Hello 996 friends
Maybe some of you remember I had a faulty AOS couple months ago which luckily did not turn into a tragedy. Since then i have put a good 2000 miles on the car with out any problem till two days ago.

My friend who im visiting for the holidays noticed a small oil circle on the drive way. As a typical 996 driver i tried to blame every other car on the lot except mine To note was that already after leaving orlando my oil level wasent the fullest. To be exact i had 3 bars on the digital gage and the analoge one showed me always 1+ in IDL which is fine for the car.
The day after noticing the oil circle on the driveway I checked the oil level in the morning and both gauges showed me 0%! I freaked out. Did the manual reading in the back and she was super dry. Didn't move the car an inch before toping it up with 1,5oc of 4/50 mobil oil.
Drove it to a "German" shop just to get un understanding of what the car looks like from underneath. Right away he was scaring me with words of faulty IMS, broke engine case, bla bla bla.. I insisted to check it out anyway.

In the end we came to the conclusion that most of the oil the car had lost was by the gasket which is situated between the engine and the trani on the left bank. He was trying to convince me to do a complete overhaul of the engine replacing every gasket possible which totaled a nice 6k repair. I refused as I am on the edge with all these repairs and im putting the car up for sale soon. He did try to pull my wallet as i noticed all the gaskets on the list being for the GT3 model. We also checked the report that the car gave us and there where no CAM errors of any sort. As usual i still had a faulty O2 but thats not the big deal.

After sitting a night outside i checked the oil levels again this morning and it seems to have not lost anything. There are no signs of oil underneath the car either. There is one strange thing that I did notice. When i turned the key this morning with the engine being cold the analoge oil pressure gauge went up to 1,5 and then within few seconds instantly dropped down below 1. When I switch the engine on the oil pressure as usual for a cold engine jumps up to 5. Could this be indications for a faulty oil pump? Or id probably have no pressure at all if that where the case?

I made another appointment with a trust worthy mechanic that porsche friends recommended me down here in Delrey Beach where im spending my holidays at the moment. Right now im just looked forward to repair this issue and enjoy my last few weeks with my 996 before I put it up for sale with 89k on the clock and stop driving it. Already looking forward for the feedback! Happy Holidays to all of you!

Claudio

 

another two things forgot to mention are that the car does not smoke up on the start.
There is some condense water coming out the exhaust everytime on start up but im guessing that has nothing to do with the issue

 

Oil pressure builds with increasing revs.. I do not think that there is an issue with the oil pump and / or the oil pressure indicator based on your input. But.. tell us..what year /model is your car, manual or auto- any modifications. Anything done / changed recently? Any idiot lights on or flashing?

 

Are you checking the oil level on the dipstick or just off the electrical readouts?

 

I got a 2002 996 C2 with a 6speed manual. The only thing i changed is the air filter (K&N) for better throttle response.
I checked every reading. cold and hot. And no lights flashing at all. We checked the readings yesterday and the only thing was the faulty 02 sensor.

I first let the digital run its measurements. After filling her up yesterday its telling me that its constantly full. I find the digital one to be the most unreliable one.

The analog gage on the dashboard when the engine is off and cold tells me bellow 1 which i take from your comment about revs is normal then?

The most important reading which is the stick tells me that its full all the way when the engine is cold and off. I just did a quick 15min warm up drive and took the stick reading again and the oil level is right on the middle with a warm engine which is perfect. With the warm running engine the analog on IDL stays inbetween 2-3. Im clueless of what could of caused the oil lose overnight
and I dont know if its going to happen again. Wont be driving the car at all till monday.

 

Let me take a stab at this:
Initially the oil leak from the rear would indicate to me a bad Rear Main Seal (RMS) not the IMS Bearing. Keep in mind the electronic dip stick is only 1 quart, so if it's registering half the bars, you're 1/2 quart low.
Did you check the coolant to ensure it's not going there?
If you are loosing oil it has to be going somewhere.
When I start mine it reads 5, when warm it reads between 2 and 3 closer to 3 and immediately jumps to just below 5 when i rev up.
Check your filter to make sure there's not a crack in the casing. If your dip stick is not reading oil it's either a leak, mixing with the coolant, or you're burning it.

 

OK, the 2002 3.6 liter engine has a dipstick. That is good an that is a more accurate physical reading when compared with the digital one.
Now, here is what might be happening, assuming that you are seeing some fluctuation in the actual level when looking at the dipstick.
I think the handbook states you should check the oil level when the engine is cold. That means that any condensation that might be present int he sump - yes - water - is elevating the oil level. Typically, an engine needs a 30 minutes brisk drive to boil the water out of the oil sump. Thereafter, the dipstick will indicate the REAL oil level in the sump. If you are fetching groceries and do other short trips, the water does not get boiled off and you see a higher dip stick reading. As soon as you do a 30 minute + trip and the water is boiled off, you will " suddenly" notice a marked drop in the oil level ON THE DIP STICK. That's what might be happening in your case.

 

You can tell if it's water in the oil by this; take the oil fill cap off and look at the inside, if the oil on it is gray in color then you have water in the oil. This is why we all need to drive our garage queens at least once a week, Dd need not worry.

 

I just took a look at the oil cap. Took a wipe with the paper towel inside to check the oil colore and its that normal brown orangey color from mobil. The cap seal is greenish. Find it hard to believe it being the oil filter because it got replaced on the last job but you never know. Took a look also at the cooling reservoir and there i couldnt really tell but i believe some oil has gotten in the circulation. Drops of orangey liquid is present in that cooling container.

From now on till monday I wont be moving it cause im **** scared. Should I take it for that 30 minute brisk drive before handing it over to the shop? Im definitely going to report our conclusions here to him.
And yes i know that these ladys need to stretch there legs once a week with a nice long trip. Just had done 250 miles from orlando to miami on the 17th.
I usually use the car to drive to school in orlando and for weekend trips. Thanks a lot for the great advice guys and I hope to get to the bottom of this soon.

 

Did you check your oil before your trip from Orlando to Delray? Or recently, at least?
These engines and all the oil related guages are really finicky about having exactly the right amount of oil in the engine. Maybe you started the trip a hair low on oil?
But here's some info you might find useful... I live in Central Florida, too, and the two long trips I've taken with my '99 996 have ended in a few drops of oil on the ground. First trip to North Carolina was with a newly-replaced RMS seal, and the second trip to Key West was with a brand spankin' new engine. I haven't gotten any oil drips after my shorter trips.

 

A few comments:

1. Get a new mechanic. The one you took the car to cannot be trusted, period.

2. Oil coming out between the engine and transmission is a common symptom of a RMS leak. This is neither a complicated nor terribly expensive repair. My car, also a 2002, had its RMS replaced at about 15k miles; it has been leak-free ever since, an additional 40k miles. (Porsche changed the design of the RMS and the current version is much more reliable; the early versions were prone to developing leaks.)

3. Check your coolant reservoir to see what the coolant looks like. Pink or green and clear is normal. Brown gravy looking gack suggests intermix, where is a condition where some of the oil is leaking into the coolant. This usually occurs via a crack in a head. This is a more complicated and costly repair, but is doable in many cases.

The reason for comment #1 is that you will likely want a pro to make any repairs assocated with either #2 or #3, should they prove to be required.

But, before you do anything, take a methodical approach to diagnosing what, if any, problem you have. Take the car on a 30+ minute drive, as previously recommended, then park the car on a clean, level surface. The next morning, measure the oil level via dipstick only, with the engine cold, and carefully inspect the area underneath the car for any signs of oil drips. Top up if needed, leaving at least 30 minutes for any oil you added to drain into the sump and remeasure. Go for a 30+ minute drive, park on clean surface, measure/inspect the next morning. In all cases carefully note the reading on the dipstick.

Last thought. The M96 engine will burn oil. Not a lot, but needing to add a quart after a few thousand miles is not at all unexpected. Check your owner's manual; it actually states an oil consumption spec (which is not zero). You may have no "problem" at all!

Good luck.

 

I am a new 2004 C4S owner. I just sold a 1987 Morgan Plus 8 so so I have much to learn.

My oil pressure question: My gauge hovers around 4 while at 3000 RPM but the manual states it should be at 3.5 at 5000 RPM. Obviously it is higher than the manual. but is this normal? With a warm engine, the dipstick shows a full level that is just above the little dot. So it seems like I could have a bit too much oil.

Would this make the pressure too high?

Scott

 

ScottJxB...your car is working fine. The pressure spec is a minimum (3.5 bar at 5000 rpm). Higher is okay.

FYI, lots of things affect the oil pressure including what oil weight you're running, oil temperature (which is different than the coolant temperature which is what the dash readout displays), etc.

FWIW, my car runs closer to 4.5 at 5000 rpm, on 5W40.

 

Yep all is running normal! I brought it to my trusted mechanic in orlando and he checked the oil circulation. Cleaned the engine and took it for a extended spin. I just drove a good 300 miles down to naples again after that and all is normal in the specs. I guess it just had burnt oil on my trip down to delray beach and thats why my gauges were reading empty. I thank you guys for the insight on what it could of been. Cheers and ill be enjoying my last days with my 996

 

Hey Claudio

what car are you running when u stay in Hamburg-city ??

Grüße