Rear Main Seal Leak - Vote Now!

[ChimpOnGas]

Well "leaking slightly" is how it's been described to me!

Please be aware the gearbox and flywheel have already been removed from the car due to the installation of a new clutch.

So lets have your votes chaps....

Option One: A no-brainer to invest the additional £140 plus VAT and replace the lip seal along with the crucifix seals while the box is already out (includes sump re-seal)?

Option Two: Save the £140 plus VAT and live with the slight weep that's probably been there for years and caused me no trouble so far?

The sump was effectively re-sealed recently so there's no benefit in doing this again, since the sump re-seal there's not been a single drop of oil on the garage floor. I have no giant grommet in the bell housing inspection hole so I would have expected to have seen drips if the rear main seal issue was anything other than a weep.

Before placing your vote I'd like you to think of the money as your own, sadly I do not have endless pockets for non-urgent work.

Remember This Is Only A Slight Leak

So...do I take option 1 or 2?

|

PH NAME	OPTION 1	OPTION 2
Chimpongas		X

NB: A cost effective enhancement of Option 2 could be to invest £7.00 in a can of Whyns stop leak?

[ChimpOnGas]

m4tti said:

Presuming this is a joke...

Not at all!

Seal swelling agents work in 90% of cases assuming:

1: The leak is genuinely lip seal related (as in this case)

2: The leak is relatively minor (as in this case)

3: The lip seal is not pinched or physically compromised in any way (as in this case)

All quality engine oils contain a certain level of seal conditioning agents already, adding a slightly higher concentration will thin the oil slightly but doesn't constitute a significant risk to engine life.

Stop leak products don't last for ever so you do need to keep using it from time to time, say every second oil change to maintain the desired result. Admittedly there's no such thing as a miracle in a bottle, it's a temporary cure and is no alternative to proper seal replacement.

The real question is will the seals go on weeping with no significant negative consequences for years to come as I suspect, or should I do the right thing and pull the trigger on another £168 of work on top of all the other planned spending?

Your votes will help me decide, remember the answer is simple when you're not spending your own money so please try and think about it as if it was your £168

[ChimpOnGas]

Thanks chaps, kind of knew the answer already and which way I'd fall but it's nice to throw these things out there.

My favorite response by far....

neal1980 said:

ChimpOnGas said:

Option One: A no-brainer

Without doubt for the sake of the extra money now which you save by having LPG anyway!

So... 'Ol Gasbag' gets a new rear main seal, new crucifix seals and her second sump re-seal in a few months (even though the first one worked a treat)

This way we also get to break the cap and look at the state of the shell, lets hope it's not showing any copper

Thanks again, Dave

[ChimpOnGas]

Hedgehopper said:

Have you got a 'bridge plate' fitted? Sold by Rimmers. Not sure how effective it is but everything helps.

Yes, I think you'll find I was the originator of that idea so was likely the first to have fitted the SD1 spreader plate to a Chimaera.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...

It's certainly a useful addition when resealing the sump but it's by no means a quick cure for existing oil leaks

[ChimpOnGas]

sheel said:

Dave,as one of the more intelligent posters on here and renowned for putting a good argument forward,look at it from this perspective .i

If you don't replace the seal and in 6months it gets worse,you have contaminated a nice new clutch.....costs and gearbox out to replace seal and clutch....costs

By replacing now you have minimal costs but you will also have a warranty with the work and piece of mind

Definitely no brainer

Rich

Thanks Rich/all, its definitely getting done chaps

For those following my latest clutch/flywheel/gear shift improvements it may be of interest to know that my Helix cover plate revealed evidence of overheating.

This comes as no surprise to me, TBH I'll be glad to see the back of the Helix clutch which stands as the worst component choice for my TVR to date... by far.

I've lived with it for getting on for four years now, my best advice regarding this clutch being... AVOID!!!

[ChimpOnGas]

Pupp said:

Why would it overheat? Unless slipping/being slipped...

Not slipping... but I strongly suspect there has been some dragging going on when hot, it definitely seemed to be thermal expansion related as it only tended happen when everything became heat soaked.

When dragging, popping the box into gear became a bit baulky, I also occasionally got a grumbling noise that accompanied the issue which I'd assumed could have been the release bearing loading up the fingers slightly and spinning the bearing, even though I wasn't even touching the clutch pedal. The bearing was definitely a little noisy even in normal operation, but obviously it'll be getting new one with the clutch job.

If the above theory is correct its very possible the ends of the fingers have become blued where the bearing had been running on them, I've seen this before but its hard to say conclusively this is whats been happening in this case as I've not seen my old Helix parts yet.

I carefully checked the free play a few times and it was fine but admittedly all my free play checks were done when cold, my guess is if I'd checked it when everything was proper hot and expanded I would have found a slight free play issue, but it is a guess.

At the end of the day all I can do is relay the information I received today which reported some evidence of heat issues on the cover plate, it could just as easily have been some bluing on the working face that interacts with the driven plate?

Saying that apparently the flywheel face wasn't blued at all and like I say the Helix never slipped one bit, in fact I suspect the damn thing would have lasted for years & years which is why I finally decided waiting for the onset of slip wasn't really an option.

None of the above ever amounted to a serious issue, the Helix was heavy but not intolerably so and the dragging (if that indeed is what it was) was only ever slight. But the condition did get on my nerves and on occasion interfered with my full enjoyment of the car.

All I'm really seeking here is a nice light clutch and the super slick gear shift I know a good T5 gearbox can deliver, surely its not much to ask?

As we all know, fixing the leaky rear main seal was always a no-brainer..;)

But it's good to talk it over with the gang...

[ChimpOnGas]

MPoxon said:

Option 1 for me as well. My car is currently in with David Batty having very similar work to yours based on your s10 thread. I have opted for almost the same mods as yourself, having a replacement standard AP 5.0 clutch fitted (supplied by TVR Power), S10 gearbox conversion with bronze shift cup, bronze pads and Hurst quick shift. I am having my rear main oil seal replaced at the same time but mine is leaking a lot...

The missis loses her st whenever I go out in the car and she sees the driveway which we only just got done.... ...

That is shocking!! The anoying thing is I just resealed the sump and it wasn't leaking a drop.

Seems like a few have followed suit since I started my gear linkage delete post so I hope everyone is getting good results from it?

Especially as I won't find out if the idea has merit myself until next week.

Some have reported good results already but I prefer to test these things for myself.

Give me a week and the results will be in, I'll try and be 100% honest with my review.

Dave.