RMS paranoia

Just a simple point to prove that one should not go crazy when you car leaks oil. So, as many, I go away for a few days and when I come back, notice a few drops of oil in the driveway. Wait for a while, happens again (just a bit). I always monitor my oil level closely so I am not stressed about it. Finally decide to bring it in (my car is no longer under warranty - yes, I like to live dangerously!) for inspection. There is a minor RMS leak - actually more a "sweat" which the dealer tells me is of absolutely no concern and turns out that the actual oil leak comes from a defective drain plug gasket, which is being replaced for a few dollars. Bottom line - stating the obvious here but OIL LEAK DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN RMS FAILURE. There, I said it. I just think that my car drops a bit of oil in the same manner as in some traditions, it is polite to burp after a good meal. Eat well - drive fast!

I agree RMS is blown up to be a mucher bigger deal than it is. Even if a car was to drip a few drops here and there, it's more of a annoyance versus a reliability issue. Knock on wood mine doesn't have it but I probably wouldn't lose sleep over it even if it did.

Yeah I don't understand what the big deal is. Every Porsche I've ever owned has leaked oil. It's not like the 996/boxster was the first porsche to have oil leaks

It's only a big deal because Porsche set a precedent and replaced some engines that appeared to have ongoing RMS issues. This then led people to believe that RMS was a catastrophic failure problem, which it isn't. Case of PCNA doing the right thing, and it backfiring on them in a huge way!

Agreed, RMS leak is far from the end of the world...however, If one aquires a brand new 911 at the dealer and the vehicle spends more than 30 days in the shop in the first 8 mos. of ownership for just that one particular issue it is a bit of a...pisser.

I guess porsche owners of the past and present have come to except oil leaks. That's sad... I remember stories of my fathers cars. Everyday he was putting oil in it because of leaks. Oh wait that was a buick and Chevy. 50 years ago

PCNA replaced the engine because that was the only way to stop the RMS from leaking. The right thing would have been to redesign the gear carrier and the crankcase but it was cheaper to just keep on changing seals until vehicles were out of warranty and hope eventually that someone could an engineer a replacement seal that would overcome a defective design. I agree 100% and there is no reason for any leak to be acceptable especially if the car is under warranty.

Agreed that oil leaks in and of themselves are no biggie....just Porsches marking their territory! However, weren't SOME of the leaks tied back to out of round crank which was a more serious matter...correct?

RMS's are real don't fall for the bs. The good thing is, if you get it fixed at the dealer you get a 2 year warranty.

the crank wasnt out of round...................it was not centered, casuing side pressure on the seal and premature failure

Could you elaborate on this?

ML If your car was under warranty they would have changed the RMS in a heartbeat!!

well.... i know that my car is out of warr... so it's a REAL thing to me... hope i never see oil under my baby's butt.....

When I first joined Rennlist, I kept reading about RMS and in some cases engine replacement. Since this is my first Porsche, I was a little concerned about RMS (OK, I was VERY concerned). After being on the forum for a while, the more I read the more I learned and the "concern" lessened dramatically. Knowledge is a good thing! About 10 days ago I had a defective drive shaft coupler that was throwing grease on the right rear wheel and suspension parts. The local dealer replaced the drive shaft under warranty. When I picked up the car the invoice also stated that they replaced the leaking RMS (warranty). I had not noticed any leaks or oil on my garage floor . I noticed that the clutch felt lighter after the RMS replacement, so the RMS could have been leaking "internally," causing some oil to get on the clutch plate. Not sure about this because I didn't get to talk to the tech who did the work. I agree that RMS is over blown in the Porsche community. Not catastrophic, just an annoyance.

RMS's are clearly serious enough for those who claim "a little oil leak means nothing". Seems that every time there's a leak, a board member goes to have it checked out and repaired. I'm waiting for someone on the board to say, "I've let my RMS leak for 1.5 years before I had mine replaced it's no big deal".

Gotcha... thanks.

along the same lines as the rms paranoi, as i am about to purchase an extended warrty, and the rms is not a big deal, what about the " catatrophic engine failure" i hear about? fact/fiction? real concern or not?

I looking for a warranty company too, if it weren't for the ?% chance of engine failure, I wouldn't bother.

There is a chance for a "catatrophic engine failure" but not just in Porsches. Since Porsche has not shared any data with the public on the quantity of engines replaced or the % of failures to cars produced, we do not know the "odds" of having a "catatrophic engine failure."

so who has a warr. after their warr. has expired? and how much is it?

Crap. I have a small drip under my C2 now. About two drops a day. Hope it's the drain plug. I will have to lift my car now to tell where it's coming from. Paul

if its dripping between the engine and tranny, you have RMS leak.

That's what I am worried about. Expensive if it is?

$800.00 but if only a small leak no need to have it fixed. Put some cardboard under the engine to protect the garage floor.It ain't a big deal.

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Cool, and then watch it and the oil level I suppose. It's a very small leak now but will get under the car and see where it's coming from. My guess is that it's the RMS. Thanks, Paul

there's nothing positive about rms. it sucks. shouldn't happen. $800 is a lot of nice meals for you and your loved ones to get back to how it always should be - leak free. quit making excuses for porsche, but def don't go crazy.

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Thanks Ben. Paul

For perspective; I put about $800 into fixing an oil leak in my Honda riding mower. . . (Really the best mower, by the way . . . )