Have you had the RMS Leak?

At what mileage?

wow, there sure are a lot of 'polls' here on the 996 forum...hmmmm Maybe I will start a poll on 'who here have taken a poll'

Hey, Bob asked, I posted. OK?

Why do you all torture yourselves about this stuff? What does it possibly proove that people with RMS leaks like to log onto web forums to find out about or complain about their problem? If you want to learn something about radial shaft seals there's lots of materials out there on the subject. I'm totally serious Viken, you need a complaints forum where people not seeking or offering any useful information can congregate. None of the other boards I have seen are so dominated by posts like this. fftopic:

At 3,300 miles, no. But you guys definately have me worried about it. I'm babying my '03 C2 (just like I babied my '97 SAAB 9000 Aero before her). No power drops for my baby. One thing's for sure though, she cooks when she has to. ;-)

my 99 C2 Cab. at 9800 miles and my 03 C2 Cab. at 2000 miles

This week at 23,800 miles. Apparently it had been leaking slowly for quite some time. Remanufactured engine coming because of excessive runout between crankshaft carrier and seal bore (basically, this means that the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the crankshaft are not the same). The dealers have a service bulletin that directs them to check the runout if the car has a RMS leak. If it is greater than 0.3mm, they are to replace the engine. On my 2001, it was 0.4.

Something is moving in the M96 motor. Since this is "Porsche's little secret" we can guess all day long. The original seal, the revised seal. The old tool to install the seal, then the new tool. And they sometimes still leak January 1997 Boxster with no oil leaks. Jeff http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=15

... No votes for "yes ut of warranty", so for the confort of those who have never had a leak and are out of warranty, is it safe to assume that if it hasn't during the warranty you are more or less safe? who has had a leak after the most miles? were can we draw the line of safety?

well i might add that in my 99 which was well out of warranty when i traded it in with 33k miles, was leaking fromt he rms again!

The reason I asked for this poll was to determine whether I was out of the woods with the RMS problem or not. I was trying to determine whether it is a flaw that develops early in the engine's lifespan or somethign that will eventually leak. Not trying to complain here. The point of this forum is to EDUCATE as well as sing the praises of the car so freaking relax. BTW Jeff25, none of the other forums are as active as this one so maybe thats why you see it come up so often. Bob

Who's toturing and who's complaining? There is nothing in the tone of this poll or any of the posts I've read so for that looks like complaining. There is no bias in the available answers. This is just information gathering. Lighten up, we're not all whining about our cars here.

I don't feel this is OT. If someone is looking to buy a NA 996 out of warranty this is good info. It's more objective then previous polls we've seen. It would be nice to have it done with @ how many miles with say 5,000 mile increments. Maybe even 3.4L vs.3.6L, though from reading these forums it doesn't seem to make a difference. @ around 9,000 miles I think it may be leaking again.

Damn! Didn't think of that!

9619 miles dry since (-- as I knock on wood)

2 years ago with 8500 miles.. Also had it with 30K miles on our 01 Boxster

27,000 and again at 30,000 I find it interesting that most of the complainers are none paying rennlist members.

Hi Scouser, if it re-occurs after 3000 mls I'd say it hasn't been put in properly. It sometimes happens, usually either because the new seal (which is now being put in dry) was damaged when it was set or because the new seal was set in exactly the same place on the crankshaft as the old one. What they sometimes do in the factory if it re-occurs after such a short time is fit a new seal, put on just the flywheel (not the gearbox) and let it run for 20 minutes, take off the flywheel again and see if it seals properly. This should definitely be rectified for free. Cheers, Uwe PS: I've had two RMS changes: after 25000 mls and after 42000 mls, fixed und warranty and goodwill, respectively

My 2/98 build 996 was still running the original RMS seal when I traded it in August with 22,000 miles. It was also running the original coolant reservoir.

guys you have me really worried now. I have 56k and my rms has never been changed. Is this something that is GUARANTEED to happen sooner or later, or is this something that was a defect in only a few select vehicles. To be honest I'm starting to **** bricks right now. your info would be very helpful at this moment.

Hey Parkman, Thats exactly why i wanted this poll. To see if this is a problem in a few engines or something that is bound to go wrong in every engine. Bob

Gentlemen, I currently have 53,544 miles on my 99 996 C2. She is still on her original RMS seal. She was driven from Connecticut to Monterey CA when she had 32,000 miles and I moved to California. She saw a top speed of 163 mph (slighly down sloped straight going through New Mexico.) She has seen Laguna Seca many times and she loves it! She doesn't complain. She doesnt nag. Her center console rattles a little bit. The clutch doesn't squeal. The moonroof doesn't vibrate. The Hifi stereo is kinda crappy. The driver's side seat leather is wearing out a little bit because I drive a lot. She has new litronics, the 04 PSE on a 3.4 litre engine, and clear side markers. She runs on Michelin Pilot Sports. Sport Cups on the way. She doesn't like SO2's, SO3's, Conti's or Pirelli's. She is out of warranty. I have $10,000 set aside for when the RMS goes or the engine blows. My advice to some of you out there is start driving your freaking cars and stop worrying like little *******. Life is short.... DRIVE YOUR PORSCHE.

Same as with Loren RMS leak happened around 9k miles and never leaked from then on but did have new updated seals put on at 29k miles even though it wasn't leaking(it's free why not). Regards. Mike And yes seems like polls are coming up frequently here.

I'm at 20,000 miles and still dry. Been driven hard on the track and the streets, and no problems of any sort to report.

Mines went out at 7600 miles, 11 months after taking delivery.

MY99 at 28,000. Porsche fixed out of warranty as a good will gesture due to it being a known defect.

No leak. 3,600 miles on a 2003 C2

MY99 C4 Porsche was fixed under warrantee with about 30,000 miles. They also replaced the tranny seal as a precaution. If it recurs I might try to shame Porsche into fixing it again, or else I will simply fix it myself as the cost is virtually all labor. I certainly don't fear it to the point that it impacts my driving style, nor will I sell the car due to this. It appears that the repair leaves the engine intact and requires removal/moving the transmission forward so while not trivial it looks like just nuts and bolts. I would assume that Porsche understands the reason for the failures and has provided an improved seal. I would like to understand what makes this seal fail. Does it have to do with some defect in the seal itself?, with play or flex in the crankshaft? related to engine speed or load?, Oil pressure/splashing on the crankcase side? Is there any crankcase pressure issues? Has Porsche been revising seal designs to fix the problem for good? This discussion/tread and the poll are useful as there are several members that have had a recurrance arfter the first repair, although I would sure like to hear some response from Porsche engineering.

rrys -- You bring up an interesting point. In early 2002, Porsche revised the dipstick and oil quantities. My car came with the new dipstick. I wonder if it was focused on the RMS issue. Anyone know?