911 sc oil leak

[wilke3169]

I am sure this has been discussed to death but I am new here so bear with me. I have an oil leak which i consider major. Not enough to stop me from driving but enough to keep me from parking in friends driveways. It drips from the area where the engine and transmission join. The amount of oil that accumulates on my concrete garage floor overnight is a circle approximately 12" across. I replaced the internal oil t'stat o-ring, Breather cover gasket, oil press and temp sw and sealing ring. There is no sign any of these are leaking. This leak appeared after i made these repairs. I suspect the main seal at the flywheel but prior to engine removal, I would entertain any and all suggestions. Thanks in Advance, Kevin

[kstylianos]

I suspect the main seal at the flywheel

This is a good guess. 12" is a pretty big leak IMHO also. Other then the breather gasket, t-stat o-ring and pressure sensor, the only other seals (remotely) back there are the internal oil-cooler seals.

If its not a seal, it could be the case plugs behind the flywheel (doubt it).

[rlane]

Kevin, I am not an expert on fixing the leaks that many of our cars have but to figure out what is leaking I warm up the oil (a high speed country run is neccesary) jack up or better yet borrow a friends lift and get under there and clean the whole area with Simple Green or your favorite cleaner. Then place good absorbent paer towels or tissue at 10 and 2 o'clock on and around the housing...with the amount of leak you are describing it shouyld not take long for you to narrow down the offending area

[wilke3169]

Thanks guys. Let me add that the car sat for a few weeks while parts where on order to make the mentioned repairs. Would that be a reason for the seal to give? Other than the oil cooler which doesnt appear to be leaking is there any other suspect area?

[yelcab1]

You took care of all the usual suspects, except for the main seal at the flywheel end. So as Sherlock Holmes would put it: "once all other probable possibilities have been eliminated, what remains, however improbable, is the truth."

This means, your engine-transmision have to come out.

[Jim Sims]

I'd second rlane's suggeation but would blow baby powder (talcum or cornstarch) over the cleaned area, run engine and look for drips in the powder. Cheers, Jim

[wilke3169]

Thanks guys. Of course I was hoping someone would say, "did you tighten that hidden bolt?" I knew the answer all along. I will do the tests as prescribed. But I'm sure "A weeks work to install a 7.50 part." And, who knows what else I will discover once I'm in there. But, its why we love it so.
Thanks Again
Kevin

[surflvr911sc]

Drop the engine and change it before it looks like this!

[tsuter]

Man!! The EPA is gonna declare that a cleanup site!

[ruf-porsche]

Originally posted by tsuter
Man!! The EPA is gonna declare that a cleanup site!

Bad oil pressure idiot light sender WAG (WILD A$$ Guess).

[surflvr911sc]

LOL, yeah it was a little bit more than 12".

Edit: nope, flywheel seal.

[wilke3169]

Well I wont take pictures of mine. Dont want the evidence out there. Oil dry is a wonderful thing.

[yelcab1]

I did not have the picture of the time my external thermostat oil line went bad (bad connector) and spilled all over the road. The added benefit was .. the lowerd friction of coefficient for the rear passenger tire because it is now covered in oil. Makes that right hand turn ... somewhat interesting.

[smestas]

Your situation sounds like a flywheel seal but I thought that this would be worth mentioning for a 3.0 oil leak thread. My car had a oil leak near the oil cooler where a tube is pressed into/thru the case. There is a image of the leaking spot on this thread (Source of Oil Leak). I've since sealed it up with some JB-Weld with good results.

[wilke3169]

Thanks again, all good info. I will make one last investigation and then drop the engine. If I have any revelations I will certainly post.

[brawlins]

I had a 914 with an oil leak in the main seal. Fortunately, working on the 914 was a piece of cake. My 911 scares me.

[surflvr911sc]

Good luck, hopefully it's as straight up as the flywheel seal.

LOL, working on a 914 scares me, everything looks so buried. The 911 is a cake walk once to get up the nerve to tear into it, took me five years and I haven't stopped since.

[wilke3169]

This will be my first 911 engine drop. I hope you guys will be sitting around like expectant fathers waiting to answer questions. Not scared but I am sure there will be those moments when I say, ok what now.

[surflvr911sc]

LOL BTDT! My keyboard gets pretty messy when I do something for the first time. It's a great experience, I thought that doing it would really give me confidence and it did. I never thought that I would have to do it again 4.3 miles later, see oil leak pic.

The second time, dropped it one night, cleaned up and replaced the seal the second, installed on the third. Getting better than I ever hoped I would.

[wilke3169]

Ryan, was there a reason the seal lasted 4.3 miles? DId you drop the engine only or tranny as well?
Thanks, Kevin