[tsj9197]

i've got an oil leak in the rear of my engine that drips down onto the header and makes a stinky blue cloud of smoke after the exhaust gets hot, but then seems to go away after that.

i'm pretty sure my valve cover isn't leaking, but there seems to be oil up on the head and running down and dripping on the header.

it's pretty hard to see back there though.

is there anything else on the back of the engine that would be suspect?



a good picture of the back of a 968 engine would help me visualize where it might be coming from.



thanks

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[968workaholic]

My guess would be its the valve cover gasket, but there are round seals that are under the last cap on the back of the head. Try getting a flashlight a jack and some jack stands and cralwing under there and having a look. You may be able to get a better idea of where it is coming from if you can see where it is dripping onto the header. Good Luck!

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[968rz]

I would second the cam cover as there is not much else there, they can be tricky to find the leak because it can run down the lip for awhile then start dripping.

Clean the enginge good then run it for awhile; remove the fuel lines so you can see in there good and I think you'll find it.

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[tsj9197]

how likely are the rear cam seals to leak?



and i do see some sort of plug on the back of the head in some pictures.

http://www.diateam.no/porsche/turbo968csengine_1.JPG

is it a likely leak source? or maybe thats a coolant plug??



head gasket leak?? highly unlikely for oil to leak out at that point??



the valve cover gasket is fairly new.

thats why i don't think its that.

i'll tear into the engine bay tonight and see what i can find.

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[flash]

because the valve cover gasket is new, that would be the first place i would look - it's very possible it did not seat right - the corners are a bit of a pain, especially at the back, because you have to dance around things back there - if the silicone did not get fully cleaned off, and then replaced, it will leak for sure

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[tsj9197]

I took the fuel lines off so i could get a better view of the rear of the valve cover. it all seems dry so the leak has to be lower than that.



so i went down below the engine and i found that foam piece on the sheet metal bellhousing cover to be soaked with oil. that leads me to the rear main or the oil pan. but there does appear to be oil above those locations as well.



there seem to be lots of little leaks that adds up to the block being wet in a lot of places. except for the front that i resealed a couple years ago when i did the belts.

These leaks are driving me mad, so it looks like the car will be on blocks for a while i sort them out. i haven't driven it much since i got a new Harley a few months ago anyway.

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[968workaholic]

My advice is to take the foam piece out and spray everything down with bakekleen. Then take it out for a quick spin, and bring it back into your garage to look at it. The foam piece can be very decieving since it doesn't let you know right away that something is leaking.

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[S_Cal968]

A typical leak point are the caps at the aft end of the balance shafts. Often these caps are found loose in the bore which allows oil to leak past. Inspection is best done from under the car. Since the seals are very labor intensive to replace, some thoroughly clean the OD of the cap and then apply an oil compatible RTV.

I did this a couple of years ago and I haven't lost a drop since...

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[tsj9197]

DING DING DING!!

WE HAVE A WINNER.



i got under the car today and checked the rear of the balance shaft there and sure enough is was loose.

i couldn't reach the upper one so i had to pull the intake manifold off to get to it.

here's what i found



it was also very loose.

i'll RTV them up and do some cleaning in there before i put it back together.

hopefully this solves most of my oil leak issues.

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