LJ nder~perform ing

seal
Three little letters have assumed almost
legendary status among 996 owners.
But is the issue of the leaking RMS
- or rear main seal - a. large-
scale engineering failure or
simply a storm in a teacup?
Written by Phil White
Photographed by Jon Hill
911 technical
Special Porsche tool is
required to press new
seal into place. Steel
inner section (right)
bolts onto end of
crankshaft, and
aluminium 'cop' (for
right) sits over it
spot of oil on the garage floor is nothing unusual
A
for most car enthusiasts, but this is a sight many
996 owners have come to dread. Because in the
context of this 911 series dripping engine lubricant
heralds the arrival of perhaps its most high-profile
mechanical issue. Almost from the 996's 1997 debut
owners complained about the very premature failure of
the engine's rear main seal (RMS). Within the owner
community the subject has been hotly discussed until it
has achieved a far higher profile than a mere oil leak
normally might. Feeling curious, Total 977 has taken it
upon itself to investigate the trouble, its nature, its
frequency and how it can be managed.
"The problem," explains Jonas Zambakides of
independent UK specialist JZ Machtech, "is actually with
both the rear main seal and the intermediate shaft seal."
Seeking these out requires the georbox and flywheel to be
removed from the engine. The RMSitself stops oil leaking
out of the engine from around the end of the crankshaft,
while the intermediate shaft cap and seal sits in the
crankcase below it. When these fail lubricant finds its way
to your garage floor by seeping through the join between
the bellhousing and crankcase, announcing that you
really need to consult with your mechanic.
"It has to be remembered that all rear main seals, in
all car engines, can leak, but usually only after the
vehicle's covered a high mileage," says Jonas. "The
difference with the 996 is that it is sometimes happening
at 30,000 miles, and in some cases rather lower than
that." The RMS problem is confined to the 996's M96
engine. This does mean that Boxster owners need to keep
an eye out for it as this model uses essentially a smaller
displacement version of the same engine. "The 996
Turbo, GT2 and GT3," saysJonas, "use a different engine,
because the casings aren't up to the job of coping with the
86.911
extra power, so these generally don't have the problem."
Porschestend to be owned by well-informed people
with the ability to communicate, and it is largely through
the Internet that owners have shared stories of untimely
oil leaks. But it remains difficult to determine whether the
problem is as widespread as its publicity would suggest.
"In the USA," says 996 owner Berny Goodheart, "the
Porsche Club discovered 25 percent of its members who
replied to a survey had RMS trouble with their Boxsters,
and got a similar figure for the 996s. But it's not easy to
get 0 representative survey unless everyone in the club
replies." Berny is a member of several clubs and forums.
"I've hod over 300 people email me to say they've had
RMS issues," he declares. 'Again, though, that's not
representative in terms of proportion." His interest stems
from the fact that his 996 must be one of the most
repeatedly-troubled examples anywhere. It has so far had
six seal replacements and is still dripping. As a result
Berny has become something of an authority on the
issue. But getting figures for RMS problem occurrence is
a nigh-on impossible task, especially now that early cars
are out of warranty and many are being tended to
outside the dealer network. Besides, as a Porsche
spokesman tells us, "no manufacturer is going to state its
failure rates."
Noturally there is varionce in the severity of RMS
problems. Many owners report nothing more than the
need to slip a newspaper under the car in the garage,
while Berny has heard of examples where oil "can build
up in the bellhousing and end up sloshing all around the
clutch." Jonas Zambakides counters this. "It would hove
to be one hell of an oil leak to get into the clutch," he
says. "We rarely see oil even on the flywheel. The
bell housing would also have to be unnaturally well
sealed against the crankcase. There would definitely be
 Two other contributory factors have also been
mentioned. Berny Goodheart recalls a conversation with
a member of Porsche's design staff, who suspected that
the abnormal RMS wear might be due to a slight
misalignment of the gearbox. And Jonas has seen cases
where the engine has been forced to turn backwards, for
example in spins from racetracks. "That can twist the
main seal out," he says.
Whatever the reasons, the result of the R&D work was
a second-generation rear main seal which would be
replaced as needed under warranty, plus a redesigned
intermediate shaft cap seal. In fact, Porsche later
developed a third-generation main seal, which in many
cases has fixed the problem. The new designs, however,
came too late for many customers who received entire new
engines with the first iteration of seal present and correct.
After relatively few miles these frequently sprung leaks
themselves. But it is noted that later seals fail less often.
"What I can say about failure rates," Porsche's spokesman
puts it, "is that they have gone down year on year."
'f'lfter a while," says Jonas Zambakides, "it was found
that the positioning of the main seal was also at fault. A
new tool was developed that placed it five millimetres
further into the crank casing. This was a real help to us,
and reoccurrence rates dropped right down." The new
intermediate shaft cap seal, he says, was vastly superior
to the old unit. "Instead of an O-ring you could replace,"
\ he says, "it came with a double seal bonded into it,
effectively tripling the seal. The item was a little more
expensive but much improved." liThe cause
Engineering had brought a solution, assisted by other of RMS
other problems besides a leaking RMS seal."
The cause of RMS issues is the subject of intense
developments. "The adoption of the duplex timing chain issues is the
on later engines meant that there was less flex in the subject of
debate among enthusiasts, but the finger of suspicion is
intermediate shaft," Jonas continues. The crankshaft, a
often pointed at under-engineering. This is an unusual intense
two-piece affair, could also be split, re-aligned and
thing for Porsche to be accused of. "The seal," says debate
bolted together with stronger bolts. These are known as
Jonas, "was iust badly designed in the case of both the among
'blue bolts', a must in an engine rebuild. The result of
RMS and the intermediate shaft cap. The seal also had a
their use is a stiffer crank and less movement within the
enthusiasts"
problem with its location in the crankcase in that it was
main seal. Porsche has also issued a missive to its
placed too far back." Furthermore, he says, both the
dealerships that intermediate shaft and rear crankcase
crank and intermediate shaft have a degree of inherent
bolts should be replaced with items carrying a sealant.
flexion. Berny Goodheart expands upon this theme.
It has been posited by enthusiasts that, as with any
"There's movement in the crank," he claims, "because
car, vehicles that stond for long periods require extra care
the flywheel and gearbox are attached to one end. That
when starting. Some Porsches are used in this way rather
end takes all the strain so it has to tolerate a bit of flex."
than daily, ond owners must ensure they warm the engine
The inference is that the RMS is simply not up to the job
thoroughly before revving it highly. Once warm, the oil is
of adapting to this to prevent oil seepage.
circulating properly to prevent undue wear at contact
At least it wasn't originally. When RMS problems
points, and rubber components such as seals have had
began to appear in vehicles with unfeasibly low mileages,
time to soften and expand to their operational
Porsche took the step of replacing entire engines under
dimensions. This might seem obvious, but it is something
warranty. "They were returned to Germany," explains a
many drivers ignore at their peril.
Porsche spokesman, "for research and development
Jonas Zambakides' contention that the 'supercar'
purposes. The company wanted to know what was going
996s used a different engine type because the M96
on and develop a better solution." A test was developed
casings weren't up to the job for these extreme models
to assess whether an engine should be replaced as a unit
slides interestingly alongside a thoroughly plausible
or receive new seals. This entailed measuring the gap
theory put forward by a web forum contributor. "I have
between the crank and the seal edge at several points
always suspected," they write, "but have no proof that the
round its circumference. If the gap was over 0.3mm the
original engine design was tested with conventional oil. It
engine was replaced. Cars that require more than three
is well known that Mobil 1 will leak where conventional
RMS replacements under warranty are regarded as 'RMS-
oil will not. So after the area of the crankshaft seal area
plagued', and the engine is replaced. These are the basic
was cast in aluminium, they changed to Mobil 1 not
principles of the system, although its application does
knowing that the seal design was not adequate. Because
seem to vary from country to country. If your car is out of
it would take a casting change to fix it [the problem] is
warranty it's worth bearing in mind that, in the UK, a
nearly impossible." This is an interesting idea, which
b,"and-new replacement engine costs in the region of
unfortunately Porsche would not be drawn to comment
£7000 - less than the cost of a rebuild.
upon. Indeed, many owners are moving away from the

911.87
 911 technical
prescribed Mobil 1 0040 lubricant to a more viscous
product, which functions perfectly well except in the
extreme conditions of persistent track or high-speed use.
Most of the 160,000 996 models sold worldwide lead
rather more sedate lives.
In practical terms RMS is a manageable problem. "In
most cases," says Jonas, "part of the trouble lies in
maintenance. We see cars with the new seal, but which
has been fitted with the old tool and isn't the five extra
millimetres back it should be. Theoretically it is impossible
to get the old type of a-ring seal for the intermediate
shaft cap, but we still have cars in that have had this as a
replacement. It's perhaps a case of a mechanic not
having been updated, and old a-rings not having been
removed from stores." He feels that a joined-up
approach to maintenance makes RMS easy to deal with
in a relatively inexpensive way. "We get people in with
RMS leaks at, say, 30,000 miles," he says. "If it's not a
huge problem we tell them to keep an eye on it until the
clutch needs changing at 40,000. We have to take the
gearbox off for that, and the extra RMS work will only add
about £100 to the bill at that point.
"But it's amazing how many customers come to us
with RMS problems only 0 few thousand miles after 0

clutch has been fitted elsewhere. I recommend doing

RMS as a precautionary measure at each clutch change."
For customers such as Berny Goodheart, however,
the RMS issue goes further than maintenance. "One thing
that many owners mention," he says, "is how much they
dislike the doubt element of the situation. The 996 is not
a cheap car, and for this sort of money one shouldn't
have to drive around wondering where, or even when, a
fault is going to appear. And there is still the niggling
doubt that RMS could lead to bigger engine problems."
A Porsche spokesman admits the loss of customer
rapport. "We consider any problem with our cars to be
worth investigating," he says. "But this has been blown
out of proportion to a fair degree. In some ways actually
replacing engines, even though it was done with the
customer, investigation and R&D in mind, actually caused
some kind of scare story."
Even so, if you're buying a used 996, do take the
time to inspect the underside of the engine and be very
suspecious of any evidence of oil leaks. And if you own a
996 that is seeping oil - don't panic. Seek advice from a
specialist and you'll probably be told to live with it until
the engine has to come out for, say, a clutch change. 911

Fromtop: Old seal is hooked

out with a screwdriver:Seat
is then cleanedup: Alter new
seal is in ploce(without any
oil) inner port of tool is
bolted to end of cronk using
two Allen-headbolts: Outer
copis then fitted: Bolt in
centreof tool is tightened to
pull copwhich in turn pushes
the seal into place.Fully
seatedseal is a ful15mm
belowthe surfme; which
wouId not be possible
without the correcttool

88 ~911