oil leak back engine - remove cooling fan ?

[JCFL]

Hello,

The car is a 1986 911, 3.2 Carrera, with 154,000 miles. This will be my third driving season with the car and never had oil leaks since buying it in April 2022.

I now have a very small oil leak coming from somewhere at the back of the engine. I get 3 / 4 drops after driving around for 30 minutes.

The oil drops fall off the metal oil line that goes from one side of the engine to the other (the hard line I believe it is called). It comes from somewhere above it. I have cleaned the under-engine, but I cannot see where the leak originates from.

Will removing the cooling fan and housing permit me to see the back of the engine in a worthwhile way ?

Otherwise, the guy at my local parts shop suggest using a colorant in the oil, which can then be seen with ultra violet lamp ?

Any comments ?

NOTE - I can drive for 30 minutes, or 90 minutes - I still only get a few drop on my "witness pad" that I place under the engine as soon as I arrive home.

NOTE 2 - there is a fair amount of grime / dirt under the engine, meaning that it has had oil leaks before, and perhaps has now just gotten more serious...

Thank you.

Jacques

[ErrorMargin]

Originally Posted by JCFL

Will removing the cooling fan and housing permit me to see the back of the engine in a worthwhile way ?

When you say "the back of the engine" I assume you mean the part of the engine toward the front of the car.

Removing the fan, alternator (which is inside the housing) and the housing will not let you see anything interesting for your oil leak.

A better solution is the get an inspection camera that you can snake in toward the rear of the engine.

Your problem is probably something in the so called triangle of death...the oil breather cover, the oil thermostat or the oil pressure switch, or the oil cooler. Check this video:

https://youtu.be/OL9lal1FqXE?si=yKcDTP3hNyNiplLk

Search this forum for triangle of death to find detail on what it is and how to remediate.

An inspection camera would let you see these items and confirm if they are the source of the leak without any disassembly.

Regardless of what is leaking, there are only two ways to get access to fix it:

1. Remove at least the right half (if not all of) the intake manifold and other components to get access and fix the triangle with the engine in the car. This looks tricky to me, and involves hours of leaning way into the engine compartment to get things out and then back in. My back hurts thinking about it.

2. Pull the engine. Then you have free access to easily fix the triangle and do all sorts of other cleaning, maintenance and updates while you have the engine out.

I recently pulled the engine on my 84 Targa and am working through all sorts of little projects now while I have it out. Fuel lines, powder coating, fuel injectors, vacuum lines, valve adjustment, AC lines, full engine and engine compartment cleanup, etc.

Here is my thread on pulling the engine:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1153485-pulled-engine-my-84-targa-now-fun-begins.html

Keep us updated on your progress.

[JCFL]

Thank you - will look it up.
By the back of the engine, I meant the part of the engine that is facing the rear of the car.

[JCFL]

Thank you - I appreciated your video about triangle of death. I once before remove an engine from a Porsche, and it was an interesting experience.

In this case, by the back of the engine, I meant the part of the engine that is facing the rear of the car. There is a good view of what I am hoping to examine at 1min 05 secs in your video.

J
__

[ErrorMargin]

Originally Posted by JCFL

...by the back of the engine, I meant the part of the engine that is facing the rear of the car.

Ok, that is an easier spot to reach. I just went out and took a picture of my engine and marked the likely potential leaks, see picture 1 below. I'm still working through cleaning up my engine, but you can see it clearly enough. It was completely covered with grime when I started.

All of these leak points can be addressed without removing the engine.

You can reach just about all these points without removing much of anything to clean them. Removing the front engine tin and heater crossover pipe will help. You might start by getting everything really clean and that will help you to see what is leaking...you could have multiple leaks.

However, to reach the front crank seal and the intermediate shaft cover for inspection and cleaning, you need to support the engine and remove the cross bar (this connects the engine to the motor mounts and holds up the engine, so you need to support the engine to remove this), front engine tin, main AC bracket (might require you to unbolt the AC pump, but you will not have to disconnect the lines), muffler, heater cross over pipe and engine console. See picture 2 below to see the engine with most of the items that you need to remove installed.

I would try to clean it up as best you can by just removing the front engine tin and then see if you can find the leak.

Red: oil tensioner feed lines
Purple: Chain box gaskets
Orange: Front crank seal
Green: Intermediate shaft cover
Light blue: oil pressure sensor

Picture 1:


Picture 2:

[JCFL]

Thank you very much - will get to work on that.