I own a 1999 911 C2 Cabriolet. I have nearly 70,000 miles on it and the car has been excellent and very reliable with only the standard maintenance issues. However, I continually hear all the horror stories about the Rear Main Seal (RMS) issue with the early 996's. If I listened to most of it, you would think I was driving a ticking time bomb that was going to explode at any minute. I'm just trying to understand the real issue and what, if any, precautions I need to take.

What actually happens when it fails? It obviously loses oil, but what is the result of that failure that causes the significant engine damage? I've heard the engine can be a total loss, but why, what is damaged as a result of the RMS failure?

I have also heard that if the issue hasn't occurred in the first 30,000 miles than you may never experience it, but again, I don't know if this is urban legend or based on any fact.

With 70K miles on my car, do I need to consider replacing the RMS?

Can you help shed some light on what I might be facing?

Thanks so much,

Warren Brown