a little scared

[rinverso]

my 86 911 3.2 targa has been dripping alittle oil around some of the oil lines since i had her. i've had her for five months now. the previous owner had a rebuilt engine dropped in at 100,000. it has 122,000 on it now.
out of nowhere, with the engine running, i have a major oil leak dripping out under engine compartment. i jacked her up and can't find the source. is there an oil line above the engine that i can't see. what could it be, and whats the worst scenario?
towing to the shop tomorrow. any thoughts.

[Jcslocum]

From the top of the engine, on the right center there is the triangle of death area where 3 leaks can occur. If you search you will find many a thread. Or it could be the oil cooler that is mounted also on the right side. Your shop should be able to figure it out for you.

[schumicat]

search triangle of death. there are lots of places these cars can leak but those are 3 common ones. they aren't expensive to fix.

[rinverso]

the leak seems to be coming from the right side mostly. triangle of death repairs require engine drop?

[redstrosekNic]

Perhaps the oil cooler let go. How is your rubber s hose (runs from the bottom of the oil tank)?

[fbeatty]

The seals in the oil cooler on mine were leaking. The repair was not that bad and stopped the leak altogether. No need for a complete engine drop.

[CountD]

Originally Posted by fbeatty

The seals in the oil cooler on mine were leaking. The repair was not that bad and stopped the leak altogether. No need for a complete engine drop.

Yes, I bet this is what it is - or a smoked cooler. Yes, it can be done without an engine drop (as I did), but you have to take A LOT of stuff off and it's a '...while I'm in here' sort of thing.

[fbeatty]

Originally Posted by CountD

Yes, I bet this is what it is - or a smoked cooler. Yes, it can be done without an engine drop (as I did), but you have to take A LOT of stuff off and it's a '...while I'm in here' sort of thing.

You are correct sir. It was not easy, but just took my time and worked it all out. There was a few cases of "while I am in here....", but none of it compares to the cases I have encountered while having the engine dropped to have the transmission fixed. Now those puppies have added up to some $$$$'s . Hahahahahahaha....

[DRACO A5OG]

stick a mirror back there and take a look. no you don't have to drop her but a partial drop would make it allot easier but you need to at least remove the top components to gain access.

don't be scared it is a straight forward repair just a tight fit for you though.

[rinverso]

turned out to be the oil thermostat o ring, and oil pressure switch. not too painful. had the valves adjusted and oil filter and oil change done at the same time. all work was done for under $1000. i didn't have the time to do it myself. and was not confident enough to do the valve adjustment myself.
does the price seem fair to youse guys. the mechanic has been a porsche mechanic at this independent shop for 30 years.

[timmy2]

Seems reasonable for a professional shop to do the work.
Labor intensive job.