Dreaded RMS Issue is facing my C4S

Well, I had the car over to Mid Ohio last weekend for our Maumee Valley Region DE (see my earlier post) & had noticed a bit oil on the garage floor. Got the car home & to my mechanic. He just called me and gave me the dreaded RMS saga. He said the seal is like a $20.00 part, but will take 8-10 man hours. The car came off of the manufacturers warranty at the end of June. I wondered if any of our of forum folks have any ideas or experience with Porsche USA with this type of issue.

It happens, that's for sure. Sorry about your situation, dude, but could be worse, right? Was your engine the original engine or a Porsche remanufactured engine?

It's no biggie. Wait until your clutch needs replacing and then get it done; same labour cost. Unless it turns into a gusher (then you have a more serious problem!), put some cardboard under the car in the garage. It seems that really low mileage cars get affected by this more than the others. The new seals also seem to be holding up quite a bit better now.

Let's see - an '03 with 14K miles, and new RMS. Uh oh... Is your car still under CPO??

if your car is a stick your a fool to fix it, put some cardboard down in the garage and drive till you need a clutch. IF its a automatic jump on it 8-10 hours is a steal

Here's a DIY, if that is your type! http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/996rms/rms1.php

Sorry to hear about that. I would take it into your local Porsche dealer. Since the car is recently out of warranty, there is a good chance that Porsche will take care of the all or part of the cost of the repair. Also, the new seal seems to be working well for me. It has been over 2 years since my replacement and it is still dry. Finally, you need to drive the car more. 14K miles on a 4 year old car is very low. Cars that sit for long periods between driving tend to develop seal leaks.

I would take it to the dealer to see if they will help with the cost. If you have a good relationship with them they may help, if not pay for it all. Even if they say NO, you will be no worse off than you are now. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If the dealer won't help, I agree with the others, wait until you need a new clutch as long as the RMS is not gushing oil, which most RMS leaks do NOT do.

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Sucks to have an oil leak, sorry. Not to hijack the thread but this is on my mind of late. How long between drives, 1 week, 2? a month. Mine is sitting now for 4/5 days at a time between runs. Geoff

Well I called my local Porsche dealership & explained the situation. I asked them to contact Porsche USA to see what they might be willing to do since the car has only 17k miles & just came off of the factory warranty in July, 2007. They called me back & said Porsche won't do anything. On top of that, the dealership then went on to quote me a price to do the RMS seal of $2200 based on 16 hours of labor plus parts---RIDICULOUS.... Anyhow, I think I will take my fellow Renlisters advice & live with it for now. The amount of oil that cames out of the car is minimal. Typically after a spirited drive there might be 1/2 teaspoon on the garage floor after sitting. I thank everyone for their input. Several folks have indicated that I'm not driving the car enough. I bought the car in June with 14,XXX miles. It just turned 17k & I typically drive it a little bit every weekend, however she is getting put away for the winter shortly. I have tried to keep the mileage down since my intention is to sell the car in the spring and acquire a 2003-2005 Turbo 911/X50. Todd

Using the dash board oil leve gauge can you tell me what leve is the oil reading right now?

Sorry to hear that the dealer won't help you with this. $2,200 is a rip off! Your plan to sell it in the spring does change the situation a little. Since you will have to replace the RMS prior to the sale, I would get it replaced now. I would call some other Porsche dealerships and get a quote for replacing the RMS. Here are the Porsche dealerships closest to Toledo. Howard Cooper Porsche 2575 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI, 48104 [phone removed] 43 miles from Toledo Porsche of Farmington Hills 37911 Grand River Ave. Farmington Hills, MI, 48335 [phone removed] 56 miles from Toledo Fred Lavery Porsche Co. 34602 Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI, 48009 [phone removed] 63 miles from Toledo Porsche of North-Olmsted 28400 Lorain Road North Olmsted, OH, 44070 [phone removed] 85 miles from Toledo There is a Porsche salesman that works at Porsche of North-Olmsted that is on the 997 Forum a lot. His Rennlist name is Likemystoppie? and his first name is Chris. You might want to PM him and relay the RMS story to him. Maybe he would be willing to help you get a fair price for the repair at Porsche of North-Olmsted. Hope this helps and good luck.

let's not bad mouth the dealer here. they have their price (albeit higher than the norm) and porsche owes you nothing. good luck

My dealer charged me $1100 for my 4th RMS... It's not a serious problem, just a nuisance. I have found that in situations like this I do not rely on the dealer to call Porsche NA. I would call them directly myself. Porsche NA should have a phone number in you owners manual.

16 hours for a manual trans na 996 is robbery

I had to have my RMS done (actually it turned out the small leak was coming from the intermediate shaft seal, not the RMS) but I got an independent shop to quote me 5 hours of labor (tho it was at $130/hr), + $20 for the part. After that I was wondering why everyone makes such a big deal out of RMS replacement, until I saw the prices/hours quoted on this thread! I don't think this was a one-off price either, as another indy I called quoted a similar price. I got it done at Chris' German Auto in Bellevue, WA, if anyone local was wondering. They were a bit slow but they took care of me. Greg

Well, I contacted Porsche USA & spoke to a very nice gal who listened and asked the right questions about the RMS. She asked me what I would like Porsche USA to do about the problem. They have opened a case file and said they will advise on their decision. Hopefully it is not a rubber stamp in the form of a BIG NO....