I couldn't help it. A 911? Sold!

[kevbo]

Hello fellow 911 geeks,

I bought an '86 911 Targa a few months ago. The car didn't have any oil leaks historically. A week prior, to me buying the car the then owner came to my house to finalize the deal on this approximately 125k mile '86 and it was puttering and running real rough to come find the fan belt broke sometime on the way to my house.

Obviously the engine was running real hot - it was a hot day in texas probably 100. He then drove to the local mechanic to get it fixed.

Here's where the fever got the better of me. I bought it. Fast forward few months and it's leaking oil at a pretty good clip now (I use it almost daily loses about 1 QT a month) and i can only attribute to running real hot that day and maybe damaged some seals. Hard to tell the source but appears to be below the alternator / fan blade assembly.

Anyone have ideas where to start? Part of me wants to take the engine out (I'm a rookie here so I'm concerned I'd damage the car) and work on it, the other part says bring it in to have this checked out.

Would like your wisdom please.

Thx

Kevin

[mepstein]

When an alternator belt breaks, the farthest you should drive it is - not at all. I would flatbed it to your mechanic for diagnostics.

[996AE]

+1

And, with those miles if a top end hasnt already been completed you are due.

Post a pic.

[sugarwood]

Is the car still puttering and running real rough?
Or just leaking?

[Mike80911]

Could be the crankshaft seal from where you are describing.

[pmax]

How many miles on the daily ?

1Qt/1000 miles is considered "normal" by Porsche.

[dg567]

1qt/1000 miles if you're burning the oil, not leaving it on the ground...

But just knowing you purchased the car under that circumstance I would suggest towing it to the guy doing 20k top end jobs in that other thread....

[Walter_Middie]

Part of me wants to take the engine out (I'm a rookie here so I'm concerned I'd damage the car) and work on it

Kevin,

I wouldn't think of buying a fun car to drive, then paying someone else to drive it because I might damage it or another driver could drive it better than me. You'll only be a rookie mechanic until you get your hands dirty. Oil leaks can be found.

Auto parts stores sell kits where you add a fluorescent to the oil and they come with a special light that you can see where the oil is coming from. Clean the area and see where the oil first appears. Take pictures - lots of really smart folks on here will help.

[mo-mon]

^^^ This. Now is the best time to start getting to know your car and get "one" with it. We're here to help.

[sugarwood]

@Walter_Middie

Nice username!

[pmax]

Originally Posted by dg567

1qt/1000 miles if you're burning the oil, not leaving it on the ground...

Yes, it's unclear how much of the loss is from the leak, I would guess it's just minor dripping and not a gusher (in which case the car should not be driven !!!), ...

Originally Posted by dg567

But just knowing you purchased the car under that circumstance I would suggest towing it to the guy doing 20k top end jobs in that other thread....

or burning.

[Quicksilver]

The leaks aren't what I would have as my big worry. The condition of the bearings is my question. The surface of the bearings has the lowest melting point of any metal in the engine. You had an uncontrolled overheating event and I would bet that at least the cam bearings are toast.

If the oil hasn't been changed it should be changed immediately but I would pull a sample to send out to the lab. They can tell a lot by what metal is in the oil.

An air cooled engine doesn't have the heat sink that a mass of water expanding from liquid to steam provides. If the cooling is shut off it instantly starts to heat with nowhere to go. The end result is I would expect that the engine would need to be completely gone through.

[avale]

It being a daily driver and learning by working on the car might be a little in conflict. Seeing as a PPI doesn't seem to be done, it might be good to have a PPI (Post-Purchase Inspection now) done to get a list of issues. Tackling a couple smaller projects with success might encourage him to take on larger projects in the future. Just a thought...

[RPV911]

MY 89 Coupe had a leak, but only started after I bought it and started driving it. Purred like a kitten since purchased. Brought it to my trusty old Germans and they found the seal for the oil pressure sender was leaking. Replaced it with an updated green one and that was it. There was some residual oil dripping off after that for a few days but haven’t had a leak since. Car has 124k miles. Not sure why people automatically say top end rebuild because of mileage. Every car is different and if taken care of properly can go farther without one. Compression test was 190 across all cylinders 10km miles ago. I guess I got lucky.

[Dan J]

1) Find the source of the leaks

2) Fix the leaks you can

Pretty Simple

[L Sjoberg]

First thing to do is figure out whether you are leaking oil or burning it. If it looks like a leak, find out where it is coming from and then fix it. Rather than immediately assume a catastrophic engine failure, I would assume that the leak has been there for quite a while (leaks don't usually just happen all of a sudden) and simply address it.

If you're burning oil (more than would be typical given the mileage, etc.) I would probably begin to worry, and would consult a shop.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by mepstein

When an alternator belt breaks, the farthest you should drive it is - not at all. I would flatbed it to your mechanic for diagnostics.

This.

[yelcab1]

Oh wow.

[kevbo]

If I let the car sit for a while it'll let out some white smoke, other than that no smoke. I drive it about 15 to 20 miles a day average. Doesn't leak if it's not hot.

I've seen some other posts suggesting cleaning the engine then tracing the leak. I found an auto detail shop that'll clean the engine as part of their service but I have some reservations given the limited XP these shops have with 911's.

At this point I'm leaning on bringing it to a few trusted porsche techs to get some quotes going. Oh, I did speak to the seller about this and he's convinced I did something to cause this (expected).

It's manageable as is, but I would like to get this under control given the mess i'm making everwhere i park (leaving my mark... )

Kevin

[kevbo]

BTW, I'm in for doing this myself. I believe in getting A LOT of wise counsel first - and checking all angles. I like the idea of getting "one" with car!

Thanks the for guidance!