We Are First Settlers!

Happy New Years everyone!

I just returned home from three months of being out at sea. While I was gone, I put my 993 in hibernation in an enclosed storage space. Unfortantely, when I went to go see her for the first time since being back, I found that there was a significant oil leak on the deck under the engine.

Although the car was started once or twice in the three months it has been in storage, the leak is not as surprising as it is dissapointing. I suspect that the major culprit is the winter weather and the cold temperatures that have loosened a hose or a valve cover gasket.

I'm looking for advice on how to approach this problem. I haven't rolled up my sleeves and gotten into the engine yet because I wanted some advice first.

Should I clean up the leak and take the Porsche for a drive to determine the exact source?

My 30,000 service is coming up, should I just take her to a Wrench and get the leak and the service taken care of all at once?

Do I need to have her towed or would you drive her?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Facts:
1996 993 C4S
~27,000 miles
In winter storage since mid September (~ 3.5 months)
About 2 pints of oil on ground
No previous oil leaks
Last PPI done in March '10 - no leaks found

If the leaking happened while it was parked, you should be able to figure out where it came from, so you may be able to fix it yourself.

If it's not too much oil on the floor (i.e. a quart or less), start it up, check the oil level once it warms up and top it off. Then you can take it to your favorite mech if you're more comfortable with that. Just remember that the more you drive it, the more the oil will spread on the bottom of the motor and may make the leak harder to spot.

George, thanks for the advice. I'm going to clean up the oil first and try to spot the problem myself. I'd like to keep her off the roads for now until we get a good rain to wash the salt and muck from the roads.

I want to get my hands dirty to learn more about P-cars. I guess I can only learn by doing so any help to get started would be appreciated.