Are there 2 oil drain plugs on the engine case on my 3.2?

[chrisbruck]

Newbie 911 owner and I finally got it up on the jack stands to look around better under the engine and fiddle. Has a minor oil leak which is coming from what appears to be a drain plug on the engine (see first pic below). However, I thought the oil drain plug was on the side of the engine case (see second pic). So are these both oil drain plugs on the engine case? The one leaking is up towards the transmission side and a little higher up in the case.

The previous owner just had the oil changed before I bought it so I haven't changed it myself yet. I know about the separate oil tank plug.

[vulcan300]

Um no, while there are two drain plugs on a 3.2, there is only one on the case. The second picture shows the case drain plug. The first picture is for some thing else, possibly the oil pressure release valve. Don't remove that. The second drain plug on a 3.2 in on the bottom of the oil tank at the right side of the engine.

[chrisbruck]

Looking closely at the offending plug, I can see the crush washer is definitely "crushed".

So if I happen to remove this plug that's leaking without draining the oil tank first, how much oil can I expect to come out? The engine only has a few quarts in the case but I was curious if a full oil tank would cause more to come pouring out.

I'd like to fix this now rather than wait till I change the oil next time but don't really want to waste 12 quarts of fresh oil that's in there now.

[Canada Kev]

The second picture is the case oil drain. And as posted above, the other is indeed something else, probably the oil pressure relief valve. If you take it out, there's a spring in there that will likely fall out and perhaps get lost - just be prepared. Removing this should only cause you to lose a bit of oil. I think. Be prepared for more, though.

[chrisbruck]

Hmm, maybe I'll just let it be till the next oil change then just to be safe. The drip isn't that bad. It just looks so simple to fix at the moment though. Will do more research to see exactly what it is.

[tailwind22]

Speaking from experience, if you remove the oil pressure relief plug it is not an easy task to compress the spring and get the threads started, especially if you are underneath the car and not working with a lift so proceed with caution.

[rattlsnak]

You usually lose @ 2-3 quarts from just the case drain. Jack up the car on the drivers side would help.

[jklaspok]

Are you sure the oil leak is coming from that plug? That's a very common area for oil leaking from different areas to accumulate. See this article: Oil Leak.....Time to get nervous?

[chrisbruck]

Spent more time under the car the past couple days just to look around and figure out what everything is. It's actually relatively straightforward under there (pleasantly suprised).

The leak I have is definitely coming from the pressure relief valve plug and not something above it. Is this common? Any other parts inside besides the crush washer I should plan on replacing when I decide to pull it out?

[wildcat077]

I wouldn't be too sure about the oil pressure relief plug leaking ... judging by the accumulated oil in the general area it could be anything.
Just retorque it to the factory specs for now and replace the plug and washer at your next oil change !

Trust me,there are worse leaks to address eventually

Cheers !
Phil