Oil spill… Am I going to kill her?

[Pharma]

Hi guys,
I know, there is a lot of gearheads here – please give me an advice…
My 911 76’er spills oil… a bit more, than anticipated. Not just pissing territories, but serious dripping.
The question is… do you think this is motor oil or oil from the gearbox?
Might I kill her, if I keep using her like this (topping of motor oil regularly – tranny oil is a pain).
She’s only used for fun, 2-3 times a month – and with 3 kids, it’s hard to prioritize time for a serious engine job. I have a EV, that makes up the environmental load
The oil spill primary origins near the clutch, marked in the below picture.
Best regards,
Ole



https://youtu.be/kmXGntGg0Lg

[proporsche]

Hi there..it is most likely your flywheel seal.So to fix this engine has to come out...

Ivan

[Steam Driver]

Definitely engine oil and no doubt flywheel seal as proporsche said. Not really critical other than the mess and adding make-up oil.

If it was tranny oil you would know it. It has a very “distinctive” odor that a lot of people don’t really care for.

[Trackrash]

Originally Posted by Steam Driver

Definitely engine oil and no doubt flywheel seal as proporsche said. Not really critical other than the mess and adding make-up oil.

If it was tranny oil you would know it. It has a very “distinctive” odor that a lot of people don’t really care for.

That was my first thought. Smell it. BTW, usually if it were the trans it would most likely soak the clutch.

[Targalid]

Think positive: If you are not leaking oil you are out!

[Pharma]

Thank you, Guys!

Nice tip on the smelly tranny oil - It was changed last year to Swepco 201, maybe not that smelly yet? It is a 5 speed 915, but might not be the original '76. There has been an engine swap in the late 80's.

The oil spilled smells "nice", so I guess it is engine oil. The clutch isn't slipping, so that might secure the source even more.

I actually did a clutch job a couple of years ago in the garage. I found some picture from back then, maybe it can help troubleshooting.

I did change the flywheel seal back then, but actually hat problems finding any seals on the tranny side. The flywheel seal was supposed to last longer than a few years - maybe I did something wrong. I remember it was hard to torque the flywheel as required.

Getting to the flywheel seal:


Old seal:


New seal:


Tranny:


Tranny:


Tranny:

[proporsche]

Ole.looks like you use the correct flywheel seal..Elring is a good quality seal.
Also look on your engine top for the Triangle of Death as is call around here.Use a mirror to look behind the air box.
When you had the engin aout did you do the engine top oil press.switch,thermostat o ring and brather cover gasket??
Also look at the breather cover hose .The clamp could be loose.....
Ivan

[RetroSC]

Look at the 1 o'clock position on your new oil seal pic, it looks like somebody pried the old seal out and broke the case a little. That might not seal up too well with the missing surface area and could be the source of your leak.

[proporsche]

retrosc..nope..that is a standard 911 engine case space where you put either your Porsche oil seal removing tool or just s screwdriver;-)
Ivan

example here....

[Pharma]

Thanks again.
I will have a look in my pictures archive tomorrow… it’s getting late here in Europe. I did some work in the triangle of death area at a time, where my old stock airfilterbox exploded (no aftermarked pop-out valve). At that time I did the airfilterbox swap in an open garage with the engine in the car… lots of fun
What about the tranny, Ivan… are there supposed to be some sort of seal on the outside – or is the magic all inside the gearbox, and the pictures looking normal?

[proporsche]

on your 911 the trans.main shaft seal is only removable with a special tool. i would not worry about it ..it is not your oil leak .Swepco is blue....so have a look at the top ..i am also in Europe ..did some work on many Porsches in Oisterwijk place many years ago...

[RetroSC]

I guess I've never seen one on a Mag case before, looked different on the 67 AL engine I rebuilt. That one looks chipped and therefore deeper the standard indention that's supposed to be there. Could be wrong, but it looks funny.

[Porsche 2]

Before you remove the engine, inspect the engine oil thermostat - it is on top of your engine near the flywheel, and the oil "vapor cap", from which is attached a large (1") hose that goes to the oil tank, next to the thermostat. Both are typical areas of oil leak.

[Pharma]

Ivan pointed out the same areas as a potentially source… you might be right. I will have a look tomorrow. Real easy-to-access area, if I remember correctly

[grant lyon]

+1 check all items in "triangle of death." My 3.2L had oil leak drips collecting in the same case area, and even forward enough to have oil drips (and smoke) on the exhaust cross-over pipe. Oil pressure switch was leaking, and breather hose (stiff) was weeping oil. Changed those, T-Stat o-ring, and breather cover seal, now no leaks and no smoke. My 2.7L (previous engine) had a weeping oil pressure switch, but not as certain about oil drip location off case as I am with the 3.2L (long time ago, very minor leak, mechanic replaced switch while doing a tune-up). There are some threads that will tell you about adding epoxy to additionally seal the oil pressure switch seam to ensure better sealing integrity of the switch. Worth doing.

Good thread on the subject:
87 oil leak

[Flojo]

ELRING 311.898!
That's the seal to get!

It's the stage 2 seal made of bi-Composite FPM/ACM and has an enforced inner lip.

(My Prior used FEBI and Kaco Seals failed within days, both acquired from Porsche AD).

[proporsche]

flojo.. the early models the Elring does not have this metal rim...only 911SC and up

Ivan

[Flojo]

oops, didn't pay good Attention, sorry.

[john walker's workshop]

Lots of them have a slight seep there, and the flywheel seal isn't leaking. I've chalked it off to case half shuffling which breaks down the sealant.

[Pharma]

Couldn’t get to the car today but did a follow up on the work I did back in 2013. Looks good, did change the breather cover gasket, thermostat o-ring and a brand new engine oil pressure switch. Even changed the breather hose! Hopefully it’s just the clamp on the hose… but damn I regret, that I didn’t check it when I did the clutch job.