Hi Ride Drive

I hope you may be able to offer me some advice.  I have recently purchased my dream car, a TVR Chimaera 400 1995 on an N-plate.

Although I purchased the car with a number of faults, which I am working my way through (changing the nearside headlight bulb and fixing an intermittent offside side light was an ordeal) however, there are two jobs that I am yet to look at.

1) Oil leak - I assume this is coming from the sump gasket, however it stops leaking when the car is standing overnight - I would have thought that it would have leaked constantly? Could you advise and let me know what it would cost to have the job done (or where to get a gasket from).

2) I realise that the Chimaera is a noisy car but there is a major noise coming from what I describe as the rear of the prop shaft area. (It gets a great deal better with the roof off). I assume this is the diff. Is this normal. There is the occasional transmission whine, but is the differential supposed to make such a racket?

Could you advise on the cost of a repair?

Thank you,

Tom Kaniker


Reply:

Tom,

Thanks for your enquiry.  My own guess, from what you have said, is that the oil leak is a main oil seal on the back of the crank, particularly as it does not seem to leak whilst the car is stood out of use. This is an expensive repair to carry out, as the engine and gear box have to be removed fromt he car, prior to them being parted from one another. However, you could be lucky and find that the sump gasket. The best way to find out is to de-grease the engine with Gunk or Jizer and then see where the oil is coming from.

With regard to the whine, providing it doesn't change pitch when cornering, or when the loading changes with application of engine power, it could be tooth mesh between the crown and pinion gears.  If the sound does change under different power loadings then I think that has got to be the bearings in the differential.  I had a Discovery once that made a noise like that and the repair costs, had I not got shot of it, were going to be quite severe.

Good luck,

Julian

Ride Drive Limited