Oil leaks and suspect mechanic

[Aurel]

Last september, I had the clutch replaced by an `exotic cars` mechanic who claims to be a Porsche specialist. It cost me $1600, and for that price, I was expecting a good job.
Few days later, I had oil in my airbox and a huge smoke. Took it back to him; he had overfilled the oil, and I asked him to remove the excess. Then, (after two months) my differential started to be make noise. It brought the car back. There was almost NO OIL in the gearbox, while I had the oil changed before the clutch work. He just said` hum, I wonder where the oil went`, and refilled it for free. But the noise is still there. Now, my car leaks like crazy and uses 1qt oil/300 miles. So, I decided to work on it myself. First, I cleaned the engine to see where the major leak is. Here is what I found :



So, my car leaks because one of the bolts that connects the transmission to the engine is missing. I beleive this mechanic is a crook, because either he forgot the bolt, or did not put it intentionally to create the next job on my car. Am I paranoid or what ? I will never trust a mechanic anymore, and I am going to do all I can do myself, starting with adjusting the valves, replacing oil (castrol gtx 20W50), and fixing the leaks.I will avoid synthetic oil because of the leaks, and who can beat $21.48/12 quarts ?

Aurel
78 SC Targa

[slakjaw]

seems its always the car doctors fault

you know?

[thebondman]

"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't really out to get you"

[emcon5]

I can't think of why leaving that nut off would cause a leak. All that does is hold the tranny to the engine, and there is no oil in the bellhousing, just the clutch.

However, if he changed the rear seal and cocked it up, I could see oil coming out there. There are also a couple things on top of the engine, a temp switch, the O-ring in the thermostat, which could concievably show up there.

Smell the oil coming out of there, and compare it to the oil on the dipstick. If it smells different (and really unpleasant) it is probably your gear oil from the tranny.

Tom

[Aurel]

Yep, this is why I will be the doctor`s car from now. Like that, if something goes wrong, I will be the only one to blame.

Aurel

[Britwrench]

Leaving the nut off would not in any way cause an oil leak.
If the engine is using that much oil it would smoke. If it doesn't it's leaking..so where is the leak?

The shop should have checked the trans oil, however, if they didn't drain it there must be a leak that should have been repaired. Did they report that?

The shop obviously overfilled the engine with oil..but that won't cause the leak...so the engine must have been leaking before...

I don't think this is the whole story.

y

[davis911s]

I agree that that bolt won't cause any leaks. But if the guy overfilled the oil, didn't check the transmission fluid, plus left this nut off.......what else did he do, or not do??????

Another great example of why I work on my own car, I LOVE to blame myself, then come here for help

Shawn

[Aurel]

I agree with you. The mechanic made three bad mistakes, but even that cannot account for everything. All I know is that the car does not smoke at all, so I really wonder where all that oil goes ! Little by little, I`ll find out !

Aurel

[pnzr911]

Pull the cover off between the seats (4 screws) and look in the tunnel between the seats. If you find pools of oil you will know were it went. Bye the way this would be gear oil and not engine oil. It will be reddish and smell real bad. IF you do find it here then you have a bad shaft seal or the seal was damaged when the engine was dropped to work on the clutch. There is way to drain out the oil if its there. Let me know.

You said your engine leaks. Did it leak before? Where does it leak from?(put a white piece of cardboard under your car at night and pinpoint the leak spot). Several oil leaks can be fixed without removing the Engine. Some require a removal. Be sure to check your lower and upper valvcover bolts. Very possible they are not tight. Also check the sump screen plate. He could have stripped a stud on the bottom if he jacked the car up using the plate. This would prevent the bolts from tightening all the way!

Bye the way I NEVER allow anyone to work on my cars except a "Independant Porsche Shop". Go with the experts or better yet do it yourself!

[Superman]

I agree you should work on your own car. Start by giving it a good hosing. Take a jack with you to a carwash that allows engine cleaning. Wash it really good underneath. Then when you go home and crawl under it, you'll shee where you missed. Go back to the car wash and get those places. Then crawl under it an wipe it clean and dry with a rag. Drive it down the block and back. Check for leaks. You certainly won't find leaks on a filthy, wet engine unless you use the black light dye.

Sorry to hear about your experiences. You'll be getting more intimate with your car now, and that's a good thing.

[Aurel]

Today, I adjusted the valves, and I found 3 broken head studs, two on the side that leaks most. Fortunately, they are on different cylinders, so I will live with them for now. That is more likely to explain my leaks, than the missing bolt on my tranny. I replaced it too, that was a pain in the a$$ to reach it! I am glad I did that job, it took me the whole day, but it was an educative experience. It was a beautifull day here in New-Jersey, and I was outside working on my SC. Much better than being in an office, and at least I really feel I have worked ! Plus I saved $500 that will not go in the pocket of my untrustworthy mechanic !

Aurel
78 SC Targa

[yelcab1]

There are only four bolts-nuts holding the tranny to the engine. Missing one nut means the mechanic is off by 25%. Not a very good average. Work on your car, you'll feel better about it.

[Doug E]

Are you comfortable disclosing the name of the shop?

I'm originally from NJ and just curious.

[Superman]

[Aurel]

My ex-mechanic is Mario`s in Red Bank, on Newman Springs Road. I had my first oil+gearboox change done by him. That was $141 if I recall. The one I did today cost me less than $30, filter included. He also mounted 4 tires on my wheels ($127 with balancing) and scratched one of them. The only reason I had chosen him is that he is few blocks from me, has a clean garage and works on sports cars (Ferrari, Porsche)...but that was no good choice. In a sense, I am glad because this is forcing me to work on my car. BTW, I did a test drive tonight, and everything sounds fine, maybe little more power than before the valve job. I can congratulate my new mechanic

Aurel

[Wayne 962]

Leaking from broken head studs is a bad sign. If there are oil leaks, then there are compression leaks and that could leak to major piston / head damage. Typically one broken head stud can be gotten away with. The surrounding heads and cam towers have a tendency to still support the head adequately. However, with three, the car is weaker. You may cause permanent damage, with the worst case being new P&Cs needed plus 3 new heads. This is worst case...

As for the missing nut, if the transmission is pulled out and twisted, it might place a strange load on the mainshaft, which may tweek the seal. Unlikely, but perhaps a possibility.

Kudos for you deciding to work on it yourself. Make sure that you get yourself one of these:

http://www.101projects.com

-Wayne

[Rick Lee]

I can certainly vouch for doing your own work. Number 1: I got shafted and gouged by a local wrench recently. Number 2: Several locals showed up to help me when I announced an engine drop party here. Number 3: I saved a LOT in labor costs by doing it myself with the help of local Pelicanheads. Number 4: It's a great feeling to have done work yourself, which you previously thought was only possible by a pro.

[Aurel]

I already got the book Wayne, and I have already done door stay replacemement, shifting linkage improvements, Ignition refreshing, fan belt adjustment, shocks replacement, oil change and this valve adjustment...And I have been amazed to see that all the failures I get on my car are very classic ones, that are widely documented on this board. As for my broken head studs, I still have to do some cleaning there to see if they cause the oil leak. Then, maybe dropping the engine will be my next project...BTW, I used to have strange vibrations from the tranny when starting from a stop, as if I had bad transmission mounts, or a bad clutch. Well, since I have added the fourth bolt, those vibrations seem to have disappeared ! Could one missing bolt out of four be enough to cause a twist between the transmission and the engine ?
Thanks for creating Pelican parts, Wayne, without this board, I would still be dumping tons of $$ for incompetent mechanics ! Not meaning here that all of them are like that, I am sure that John Walker is not ! But I am now convinced that they have to be 100% Porsche and really love working on 911s them if they are to do a good job !

Aurel

[speeder]

While I absolutely agree with the others here extolling the virtues of DIY and bonding with car through nut-turning, your *****-for-brains mechanic story does not leave me with the conclusion that "now you must do all work on car yourself". There are competent Porsche mechanics out there, plenty of them, I suggest you find one for the jobs you are not capable of doing yourself. I myself do not generally believe in paying others to do what I can do as well or better myself, but unless you are a master tech with vast 911 knowledge, you will need professional help at some point.

A good starting point for mechanic search, (as well as good advice for life in general), is whenever possible, USE SPECIALISTS! "Exotic car mechanic" is the automotive equivalent to a proctologist who does lipo-suction on the side. And I don't care how many Porsches he may have in shop, those are known as "victims". Anyone who overfills a 911 w/ oil knows ZERO about Porsches. Sorry to hear about your misfortune, why don't you sue the idiot for the $1600.00? Sounds like a winner to me.

[Roland Kunz]

Hello

Still one quest is how the trany oil got lost.

One could be that the machnic fliped/stored the trany sideways or upright down on the mating surface and some oil escaped.
Now your trany noise should have then startet sooner.

If not it could be that your trany main input shaft seal is shot and the oil will sip into the clutch over the time.

Porsche uses a 15mm spanner nut on that M10 stud. The normal 17mm spanner nut needs to much time to twist it on.

Grüsse