The Dreaded RMS (Rear Main Seal)
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:12 pm
Another of the very earliest 996 "problems" was an issue with the rear main seal (RMS). The RMS is located at the same rear end (toward the front of the car in a 911) of the engine. The early version of this seal was prone to leak. At the time, when yuppies were going out in the morning only to find that the new "porsh" has dribbled oil all over the condo association's white decomposed granite parking lot, this was a major deal. Many rear main seals were replaced.
With the same s**tty part.
Which continued to leak on Muffy and Tim's driveway.
Thankfully, a revised rear main seal part was introduced that all but eliminates this issue for the majority of 996 owners. Plus, the oldest cars are nearing 20 years old at this point; it's probably OK to be a little more forgiving of the occasional oil spot. You can buy many, many bags of cat litter for less than the cost of dropping the transmission to replace the RMS...
With the same s**tty part.
Which continued to leak on Muffy and Tim's driveway.
Thankfully, a revised rear main seal part was introduced that all but eliminates this issue for the majority of 996 owners. Plus, the oldest cars are nearing 20 years old at this point; it's probably OK to be a little more forgiving of the occasional oil spot. You can buy many, many bags of cat litter for less than the cost of dropping the transmission to replace the RMS...