NEW LEAK...any thoughts

[75USCarrera]

Hello all,

I had my 1989 951 out and about 2 days ago. I noticed today that there is a long narrow trail of a leak under the car. The fluid was somewhat oily but thinner than motor oil. It also started out dark and then by the time it ran to the back of the car it separated out to a straw color. It does not smell like engine oil. It appears to be coming from the back of the engine or near The oil level is normal. The coolant level is normal. There has not been any leaks all summer. The car had a complete service 2 summers ago with a new timing belt and balance shaft belts. It does not appear that the water pump was done. The belt was re-tensioned at exactly 1500 miles.


See the attached photos. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[vdubr928]

Looks like oil to me. It ain't brake fluid. Which is what I think when people say thinner/lighter than oil.

Hint:brake fluid dries clear. See what it looks like tomorrow. (Oil wont dry like brake fluid will.) It could be from the clutch. Hint:what is low? If brake fluid is still full its oil.

[RedBaron]

If it does turn out to be oil, your likely culprits are a RMS, Oil pan gasket, or valve cover gasket.

[John_AZ]

75USCarrera

RedBaron & vdubr928 mentioned the typical oil leaks. Rear cam housing cork gasket fails a lot.

If you lift the car and remove the under engine pan, you might look at the passenger rear balance shaft area.

The passenger rear balance shaft seal has an "O" ring that fails.

A temporary fix is to scrub clean the area and pack with RTV.

GL
John

[75USCarrera]

Thanks...I will keep you posted. I know after reading multiple posts that some leaks are worse than others and may causing intermingling of coolant with oil. Should I be concerned or is that to early to say.

[John_AZ]

Take the coolant recovery cap off and wipe your finger inside.
Does it come out like "milkshake"

OR

Pull the oil level stick and check to see if you have a layer of coolant on top of the oil on the stick.

If no on both ----be happy.

John

[mytrplseven]

I haven't ventured into the power steering on my car (yet) but I was wondering if there's a connection, or more specifically a leak in that system. Does the power steering fluid smell like what you found on the floor? What made think of it was when you said it didn't smell like motor oil. That much brake fluid would show in the level in the brake reservoir. Good luck in your search.

[75USCarrera]

FYI...clutch slave took a dump and is being replaced! I did Check the brake fluid and the level was normal when I checked. Then a few days later, the clutch pedal hit the floor and stayed...big hint!

Thanks for everyone's input!

Greg
89 951

[mytrplseven]

Yeah, that's pretty much a solid symptom. Glad it wasn't something exotic that took 30 or 40 blogs to get to the bottom of it.