Quick oil leak Question

vmann7 · 03-17-2008, 05:21 PM

My 87 911 is probably mad at me. I've been considering letting it go since I don't drive it enough. I took it out today to take some pics after cleaning and waxing it. I usually don't like to start and turn it off right away so I left it idle for about 15 min while I took the shots. When I pulled it back into the garage I noticed the smell of burnt oil. I didn't sweat it too much since I just had a valve adjustment and in the past the valve covers just needed to be snugged up a little. I just took a look and it doesn't seem to be the valve covers. It seem to be coming from the ridge just below, on both sides of the motor. I've attached a pic of the area and an overall shot of the car. Possible oil return tubes? They were replaced a couple of years ago but I guess they can go bad again?

I did a search first and saw some thoughts regarding synthetic vs dino oil and the cause of leaks, I'm running synthetic @ I believe 5W30.

Rot 911 · 03-17-2008, 06:16 PM

Sure looks like the oil return tubes. At least they are on the side that is easy to get at.

tonythetarga · 03-17-2008, 06:45 PM

5w30 is very light weight oil. You might want to double check that. Even with synthetic, you could go to a heavier blend and not be concerned with thick oil on a cold morning.
Return tubes usually leak while the car sits. If your car leaks more when it's running then it is coming from somewhere else I'd guess.

rusnak · 03-19-2008, 02:21 PM

I can hardly see any leaking oil at all. I would just clean the engine with some Purple Power or Super Clean, and drive it. Dont worry about such small leaks.

OldTee · 03-19-2008, 03:15 PM

Look carefully around the oil pressure sender and the oil lines for the tensioners. If no joy, you can do a cheap oil leak detection or one that costs a few dollars more. Cheap method it to clean throughly, as described above, let sit over night to make sure no cleaner is present , then hit the area with baby powder. Use a mustard or ketchup bottle you steal from a diner or Mcie D. Expansive way is to use a leak detector that you put in the oil and view using a ultraviolet lamp. Kit from Rock Auto. If that is all that it is leaking, forget it. Go drive and enjoy. Silly thinking to expect an air cooled engine to be bone dry all the time. Too much expansion and contraction in aluminum engines.

kilodawg · kilodawg's Garage

Looks like the return tube O-rings are the likely culprit. On that side an easy job. Very cheap if you already have collapsible tubes in there. Could cost under $30 to fix yourself.