Ok, I got my car up on the ramps and this is what I found......

overkill · 09:02 AM

First, theres the superb job I did drivin that bad boy up on ramps all by myself(give the man a bone!):

Then theres my nice and clean engine:

Another engine shot:

Then I found this:

It's looks to be like it's only in one area, right under the oil filter. Now some of the oil is like under the engine components which told me its not from spilling the oil during a oil change. Also Where the oil filter screws into is actually clean so that told me too that its nota sloppy oil change. But its all in one area and its all at the bottom of the engine area none at the top. Like if there is a leak its very low on the engine somewhere. Now the good news is that I didnt find alot of rust, just a little on the tube where its bolted in:

and thats basically it for now? Tell me what you guyz think about the oil, where it might be coming from.

adrial · adrial's Garage

As you will soon learn, whenever you change the oil, unless you're careful the oil filter will dump oil all over that area when you remove it.

This deteriorates the passanger side sway bar bushings and power steering lines. It's definetely worth it to stuff some rags, or a cut up funnel down there to prevent the oil from covering your engine.

If you're not loosing any oil (by watchin the dipstick), then I'd say the PO did sloppy oil changes as I did the first 2 times...now I'll clean up my changes, after I saw what you saw and replaced the sway bar bushings as a result of sloppy oil changes.

my 2 cents,
Adrial

p0r2chbyIII · 02-01-2002, 09:21 AM

looks like your leak is ATF from the power stearing pump. The red color is the clue. If your car has any kind of mileage on it, its not uncommon for the pump seals to leak. Clean the area up with a shot of simple green, run the car for a few weeks and take a look again.

The remaining "oil" debries are probably just the escaped ATF flowing along surfaces as the car moves over time.

overkill · 09:46 AM

First of all what red color? I didnt see any red other then the color of the car. What is ATF? Where is the coolant drain plug on the engine block? The hanyes manual said it's under the manifold on the right side of the engine...**** the haynes manual only covers SOHC! ****! Anyone know where the coolant drain plug is on the engine block of a S? Which is the right side of the engine, the exhaust manifold side?

Cebu · 02-01-2002, 09:49 AM

ATF=automatic transmission fluid...used iin some auto power steering systems.

Britwrench · 02-01-2002, 10:14 AM

Don't bother trying to undo the drain plug..just remove the block off plate on the water pump and drain it that way.

Bob's944 · Bob's944's Garage

I agree with porchboy, it's your power steering leaking somewhere. The 3rd and 4th pics after you said 'I found this..' shows the red fluid distinctly, you can see a large drop of it on that one nut in the 3rd pic, and it's all over the tension adjuster in the 4th pic.

Clean it up, then see where it's coming from. In the meantime, keep the power steering fluid topped off till you find it to prevent any furthure damage to the power steering pump. It should be a slow enif leak for you to still drive the car, but get it cleaned up to stop the damage it's doing to any rubber.

What you found also lets you know that they did an awsome job at cosmetically making your car look sweet!!!! But, as you can see they just clean up everything in site. I would have the car checked out thoroughly to see if there is anything else up.

overkill · 02-01-2002, 10:36 AM

ummm, where is the water pump and the block off plate, i have an S. what does the block off plate look like? does the S have one?

Bob's944 · Bob's944's Garage

Block off plug is on your waterpump, the same water pump is used by turbo's and NA's now, so it's the plug for the output to the turbo cooling. It's kinda obvious when you look at the pump.

AFJuvat · 02-01-2002, 10:50 AM

Concur with Britwrench. Don't bother trying to remove the drain plug on the block. It is a pain to get out and an even bigger pain trying to get back in and have it seal properly.

Welcome to the wonderful world of "Where the hell is that oil coming from??!!" (otherwise known as "you now own a porsche")

Since oil changes are pretty sloppy on these cars, some of it is probably poor housekeeping on the PO's part.

However....

Since the crud is all over your PS pump, that would be the first place I check. from your pictures, it does seem to have a reddish cast to it (may be reflection from your car). First off, PS hoses seep fluid. They will usually look and feel greasy. look around all the hoses (especially where rubber and metal join) and look for evidence of leaks. Clean the pump area and hoses completely (gunk degreaser or simple green work well) Drive the car around for a bit and check again.

As a side note, if your PS fluid is not red, the PO put the wrong fluid in....

Now, in one of your pictures (second one), I see oil staining right under your crankshaft pully. This could be carry over from wherever it is leaking, or evidence of one of your front seals letting go. The 4th and 5th pictures also indicate the possibility of a front seal leak.

If you PS is fine, and after you have cleaned up the mess you still have a leak in that area. it is time to look at oil pressure sender or **shudder** front cam seals.

please tell me you did have a PPI before you bought this car....

AFJuvat

overkill · 02-01-2002, 11:07 AM

What is a PPI, does that answer your question? Ok, check it out when i took like the first couple of pictures the lamp i used had a orangy red cage around it, i had taking it off for the last of the pictures. I had touched the oil its brownish black, all of it.

AFJuvat · 02-01-2002, 11:08 AM

PPI...

PRE PURCHASE INSPECTION

If it is brownish black, that still doesn't rule out PS fluid - it gets dirty being on the engine.

AFJuvat

species · 02-01-2002, 12:34 PM

I would first get a hose under there and clean it up. Check back in a couple days and see where it is seeping from, clould be one place toward the front, or many down the side. There is nothing like starting on a clean engine, top and bottom.

Roger Hall · 02-01-2002, 05:45 PM

It doesn't look like oil. These guys are giving you good advise I would follow it. I would clean up the area and check the power steering fluid level. I would also check the brake fluid and clutch fluid levels. Then drive the car for a couple of weeks and recheck all the levels weekly. When the level drops you have found the problem.

cruzermusic · 02-01-2002, 06:02 PM

i got the same leak, not as bad as yours... my mech. says that its a valve cover leak ..common problem...i got 120k on engine.

Moneyguy1 · 02-01-2002, 07:38 PM

Don't rule out shaft seals....I had a leak that looked a lot like that and when I cleaned up the area I found new puddles on the pass. side of the engine shield that drove me nuts trying to find them. Lo and behold...when I removed the timing belt cover, there was a lot of oil in there.

Just an idea..

Bob S.