'83 SC motor oil leak dramatically decreased!

[RNajarian]

The title pretty much says it all. My '83 SC motor was pretty good at leaking oil. At 135K miles I had the carrera chain tensioners installed and while the engine was out the obvious leak areas were addressed. The case WAS NOT cracked.

Immediately after getting the car back I noticed that after driving it there would be oil leaking from the case. It would stain clean cardboard three different areas about two-three inches in diameter. I assumed this was going to be par for the course.

However, after driving the car for 500-600 miles the sizes of the leaks decreased, maybe two circles the size of a quarter each!

The oil level, and oil pressure all have stayed constant.

I was told once that after changing seals/washers the car will often leak less after being driven a few hundred miles. Is this true?

Any ideas why the sudden improvement?

[JJ 911SC]

Did you change oil brand? Which one are using?

[RNajarian]

Not sure of the brand of oil used. TRE did the previous Oil change, so you know the correct brand/weight was used.

My friend who did the chain tensioners rebuilds and races 911s all day long, so I assume he also used the proper brand/weight.

It is possible he used a heavier weight. . . worth looking into.

[TechnoViking]

BP could use a man like you.

[Scott R]

In the Land Rover world when it stops leaking it's out of fluids.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

Not sure of the brand of oil used. TRE did the previous Oil change, so you know the correct brand/weight was used.

My friend who did the chain tensioners rebuilds and races 911s all day long, so I assume he also used the proper brand/weight.

It is possible he used a heavier weight. . . worth looking into.

In my 83SC the Po was using synthetic and it was leaking like a sieve...

I switch to dyno oil (Brad Penn Green Racing Oil) and the leakage drop by 50%.

If the engine has the original seal you should not use synthetic oil.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

. . . If the engine has the original seal you should not use synthetic oil.

ABSOLUTELY! Only the Cayenne and Boxster get the Mobil 1 Synthetic.