Should I worry about minor oil leaks on a rv8

[cejsmith]

I've looked at a couple of chim in my quest to find one, a couple have had small oil leaks from the engine ( not easy to see where it comes from).

Should I worry or do they all do that?

[Pupp]

They can be oil tight, but can honestly say mine never has been since I bought it in 2001. It's been a continual chasing of successive minor weeps and leaks around the motor - someone will be along in a minute to say (correctly) there is no more reason why they leak than any engine. My guess is they will not have done 130+k miles with theirs

Sump is a favourite (loads of wisdom on here about how to seal the pan effectively and safely - big risk of damage by slobbering loads of silicone on that joint so beware), so are front and rear crank seals, and rocker cover gaskets. Think my latest and most productive weep is from a head/block joint oilway. It'll wait until winter (I really wouldn't worry if the car is otherwise sound and a bit of mist around the chassis is not necessarily a bad thing)

[ClassiChimi]

If your considering buying a car with oil leaks, drive it, get it hot, stop for ten minutes,,, move car 6 feet and you'll have an idea, a drop here or there is nothing but a puddle of any description is going to cost a few bob to fix,,,
And it's a pain when on the drive!
Oil from what seems like a number of places could mean, blocked breatherss or the engine is pressurising and blowing oil out,,,, not good

[Pupp]

ClassiChimi said:

or the engine is pressurising and blowing oil out,,,, not good

Oh, I dunno. A couple of drips of oil is a small price

[KKson]

I thought the leaks were all part of the TVR anti-rust system?

[TVRJAS]

Mine had a slight leak when buying mine,two services later it has stopped

[gruffalo]

cejsmith said:

I've looked at a couple of chim in my quest to find one, a couple have had small oil leaks from the engine ( not easy to see where it comes from).

Should I worry or do they all do that?

No.

[Sardonicus]

ClassiChimi said:

If your considering buying a car with oil leaks, drive it, get it hot, stop for ten minutes,,, move car 6 feet and you'll have an idea, a drop here or there is nothing but a puddle of any description is going to cost a few bob to fix,,,
And it's a pain when on the drive!
Oil from what seems like a number of places could mean, blocked breatherss or the engine is pressurising and blowing oil out,,,, not good

This ^ I wouldn't not buy a RV8 TVR because it has a couple of minor oil leaks or weeps around the motor, like already said just gauge how bad they are and use as a price lever if necessary

[m4tti]

gruffalo said:

No.

As gruffalo says ..I'll add Buy any form of landrover first then look at a tvr. You'll think it's drier than a ....
If you can see where it's leaking from then ...... Arrrrrr right. Buy it.

[macdeb]

Wasn't the original design accounting for a leak on front crank seal with the aid of a lip on front pulley that caught oil at a standstill? I wouldn't worry too much about it though it seems to put a lot off.
[no leaks here though]

[Sardonicus]

macdeb said:

Wasn't the original design accounting for a leak on front crank seal with the aid of a lip on front pulley that caught oil at a standstill? I wouldn't worry too much about it though it seems to put a lot off.
[no leaks here though]

Yep I am in the no leak club Mac but I dot know when my subscription expires

[ChimpOnGas]

Pupp said:

They can be oil tight, but can honestly say mine never has been since I bought it in 2001. It's been a continual chasing of successive minor weeps and leaks around the motor - someone will be along in a minute to say (correctly) there is no more reason why they leak than any engine. My guess is they will not have done 130+k miles with theirs

Sump is a favourite (loads of wisdom on here about how to seal the pan effectively and safely - big risk of damage by slobbering loads of silicone on that joint so beware), so are front and rear crank seals, and rocker cover gaskets. Think my latest and most productive weep is from a head/block joint oilway. It'll wait until winter (I really wouldn't worry if the car is otherwise sound and a bit of mist around the chassis is not necessarily a bad thing)

I'm with Pupp.

A Rover V8 is rather like an old lady, IE...

"if you leave her sat anywhere long enough she'll always leave a stain"

Saying that a slight weep and the odd drip is perfectly acceptable, which coming from old British cars I'd typically excuse as just the engine breathing a bit.

Anything more than this should be investigated, but again shouldn't necessarily be a big cause for concern.

[medieval]

It's the old BSA adage - if it's not leaking oil then there is no oil in there

I am in the slight weep camp at the moment but plan to address soon hopefully

Oh, the ongoing joy...