wait, so now I have to bow down to you because you've been on the list longer than me? I kind of question your total posts count, how many were just "bomb" type remarks. I can take jokes, but it's tiring to see the same responses of "bomb" every time when that's simply not the answer. I am trying to learn. I did search, the problem is that anytime you search for IMS or RMS, everything is "bomb." Just like this thread will someday be when someone else tries to do a search. But I digress, as I'm just further adding nothing to this thread. Next post from me in this thread will be more information about my weep, which hopefully will be tomorrow.

That's all I can do about people that get their panties in a bunch so easily.

OMG! We 996 guys are suddenly sensitive to IMSB?

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Dude, this is the Internet. Are you surprised that there are stupid and annoying comments? Rennlist is not some sacred ground where only the good and virtuous posters lurk. There are fools and monsters in these woods too. Get over it. But reading through the comments I see plenty of very good, sound advice amidst the nonsense. I think you got your money's worth so far (that is a hint to join Rennlist, in case you missed it). Hope your problem turns out to be just a simple, run-of-the-mill RMS leak. No way to really know without taking it apart. Of course it could be all sorts of other stuff leaking too... It is a Porsche after all. I was once at a dealer tech session where we put a brand new Cayman on the rack and it had an oil leak. The tech joked this was 'factory exterior rustproofing.'

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HA- THE NERVE! old schoolers say if its not leaking oil, add oil - you're out!

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Great advice! My RMS tends to "weep" when the car sits for a while. Driving it cures it!

I am new to Rennlist and recently bought an 04 996 with 26k miles. I had done my research and decided to buy the IMS Guardian. When I received it I noticed two things that made me decide to return it. One, the plug does not sit flush with the pan and ANY debris on the road could potentially knock it off and the rest is history. Two, my mechanic warned me that it will buzz incessantly so you will never really know if you are in trouble. Has anybody installed it and had a pleasant experience?

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I would suggest you start a new thread on this.

This loss of oil is generally the only symptom that an engine gives before IMSB failure. Considering this is an 04 and an X51 the equation doesn't sound promising. We always assume the worst and quantify everything; jumping to conclusions can save a ton of money. If you always expect the worst it's pretty easy to be relieved if its a false alarm.

Okay, finally was able to take some pictures. Not the best since I didn't have a jack handy (wasn't going to use the spare tire jack with my head under the car trying to take pictures). Based on posts #8 and #14 from this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...your-help.html I'm assuming I have an RMS leak. Here are some pictures for you guys to chime in on.

The good sign is that oil is clean.. Usually oil dumping from the IMS is nasty and black as it has been trapped there for a long time. Pull it apart an it might only be te RMS, but do the IMS while you are there.

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The original plan was to wait for the clutch to go and do the IMS at the same time. Maybe I'll try to teach my wife how to drive stick (again ) and have her burn up the clutch some so I don't feel as bad when I have the RMS, IMS, and clutch replaced. Though she could potentially glaze the flywheel which would cost more money. Actually looking at the pictures closer, perhaps there was a slow weep going on already. The area looks a bit dirty/crusty.

Listen to Jake, pew. He kinda knows his stuff...

If it looks a bit crusty this may be further along than you think, whether its RMS or IMS. Cut that bearing apart when it comes out and post what you find.

Pew, thats obviously been leaking for awhile. Go ahead and pull the trans then post some more pics. Please?

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Do you guys receive daily or weekly talking points from JR??? Hint: Put the memos into your own words...at least make it seem genuine.

^^Someone needs to get a life ^^

DC is pretty brutal sometimes but I think hes joking.

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WOW, a bit sensitive aren't we...what's up with the personal attack bull$hit??? I love keyboard warriors. Apparently, someone needs to learn to take a joke.

quite the difference between this and krazy's under... https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...errerid=116195

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+1 I'd probably go Krazy myself if I spent that much time cleaning my undercarriage. Note to the comically challenged among us: This is my lame a$$ attempt at a joke...

Clean under motor,first make sure,if so do ims,rms,aos ,at the same time

I think he lost interest or it blew up.

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Either that or he's gonna wipe it off and sell it to Carmax.

Just been busy. Going to have the car towed to a shop and do the clutch, RMS, and IMS. Hopefully I can get that ball rolling this week! We'll see what the doctor says. Also was considering the IMS Solution, but it looks like it will be awhile before there are qualified shops allowed to install it.

Update! Car came back with a clean bill of health. The shop did the following: -RMS replacement -LN IMS replacement -Clutch Some other misc. things as well. The clutch looked to have about 40% life left on it. The clutch engagement is now lower and makes it easier to drive. The RMS (per the shop) looked to be the original RMS. So it was having a slow leak/weep. The culprit of my concerns. The original IMS looked to be in good shape. No play in at all. I'll snap some pictures later and post them up. (What's amazing is the amount of OEM IMS bearings that was on the desk that customers had swapped out.) The oil filter was checked, and no metal was seen in there by the mechanic. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Please cut that bearing apart, you cannot judge these bearings without doing so. Also, all those bearings should not be on his desk they should be logged into the LN system because without doing so the owners of those cars that have been retrofitted have zero warranty. Glad to see this one end on a positive note, you did the right thing.

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Just curious what that warranty might be because I couldn't find it on your site. Actually I found a statement saying there isn't a warranty... I can see why you want to get the original bearing back for research but I don't see the benefit to the purchaser. Am I missing something?

You have my company confused with LN Engineering who provides the bearings. I developed te procedures for retrofit and the tools. We also carry out retrofits but we do not sell bearings. We do not offer a warranty, but LN does. The info is on the LN site and is included with your bearing kit. We don't sell very much, we create things and that's all I care about :-)

And, Im glad you got it fixed but I feel like we were robbed without more pics.

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When you say "cut the bearing apart" are you saying to remove the "seal" from the bearing? If so, what's the recommended way to do this?

No, cut the bearing apart physically. Like this one that was worn at 14K miles but had not began to spall yet. The wear had to be measured at this stage but it still existed. Leaving the bearing together keeps oil inside the clearances and makes the bearing feel good.. Wash the oil out with solvent and a big difference occurs, cut it apart and then you really see the effects.

Took some quick pictures of my bearing. One thing I noticed is that it's made in Poland! Based on another thread I read, that's the "made in ..." location for the bearing which you don't want! So even more of the percentages were against me even more. (would have pref'd a Japan or German one based on the other thread) Here are some pictures. Not quite sure how to cut the bearing open as I don't have a bandsaw or anything like that. Here are some pictures:

If you dont want to cut it open, just pry the seals off so we can look inside, please!