non-RMS leak?

I got home last night, parked, pick up my girlfriend, and headed to dinner. Backing out of my spot, I noticed a nice sized puddle right under where the engine had been (the car had been sitting for about 45 minutes). It was clear, but oily. Damn - RMS leak (or so I thought). So after dinner - which I could barely eat - we headed home, and I parked in my other spot. This morning I get up, and last night's puddle had mostly evaporated. Since oil doesn't evaporate, I'm confused. Also, I noticed not a single drop under my car now. ??? I brought it in to the shop, but they can't look at it until Friday. Still no drops under it again. I'm leaving to get married in 2 weeks, so I'm not looking forward to spending that time trying to figure out what this could be. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

air con

You sure it wan't water from the A/C? did you smell it or touch it?

Can't be AC (I think?) - I get AC condensation drips all the time. It's always been in the middle of the car, not at the back where the engine is. Also, it was an oily texture and smelled pretty bad - have touched the AC drip in the past (just to check) and that's always watery and mostly odorless. I'd start guessing brake or tranny - but the fact that I had no leaks this morning is confusing me. I'll keep checking through the day as well...

what kind of floor do you park on? does it readily absorb fluids? could this be why most of it disappeared? most concrete will absorb quite a bit of oil overnight. it definitely isn't the A/C, because then it would have been just water and there would be no trace of it the next day. plus the A/C condenser coil is in front of the car, not the rear. it could be a coolant leak. the coolant/water ratio is 50/50 i think, so 50% of what you saw on the floor would probably have evaporated overnight if it was coolant. coolant on a concrete floor will usually appear clear, whereas oil will usually appear at least a little bit brown, even against a grey concrete floor. take a paper towel to it and see what color it looks like on the white paper towel. if it's greenish or pinkish, it's coolant. if it's brownish, it's oil or transmission fluid. it's unlikely it's brake fluid or you would have noticed something wrong with your brakes. it's also unlikely it's power steering fluid because that resevoir is located in the front of the car by the firewall. best of luck whatever it is!

Teflon - great points. The liquid was clear, so that rules out oil I guess. I'm pretty sure it was evaporation, not absorbtion, since the smaller spots have no residue. But there is in fact some oily substance left over from the big puddle. It's a very small percentage of the total that was there last night, so I'm thinking that the substance is part water, part something else. But if it was a coolant leak, would it make sense that it would just stop? Also, the temperature is fine (as is the oil pressure, oil level etc.)... arghhh...

Are u sure it's yours?

Pretty sure - not sure why someone would have parked in my spot - nobody has before. Also, they would have had to have backed in, since the puddle was at the back of the spot (and they would have leaked from the front of the car). I hope the mechanics can figure this one out. I am a tad uncomfortable driving it around, but have no other mode of transport...

There still is the possibility of an RMS leak....tho I hate to say it. If the seal leaks, doesn't necessarily mean that the casing will leak. Instead you might get condensation on the casing since the hot oil is sitting on the other side of it.... I sure hope I'm wrong...

Check the bottom of your oil pan and see if there is any residue on it. I had a defective oil pan and oil leaked (slowly) through a screw hole even tho the screw was in there and tightened to torque spec. Go figure. As an aside it was replaced under warranty, but when I asked to see it I was told it was already sent to PCNA for evaluation. Yeah, right! It was an hour after they finished.

i had a coolant leak on my 996 that only leaked a noticeable amount occassionally, until one day when it started leaking like a busted dam! i never really tried to figure out what caused it to leak more on some days than others. i think there was a recall (or at least a known problem) on the earlier 996s with a fluid resevoir bottle leaking. don't quote me on the exact name of the part, but i know of more than a couple of people that had the same thing leak, all fixed under warranty. i'm guessing you're out of warranty by now though since you have a '99...

Sounds like the coolant leak I had on my car. Fooled me because it only happened after hard braking events and the fact that Porsche coolant is gold coloured. My coolant bottle had cracked slightly and depending on a variety of factors, I would get a drip or a puddle. Wasn't cheap to fix either because of the labour, roughly $600-700. Good luck.

Yes - I think it had a mildly gold tinge to the liquid! This is good to know - I can point them in the right direction at the shop. I'm leaning toward believeing that it's a coolant leak from a cracked bottle (?). I have an extended warranty - has saved me in the past - hope it covers these things. You guys rock - thanks for all the help on this...

ZeeZee, you're getting married in 2 weeks and you went out with your girlfriend last night? I hope you meant fiancee! If not, then you're the man! Sorry...I know you were posting your concerns about the car, but somehow all that grabbed me were "getting married" and "girlfriend."

This is what you can expect to see under the car if you have an RMS leak... My guess is that you have a coolant leak. Do yourself a favor, dont worry about your car during this special time. And RMS leak sucks, but it isn't that important. Congrats on your pending nuptials.

Hey - marriage is important. But why break up with my girlfirend over it? Okay, yes, I meant finacee! Thanks for the kind words...