Is leak between cam tower and Head a major problem?

[Ashi911]

I have an oil leak between the cam tower and head (I think). Is this a major problem and can the car be driven like this?

Can this be coming from a different location?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[rotorhead]

You might want to make sure that the leak is not from one of the rocker arm shafts walking. It can be very expensive if one of these shafts moves too far



The picture above shows two shafts that had moved after a top end rebuild due to incorrect torque technique. The vehicle developed an oil leak in the the region you described.

[aigel]

It will stink!

Otherwise, there isn't much that's gonna break, except if you had recent work done like in Steve's example.

Other sources may actually be from the top of the engine or the cam end plate o-rings / gaskets. Generally my advice on an older engine is to pull the whole mess and go through every gasket and O-ring at once. If one of them leaks, the others aren't far behind.

George (with a resealed 3.0!)

[rotorhead]

If you engine has a few miles on it I don't imagine that you would have the problem I described. However, the rocker shaft is notorious for leaks.

[movin]

Do you mean between the cam chain housing and the head?

[Ashi911]

Originally posted by movin
Do you mean between the cam chain housing and the head?

Yes, that was what I meant. For the record there is 45K original miles on the car and it runs like a bear. I was hoping to bypass the heat exchangers to reduce the smoking and I believe that this will also lower the oil temp due due to the build up in heat from the exchangers. Any thoughts on this??

[aigel]

David:

You won't get around fixing that leak. Nothing is more satisfying than a flat six that doesn't leak a drop.

What you have leaking is very likely the o ring on the cam end plate. These get old and brittle from age and ozone, not necessarily from mileage. Unfortunately this is a rather involved repair where you have to take off the cam sprockets and as a result have to retime the cams.

Bypassing heat exchangers will do nothing, except leaving you cold. It will have no influence on oil temp. I think it's time to get Waynes book or search the board for cam end plates

George

[dezzmo]

David,

when does it leak, when the engine is running or do you find oil on the ground after it's been parked for awhile?

And if it does leak when the car is running is it falling right on the exhaust?

The reason I'm asking is that I've been chasing an oil leak on my 2.2L motor in the same general area as you have.

I thought it was the valve cover (which was warped) so I replaced it with a turbo valve cover and a weltmeister gasket and the SOB still leaks directly on the heat exchangers only when the motor is running.

I may be having the same problem as you so please let me know what you find.

Tim G.

[dezzmo]

Bump?

[KobaltBlau]

I had a car that was for sale inspected and it looked like it had a leak between the chain housing and #1 head/cam tower area. Turned out the exhaust stud was broken on #1 next to the chain housing. something to check. This engine had recieved a top end rebuild recently, they should have done new studs.

[erobinson]

I would yank it and reseal... you didnt specify which end or bank the leak is on. My first 2.7 leaked down the heads on the passenger side, when traced it turned out to be oil getting blow around due to major leaking on top of the engine. There are pics on here. It was a very oily mess. If the engine has had top end work done to it, the heads could be leaking due to incorrect sealer used, the o rings on the cam plate could be leaking due to a bad seal (age etc) or improper seal installation technique, Rocker shafts could be leaking, the list goes on.

Why on earth would you wanna ditch your OFDS? Its part of what makes a porsche a porsche :-D

[aigel]

Originally posted by KobaltBlau
I had a car that was for sale inspected and it looked like it had a leak between the chain housing and #1 head/cam tower area. Turned out the exhaust stud was broken on #1 next to the chain housing. something to check. This engine had recieved a top end rebuild recently, they should have done new studs.

This makes no sense. Why would the engine leak oil when the exhaust stud is broken? Or are you talking about an exhaust leak. That's an entirely different story.

All my buddies with older 911s had at some point to reseal most of the gaskets and o-rings. Unless most of it was done already, I recommend pulling the engine and redoing it. It only costs about $100 or less in seals and gaskets.

George

[dezzmo]

George,

Do you know in general how much a trusted Porsche mechanic would charge you in labor?

It appears that I may have this same problem on my 2.2L and I'm hesitant to sink any more cash into this money pit.

Thanks,

Tim G.

[aigel]

Originally posted by dezzmo
George,

Do you know in general how much a trusted Porsche mechanic would charge you in labor?

It appears that I may have this same problem on my 2.2L and I'm hesitant to sink any more cash into this money pit.

Thanks,

Tim G.

Tim:

The parts are cheap but there is quite some labor. I looked at an SC a couple years ago that had the o-rings on the cam end plates leak. The guy had an estimate from a local shop > 1k to fix both sides. So, that will translate to at least 10 hours of labor. John Walker hopefully will chime in and tell you how many hours he'd charge you. Shops vary - many take you to the cleaners.

You should think about doing this yourself. Cost is next to nothing, only time!

George

[dezzmo]

Thank's for the info George.

I'm debating whether or not to fix the leaks or just take my loss's by selling the motor and save up for a 3.0.

I paid $1800 for it and now I gotta sink another grand plus figure out why it's not running on all 6 cylinders?



Tim G.

[aigel]

Well, if you really want a 3.0, it may be time to start saving. But make sure you buy a rebuilt engine with a warranty, so you don't start the same mess again in the 3.0 territory. If you were local, I'd be happy to help reseal the engine. Maybe some RI Pelicans can help you get started. Seems like doing it yourself is not an option? Good Luck,

George

[Cordts]

Tim.. A Weltmeister Valve Cover Gasket???