Do you work on the vehicle yourself? If so, I'd recommend pulling the aluminum plate behind the bucket seats on the firewall. You'll have a different view for any front weeping. Check the water pump, make sure what you believe is oil is oil, white paper is good for drip identification. There shouldn't be any play in water pump pulley shaft and of course no moisture around it. While you're there check the serpentine belt. If you have a heated space and want to endeavor, remove the undercarriage aerodynamics and the interior rear access while it's on stands and start searching. Perhaps idle the car (with proper ventilation) and look, often any weeping will be accelerated when the engine is running and therefore easier to spot. PS Look around your AOS. You didn't mention which series the car is, the earlier versions also have an oil tube in their configuration.

 

Could be the oil filter seeping oil through the o-ring as the filter is slightly towards the right hand side of the car (seen from the rear).

 

I see. Thank you guys for the pointers. I haven’t worked on the car myself yet as I just got it. But I will be working on it when things like this come up. I did forget to include the year of my car, to which it is a 2013 base Boxster. The oil was changed by a shop before I bought the car so the oil filter o ring shouldn’t be faulty. However I will give it all a thorough check this weekend when I have the time.

 

It's not just a question of the condition of the o-ring (although a non-professional shop can easily re-use o-rings), but also torque it wrongly and thereby ruin its sealing properties.

 

Ahh I forget that shops can screw up too. But thanks again. I will be giving it a thorough look through and inspect the front side of the engine since this will be my first time inspecting the engine since buying the car.

 

That’s a very good point too. If it’s just that leaking or the shop didn’t wipe it clean, that would be the best way for this to go down. If it turns out the filter housing assembly is compromised, then I guess I just get to do an early 3000 mile oil change which I can’t whine about!

 

I would remove the cover behind the seats and the plastic pieces on the floor (as previously suggested), if it's too dirty, first clean it properly and then drive it for a while, then do another inspection to determine the cause of the leak.

 

A trick to spot exactly where the leak is from (if there is a leak) - go to Walmart or any drugstore and get spray-on baby powder. Give the area a very light dusting. Any leaks will be very visible rather quickly, and you can follow the trail right back to the source. Also good for coolant and fuel leaks.

 

Before anything else, you might want try and identify what kind of oil it is. For months in my 987, I would have sworn it was my engine oil leaking (cabin side) -- but it was indeed my power steering oil (it's not a fluid) that was dumping out. Two very different smells.

 

His is a 981, so no power steering fluid. Its a fully electric steering rack, so good news is its one less fluid it can possibly be !

 

Anything come of this issue? I also have a small oil leak but its definitely somewhere on the engine front. No signs of oil from the serpentine belt inspection area - I used an endoscope and could not see any traces of oil from the AOS or anywhere else. Has me thinking either a leak from the oil sump or the serpentine belt seal.

 

The latest prognosis is that the leak is coming from the upper oil sump interface. Still waiting to hear closure.

 

Curious to your findings, and the steps you took to address the issue

 

Okay got the car back today. And based on the shop findings it was the upper sump oil gasket failing. They said they have not seen this before and they think it was a fluke. I will be "checking" the car out for the next few weeks before Sonoma but I consider this shop very reputable. The most annoying parts - they replaced the oil which I just changed - but I knew they would have to do so, but they also had to recharge the coolant system - which I had done only a few months ago - again I am sure they are correct but it added another $600 to the bill. Most of the job was labor. I can upload the complete receipt if you would like to see it but again I consider this shop reputable and have dealt with them a number of years. Hope this helps.

 

Out of curiosity, I would like to see the receipt, mostly to see the P/N of the gasket that had failed.. Thank you for the update!

 

i had a persistent oil leak in 2019 which manifested itself on the front side of the engine. changed the seal between bottom and upper sump which solved the issue. 9a1 107 315 03 was the partnumber

 

That was the problem. Not a simple job from what I can tell. Aside from the obvious oil replacement, you also have to get the coolant lines and exhaust out of the way. The main gasket # is 0PB 115 476 D.

 

Hello Ajahearn,

Having the P/N's allows me to look where all the mentioned components go, and what other components are on the way that have to be removed.

After reading your post, I realized that eventually, I will have to replace the same gasket as the time and miles pile up ('16CS w/38k on it, but I like to do my own repairs and having the P/N's makes it easier, thank you!

Regards, Gilles.