2004 996 C2 Passenger Side Oil Leak

Good Evening: I recently purchased a 2004 996 C2 with ~55k miles. For the most part it seems to only suffer from what you'd expect from a gently used 20 year old car. The IMS was retrofited about 10 years ago from what I understand (Unfortunately, records are sparse [I know, I know; I took a leap of faith]). Aside from that, no major work has been done and it has had all its scheduled maintenance (to the best of my knowledge). That being said, I have notice a drop or two of what appears to be engine oil on the pavement after I've driven her. I don't know the source but, based on visual inspection, I can say that wherever it is coming from, it is accumulating on the passenger side of the rear stabilizer and then dropping. Again, its not major but in my experience any unexplained fluid leakage is worth investigating. Any ideas or suggestions? Given its near the front of the engine diagnosing the source may be difficult. Thank you!

It could be a number of things, but I'd first look at the spark plug tubes, the oil cooler, and the rear main seal.

Thank you. In my initial google foo spark plug tubes seems to be a common refrain.

Quotes source post: 19279901

Your car does not have spark plug tubes. Rear main seal would be right in the middle. There are cam plugs and the oil cooler is on the passenger side towards the front of the engine. The ims chain tensioner is also that side. Need to get up under there, shouldn't be hard to locate.

Quotes source posts: 19279922, 19279922

I did not know that; thank you! Yup but, to be honest, I really don't like any of those possibilities. I have some skills but I don't have replace/remediate oil cooler issue skills. Hypothetically, if your daily driver was a 04 996 and you were your average shade-tree mechanic (i.e. work on anything but the insides of the transmission and engine) how quickly would you find a fix (i.e. get a reputable indy involved) for this small oil drip?

Quotes source post: 19279947

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions. These things drip all the time. Especially if they have been sitting for awhile. 20 year old rubber and plastic eventually wears. It may even be power steering fluid. If you have a roll of white boxing paper, put it under the car to see what color it is. To your question, spending the money on a good Porsche Indy makes alot of sense if it's beyond your skillset or patience level. I do alot of little things on the car, but I dont have the patience to do the big things. I would rather get a root canal.

Where are you located? If there's a good indy locally that can do a PPI on the car - even though you've already bought it - it will give you the cause of the oil leak and give you a list of items that'll need to be addressed in the future. You can then research them on here and see which you feel comfortable doing yourself and which you'd want to engage a mechanic. Another potential source for an oil leak is the valve cover seal.

I recently discovered another source for an oil leak. I went to change the oil/filter and behold, the oil filter was very loose. In fact I grabbed it to give a twist loose and it was barely hanging on. I do have the LN spin on oil filter adapter but this had nothing to do with that. With the oil change I used my brand new LN SS oil plug with magnetic tip. It sure looks good! And damn, that magnetic is strong. Kept getting stuck on my tools. LOL Yes, it was leaking and slightly dripping, or more like weeping. Just a thought, you might want to check if the oil filter is showing signs of weeping.

I'm voting for the oil cooler. It is an odd design IMHO in that the o-rings are set into a recess in the block, but the oil cooler itself has no channels to hold the rings in place, instead its just a flat surface up against the o-rings. The rings get old and there is nothing to stop a leak coming out anywhere along the o-rings. The oil cooler itself can be had in a kit from FCPEuro for $200+. The labor though could be 4+ hours. I'm not saying that could be the only thing, just that it isn't unusual and its one of those repairs where the labor is a lot more than the parts cost. I'm going to FCPEuro this week to pick up an oil cooler for mine. Going in person because the first one they sent me has a very slightly warped base - another known issue with these things!

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Quotes source post: 19280475

Raleigh, NC; we have several solid indy shops but I'll likely go back to European Performance who did all my work on previous Porsches I have owned.

Quotes source post: 19281018

Great recommendation on that site! Those parts are actually reasonable. If it was an oil cooler issue wouldn't I see elevation in oil temperature?

Quotes source post: 19280422

Way back in 2007 I bought my first Porsche: 99 Boxster. Within a month I had to replace the ignition switch. I had no prior experience with cars but I thought I'd give it a go (thank goodness Pelican had an internet presence even back then). I ended up spending a few hours on my back - blood rushing to my head - cutting up my fingers and knuckles. I've remarked to family that doing projects on your Porsche means being in a superposition of your hands being simultaneously too small and large for the job.

Quotes source post: 19281421

No. You would not see a spike. It's a leak. You might see the level drop on the dipstick and you might find oil in your coolant. You should check your coolant. Someone here can give you a way to check. But if it feels and looks oily, then yeah, you have a cooler problem.

So I got up in there and couldn't determine because it's was so dirty. I definitely saw "newer" oil ( light brown) up the back (i.e.side facing the front) passenger side of the engine but couldn't determine source.

Here is a good pic of your engine. If it is oil then it's most likely the oil cooler or the green camshaft pugs or where the cam cover mates to the head. The oil cooler is very close to the middle the others off to the left side.

If I had to guess, unless its traveling a great deal, if its between the cam plugs or oil cooler, i would guess cam plug. That being said, do you see the black "tube" that is situated to the left of the bottom cam plug (it angles at about 7 o'clock), the oil was accumulating at the bend where it proceeds to the "front" (back of the car) of the engine.

Diagnosed: Cam Shaft Sensor needs replacement

Quotes source post: 19292563

Maybe just the o-ring. Part # 99970740440

Quotes source post: 19292599

So the mechanic called back to say it wasn't the cam sensor and that they didn't know what it was without dropping the engine. The estimate went from 1 day $600 to two weeks $4k minimum. So I politely declined and decided this is a good opportunity to learn to drop the engine and diagnose. So while dropped what are some other projects I should consider? I'm thinking engine mounts for one.

I have no experience with this, but just a thought... what about changing to an oil such as LiquiMoly that contains a UV dye for finding the source of leaks?

Quotes source post: 19308184

That's an excellent idea 💡

Checked all of the cam cover bolts to make sure they�re tight? I also bought a cheap borescope on Amazon to look around in tight places such as the top/sides of the engine. the oil with dye in is a great idea but you�ll need to check soon after changing and often. I tried it once and the whole side of the engine lit up. lol

Quotes source post: 19308246

The drip so limited to one specific area that I am pretty certain it is the Oil Cooler or, at minimum, the various oil cooler seals. Also, greetings from Knightdale!

Quotes source post: 19308780

Sweet!!! Bring it over and we can put it on my lift sometime. I already have the UV flashlight 😝🙃