New owner, oil found on garage floor. Worry?

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How much oil and where is it located? Check to see if you can find the location of the leak. Could be numerous things. Have a dealer check it.

I'd say it's worth a trip to the dealer. You are under warranty so good news or bad.......it won't cost you anything. Whatever it is no one on this board is going to give a definative answer like a mechanic putting some eyes and experience on the problem. Good luck!!

Take the car to the dealer, it could be an RMS issue and possibly get worse.

Ok, just went out to the garage and took a peak under the car. Not too much oil

If the oil on the engine is in the center of the engine, about where the crossover member is, that is either a RMS or IMS leak. Just take it to your dealer for warranty. If it is the RMS, there is a 4th generation seal that is supposed to be the "one" that fixes this age old problem. Don't worry, just enjoy the car.

The new seals have been in use since around August. Its still a bit too early to know if the new seal is up to the task.

My guess is an RMS. Take it to the dealer and have them replace it again. My 2002 is currently parked at the dealership having the same thing done for the second time. First one was at 9,400 miles in 2003. This one was barely a weep, but figured since my warranty ends next week, might as well get it done with their latest and greatest so called fix. Get it done and forget about it. Go out and enjoy the car. What's a little oil on the floor anyways? You can always put a piece of cardboard under it to keep the floor clean. I am also curious as to what you mean by the car is thristy for oil? My car is burning about 1 qt every 600 miles when driven hard. On a trip, it does about a quart every 1000 miles. Porsche thinks it has something to do with the oil separator and they are going to replace it under warranty. I think that is probably more BS from Porsche since I don't see any smoke at start up or while driving. Good Luck, and by all means quit worrying! Drive the **** out of the thing and enjoy it! Tom L 2002 C2 RMS PIG

It's obvious the dealer that did the RMS job and PPI didn't do jack crap about it. I'd not go this dealer again. The RMS job is not hard but it does require a good tech to do it right. Not a job to be sloppy. Whoever supposely did the PPI definitely BS you. You should never get the PPI done by the selling dealer.

What is special about the 996 RMS seal replacement? I've done a few RMS replacements on the older air-cooled engines and I've looked at an RMS from the water-cooled 996 but I've never replaced one. An untrained monkey could replace the air-cooled (and 996GT3) RMS. Am I missing something obvious with the 996? (I don't have the workshop manuals so its more than likely but...)

The new seal works!! I had mine done in Aug,the forth one I might add. Your car sounds like its loosing allot more oil then a RMS leak. It could be something they did during the PPI .Get it do the dealer and enjoy the car. I think the new seal is working better because of the combination of a new seal and a new tool to install

It sounds like your leak is at the front of the engine (near serpentine belt end which is the rear of the car) RMS leaks are at rear of engine in the center where it bolts up to the transmission. Does this make sense? I hope it helps.

leak is between where the tranny mates to the engine?

Yep the picture would seem to indicate either the rear main or the intermediate shaft seal, either of which require the transmission to be removed.

yeah, it's probly RMS. who did the PPI? if the dealer didn't see it, the PO can deny its existence unless you can proof that he knew there was a leak and didn't disclose. the fact that you had a PPI and it wasn't detected, you won't have a case. i wouldn't get too upset. the car already has rms history so this won't really depreciate the value much. thank goodness you are under warranty. i'd have it serviced by a dealer you know has good reputation. this is very important as you don't want to pick a random dealer. make sure you tell them that this is the second oil leak in a year so they fix it well and inspect for any other leaks.

RMS

I've only had it for just over 100 miles but I have noticed that the bars on the display after the oil is analyzed went from 5 bars to 3 in just those 100 miles!! The previous owner stated that he had to add a quart or so every 1000 miles but he said he was adding oil quite the bit and the dealer just told him that his engine happened to be a "thirsty" one, sounds odd... Why in the world would you buy a car when the owner tells you that he had to add a quart of oil every 1K miles? And what's this BS from the Dealer that the engine must be thirsty? If you have to add a quart of oil every 1K miles, the oil is either being burnt in the engine or is leaking. Neither condition is good. Since you aren't complaing about the engine smoking, it appears that most, if not all, of the oil loss is being caused by a leak. Is the Service Dealer you are going to Porsche certified? It's hard to believe that an oil leak would be missed by a competent mechanic performing your PPI. If I were you I'd strongly consider taking my car to another Porsche Dealer. Ask guys who own Porsches in your area for their recommendations.

The leak could have started after his purchase, it's not impossible. But I agree that it's a bit questionable to buy a car that consumes a quart every 1000 miles....

Hi Alex, No, I never need to add oil to my car. Coolant bottles, gear shift linkages, tires!, yes but not oil. I don't know if I represent a typical 996 owner though. The fact that P-car tech is not at all concerned might just be because he's not the one actually buying the car. Good luck and I hope it all gets resolved to your satisfaction. They (the 996's) are truely fun cars to drive.

I have put 2,000 miles on my car since I bought it (with 40,000 miles on the odometer) and the oil is still crystal clear and has remained at the exact same "full" level on the dipstick. Sorry to hear of your headaches thus far...

I purchased my car about 6 months ago and did a fresh oil change. The level hasn't changed in the last 8k miles. Oil consumption isn't unusual, but one quart in 1k miles is a excessive in my opinion.

If the car uses that much oil, it's either burning it or leaking, or both. You describe no blue smoke, so you must be leaking. It is common for a flat six tu use oil like that, but not normal, there is a difference. My car does the exact same thing, 1qt/1000 miles, no smpke, no drops on the floor. The tranny/engine junction is discolored, suspicious for a leak, but dry to the touch. I've had it in several times, porsche always says it is OK, no RMS. I have my doubts, but I think they also grade the quality of the leak, mine might be low grade while yours is medium grade, who knows. I have 41k on mine, and am not worried in the least, I'll have the car for years to come. I would ask the dealer to document you complaint in your service record though, in case it's ever a warranty issue in the future.

1 qt in 6k miles for me.

.5 qts every 5K-7.5K miles in mine. Your car is NOT supposed to drink oil at the pace it is. I am still baffled why you would buy a car with an oil consumption problem like that. Oh well, I guess no crying over spilled milk now. Go get that thirsty car diagnosed and figure out what the problem is.

...or do what I did when I was lot more money poor driving my old RX7, carry a crate of oil around in the car! That car of mine used to go through a quart about every 500 miles. I didn't have the $$ to fix it and oil, at that time, was not that expesive. Not very nice to the environment though... Hey Dell, my RX7 was just a replacement for my true desire for a 280ZX. If you're ever interesting in selling your 280 and it's in as good shape as it sounds, keep me in mind! BTW, any Z pics? Good luck!

Hey Joe! Standy, I'll post a few pics........

Here are a few snaps. I couldn't find any interior pics though. Just gives me a reason to go baby her this weekend, clean her up, and snap a few interiors. As for the car, I would NEVER sell it. To much sentiment attached to it.

I had a number of leaks in my 996. RMS X 4. The dealer was very good and at all times I remained calm with the local guys. They can only do what Porsche will let them. After the 4th they replaced the motor. Remember the local service guys did not build the car. By the way, I had any oil usage issue. about 1 quart every 750 miles. After the new motor not a drop for the next 6 months.

Dell, schweeeeeet! The exterior looks absolutely mint! White too, my favorite color (after artic silver that is...). Wow, nice. (sell it, sell it, sell it!) The only thing missing is t-tops. Yeah, I know, they'd leak or squeak but, heck, I'm used to that after my Cab. P.S. Hey, Alex, sorry to have hijacked this thread!

Thanks for the compliments Joe. The thing I love most is the "boxster" red interior in the Z. .....and now back to our regularly scheduled programming (sorry for the tangent Alex).

Nice Z! I have a 300zx that I'd never sell either. For the money they are a blast.

This is in responce to roberga comments above...I bought his car from the dealer. Guess what they just fixed last week? RMS in the replacement engine. :-< Supposedly this is the latest generation seal and tool. We'll see.

One way to confirm or deny your suspicion of potential fraud by the dealer who did the original RMS is to call the Porsche customer care center, and ask for them to start investigation. They have a database of every Porsche car and every service performed on it, especially if it is a warranty claim. They will know exactly what has been done to your car since it was new. If the original claim is not in their files for your car, it was not done, but if there is one, and this second RMS maintenance indicates that the original was never performed, there could be evidence of fraud either to you or to Porsche, and they should be made aware of this regardless. No harm in checking, all you need is your VIN. I find it interesting from reading posts on this and other Porsche boards, that North east dealers seem to have the most comments about being patronizing, expensive (home of the $1000 oil change!) , and having the most questionable ethics of any group of dealers in the US. I wonder why that is?

You don't split the crankcase to install a RMS. The only way your current dealer could possibly tell if the seal was the original or a replacement would be to look at the part number on the seal. Based on the revision number you can figure out an approximate date and compare that with your invoice date from the PO. There is no way to tell from just looking at the engine.

I hate to tell you but you got shafted on the 15k service since rms job requires draining the oil first.

This is true. They should have not charged you for the oil, just the filter, as they are supposed to drain the crankcase for an RMS job. Are there any honest Porsche Dealers in the North East?

When was this 4th generation seal put into service? The previous owner had the seal replaced in Feb of this year and I was told it was replaced with the latest "Cayenne" seal. Is there another better one out now? Cayenne seal ??? I could swear Porsche has put out a notice saying NOT to use the Cayenne seal. The new updated seal for the 996 is NOT the same as the Cayenne seal.

Alex - Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that you are satisfied so far. Did you get your money back from the dealer for the oil change? As some posted earlier, they had to drain the oil to do the RMS repair so they should not have charged you for an oil change in the 15K check-up. Also, did you call Porsche (as Orient Express suggested above) to determine if this is, in fact, the 1st or 2nd RMS replacement?

Glad to hear that all is well. It's funny how having the Pcar back in good operating condition makes all the PO/Dealer BS kind of go away, isn't it?

Alex, Those pictures, I THINK, is exactly where the engine mates with the transmission. That is where the RMS is. Hope you got it fixed by now and get it back on the road.