front, rear wassadifference? *NM*

I havent driven my Boxster in about a month and while in the garage today (to get some salt to throw on the walk way in front of my house) I noticed a large oil stain in the cement behind the passenger side front wheel. It appeared to be oil, but it was really black and smelled like maple syrup. I am using Castrol Syntec 5W40 which doesnt look anything like this. I dont have many miles since my last oil change so wouldnt expect black oil unless this is power steering fluid. The oil appeared to be coming from around the drain pipe that releases water behind the wheel. Do you guys know if there is an oil line there that could have cracked or worse yet a mouse chewed through? The oil must be dripping slowly as I didnt see any drip while there. Does anyone have any ideas?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2011 11:36PM by CK in Chatham NJ. (view changes)

... refrigerant/compressor oil from your A/C system.
There are a couple of A/C lines that run up the right front wheel well.
You may have a leak.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Definitely not power steering fluid, as PS fluid is in the back of the car and the lines to the steering box run under the driver's side. Doesn't sound like coolant. Could be A/C. Have you taken a white rag or paper towel and applied it under the car to get a sense of where the fluid might be coming from?

1998 986 Turbo-Look Cab
172,000 Miles
Dilithium Crystal Supercharger

The fluid is coming from around the drain tube that ends behind the front passenger wheel.

neither owuld be a big deal. Just an idea.

Grant

spark plugs and valve covers where mounted at the front. Aren't they back with the engine?

actually, now i'm thinking either PS fluid or simply road dirt.

I first thought it was engine oil so I opened up the front trunk and thought where's the motor?

Quote
CK in Chatham NJ
I havent driven my Boxster in about a month and while in the garage today (to get some salt to throw on the walk way in front of my house) I noticed a large oil stain in the cement behind the passenger side front wheel. It appeared to be oil, but it was really black and smelled like maple syrup. I am using Castrol Syntec 5W40 which doesnt look anything like this. I dont have many miles since my last oil change so wouldnt expect black oil unless this is power steering fluid. The oil appeared to be coming from around the drain pipe that releases water behind the wheel. Do you guys know if there is an oil line there that could have cracked or worse yet a mouse chewed through? The oil must be dripping slowly as I didnt see any drip while there. Does anyone have any ideas?

are all possible. Engine oil very unlikely cause that's a long way for engine oil to travel.

You can sort of narrow it down by determining if the fluid is water soluble. If it is it is brake fluid or coolant. If not it is an oil and this leaves A/C fluid (actually the oil that the A/C refrigerant carries with it), or power steering fluid.

Best to get a bright light and give it a shine into the nooks/crannies. A fluid leak can travel quite a distance so you can assume where the fluid shows up is where it came from.

Open the trunk and remove the battery cover and the cowl covers and check for any signs of fluid leaking.

Also, check very carefully for any rodent sign.

If the leak real -- and not a container of something in the garage that fell to the ground and left some fluid under the car and then rolled under the car or even out the other side of the car -- you should at least spot it. Where it is coming from may take a bit more work but figuring out what fluid it is first half the battle.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

could have any residual snow or ice melting now and accounting for the leak sign. 'course, the snow/ice melt may be coming from some other place other than the car.

These situations require a good visual inspection to at least eliminate something that is not the car being responsible for the leak.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

The car doesnt get driven in inclement weather as I have summer tires on her. Ill have to jack it up on the passenger side wheel and get under there to see whats going on.

The leak is actually from the car. I put my finger around the drain tube and a lot of fluid stuck to my finger. The fluid left a black stain on my new concrete slab about 6" long by 3" wide. I have had oil drop on the concrete before and it didnt leave that type of stain. I looked in the front trunk to see if there was any rodent poop, but didnt see anything. I have had a mouse living in the carbon filter before so know what to look for. I didnt get a chance to pull the plastic cowl as it was pretty cold last night and my garage is not attached to my house, thus not heated. I will try and check tomorrow.

Quote
CK in Chatham NJ
The leak is actually from the car. I put my finger around the drain tube and a lot of fluid stuck to my finger. The fluid left a black stain on my new concrete slab about 6" long by 3" wide. I have had oil drop on the concrete before and it didnt leave that type of stain. I looked in the front trunk to see if there was any rodent poop, but didnt see anything. I have had a mouse living in the carbon filter before so know what to look for. I didnt get a chance to pull the plastic cowl as it was pretty cold last night and my garage is not attached to my house, thus not heated. I will try and check tomorrow.

tube that comes from the gas filler bay. Another from the water drain on the passenger side of the car. Yet another might be the battery vent hose. And I think even the headlights have special vent hoses that run down to a special shaped device that while driving helps keep the headlight housings free of water.

(Looking at newer Porsche on the lift the other day at the dealer and the tech pointed out all the various underbody drain/vent hoses. Way more than I thought there would be.)

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I went out tonight to check the car out. The fluid continued to leak out some more, but not as much as was on the slab. I turned the car on and all seemed fine. I did not run the AC, but did turn the steering wheel and didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. I jacked the car a little bit and confirmed that the fluid was coming from the same hole that the drainage tube was hanging out of. I pulled the battery cover and cowl and didnt notice anything other than a mouse checked out the carbon filter, but didnt make it its home.

Ill need to pull the wheel and the plastic housing that surrounds the wheel to see what is going on in there.

Last year a few mice made a home in that filter in my car. Dropped an acorn into the drain line causing water to drench the right floorboard whenever I turned on the air conditioning. Luckily they did not do any other damage other than the filter. The guy at my dealership said he recently had one where the costs were several thousand dollars mostly covered by insurance) when the mice ate the wiring in the car. I now put a few drops of peppermint oil in the car where ever I think mice might enter or settle. Seems to be working - andthe smell isn't unpleasant.

with its engine/tranny out. Rodents (rats) got into the car and chewed the heck out of much of the inside of the seats, behind the seat backs, etc., and the engine wiring and hoses.

(I snapped pics of the engine and some of the damage.)

Engine had to come out to determine the extent of the damage. Tech told me at least a new engine wiring harness was required. Estimated cost to replace, fix, repair the damage probably came in at over $10K.

Car didn't sit that long idle either, just a few weeks.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

If a mouse has been in the car chances are high it and its mate have made a home somewhere in the car.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

call from the tech, "congratualtions you are the father of 5 baby mice." stunk to high heaven , used wurths air conditioning spray but still took months for stink to leave.