1990 C2 Rookie Owner with Oil Leaks

[Hoyt]

Hello -

As the title states, I'm a new to the whole air cooled world. I've been enjoying the new to me '90 C2 that I recently purchased off BaT. She's been well used (from what the paint shows) but from what I can see she was taken care of pretty good mechanically.

Now, onto the fun....

I put the 964 up on my lift last night to see how things looked underneath since I've been seeing oil leaks on the floor. I knew I was going to find some "normal" oil leaks, but not like this. I took some photos that hopefully will lead to next steps on what I can do to get this engine a little more leak free. Below are the photos I took.

Engine details.... ~147,500 miles with a rebuild at 90k miles.

What does everyone think?

[mikedsilva]

You have a lift.. which means you are likely handy on the spanners. Lot's of great info here in this forum.. My personal experience was similar to yours.. I tried replacing the usual gaskets and used Perelet's Ultimate Oil Leak Thread. This kept it at bay for a while, but driving a car that dripped every few days, annoyed me.
In the end, I pulled the engine and rebuilt it. Previous 'mechanic' had used silicon to attempt to stop leaks from between the chain boxes and the case.. and pretty much, everywhere there was a bolt, it was leaking. Engine is still bone dry now..

How do you like it apart from the leaks?

[Cobalt]

Typical leaks hard to say exactly what needs addressing. Do a thorough cleaning of the underside drive it and then check for fresh oil. Most everything I see can be addressed without a rebuild minus the possibility of the timing chain housing seals to the case. These require at a minimum pulling the cams and replacing the seals.

If you are handy, these cars are relatively simple. The biggest issue is snapping exhaust studs in the process of removing the heater boxes Otherwise it is just time.

[Hoyt]

Thanks for all the info so far!! I know some oil weeping/leaking is normal with these engines. I guess I was just looking to ease my mind that I didn’t have an mission critical issues on my hands. And the good thing is my oil level has very minimal loss.

I’ve done a preliminary cleaning with a little degreaser and water. I plan on hitting it with a power washer this weekend. Then to drive it for a while and back on the lift to see what she looks like.

So far I’m loving everything about the 964. Classic feels, smells, and looks with just enough modern stuff.

[RedCoupe]

Originally Posted by Hoyt

Thanks for all the info so far!! I know some oil weeping/leaking is normal with these engines. I guess I was just looking to ease my mind that I didn’t have an mission critical issues on my hands. And the good thing is my oil level has very minimal loss.

I’ve done a preliminary cleaning with a little degreaser and water. I plan on hitting it with a power washer this weekend. Then to drive it for a while and back on the lift to see what she looks like.

So far I’m loving everything about the 964. Classic feels, smells, and looks with just enough modern stuff.

That's the way to approach it. Clean everything really well, and then observe where the leaks are coming from. In addition to leaks around the timing chain housings, it looks as though you have at least one hose leaking from where the flex hose is crimped on to the rigid end. But, the oil can blow all over the place, so do the cleaning then observe.

[Cobalt]

Another thing I learned the hard way. The plastic shields on either side when saturated with oil for a long time actually absorb the oil and when heated they will leach oil out and you end up with oil on the floor after all that cleaning. So take the time to ultrasonically or in some way get as much of the oil out of them as possible before installing agin.

It drove me crazy on one engine I did and it took some time to figure out but when I placed a heat gun near the shield you can just watch little beads of oil come out of the plastic bits. You also might consider changing all the small rubber hoses to the oil tank and consider removing the rockers and seeing if the main oil lines to the cooler have any issues while your at it. Gets expensive but I like the once and done approach myself. GLuck