Cerbera 4.5 Cam Chain Tensioner leak

[RobTuscS]

Good morning all!

I was wondering if anyone could help me understand how to remove and refit my cam chain tensioner safely, tools, what to look out for etc.? It is currently leaking from there... (I believe)

Any guide or photographs/video would be a massive bonus. Just want to get it sorted... only had it a week now!

On another point although related, the car had a 12k service in mid August 2021 about a month and a half ago by one of the major TVR Specialists but the safety wire is missing.. surely this should have been checked!? Previous owner says hes not touched or removed it.

I bought the car due in part to it having just been serviced...

Any assistance with this is appreciated.

Rob.

[ukkid35]

You're right, security wire really should be present

I doubt the leak is from there, I'd spray the whole area with brake cleaner, wipe down and check again

The tensioner bolt seals with a copper washer and the tension is set by shims under the pin at the other end of the bolt

[RobTuscS]

Thanks UKKID35.

If it's not from there where else could it be from? I have had the underside of the car off, and it is coming from the top... all the oil lines and others were replaced 5 years ago so should not have perished and look to be in good order at least on the bottom..

Oil catch can is empty.

Cheers Rob.

[Imran999]

I thought (could be totally wrong) that they all leaked, from where the front cover meets the block and the heads - three different sections expanding and contracting with each heat cycle etc

[Byker28i]

Mine doesn't leak from the engine, never has.

Clutch slaves or a small weep from the steering rack however...

[RobTuscS]

Bit more info: When the car was parked up for about 1 hour of driving there was a patch of oil on my drive which was about 6-7inches across...

I have since spoken to my fathers ex TVR head mechanic about the problem, and I have been advised to remove as much as I can to get a better view of the engine removing air boxes, F1 panel etc. as he is baffled to understand that there is so much oil coming out of the cam chain tensioner. This would be a dribble at best as others have pointed out. It only tends to do it when the car is hot and not while cold.

Anyway as I am going around the engine it is looking like Cam covers are leaking into the V of the engine.. (previous issue with this car)

I will continue with my investigation and clean everything down and run it back up to temp to see where this coming from..

I have tried to speak to Str8six regarding the missing safety wire as it was serviced last month but yet to hear anything back... (disappointed)

Thanks for the responses all.

[TwinKam]

That's a major oil leak, possibly big enough to fail an MoT ('creating a pool larger than 75mm in diameter within 5 mins of running').
So how long ago was that service? How was that missed at service, or was it perhaps created at service (loose oil filter?), certainly that's not all coming from the tensioner.
If I'd been the garage, I'd be wanting it back pronto to check it out.

[Byker28i]

I had a leak into the V once when the sealant on the rocker covers was nicked putting one back on after a service and it filled the V which the alternator belt then flung everywhere...

[RobTuscS]

Cheers, no oil has been flung as yet, more like a little puppy that got excited and pissed itself... lol

I have cleaned it all up will run it up to temp and have a look under the car and around the engine to see if I can see anything. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for the responses all

[Luckyone]

Imran999 said:

I thought (could be totally wrong) that they all leaked, from where the front cover meets the block and the heads - three different sections expanding and contracting with each heat cycle etc

Ours has relatively recently started leaking there, glad to hear its common!

I was debating if I could really be bothered to pull the engine out to re-seal the front cover. It was about 8 years ago I last had it out & can’t remember for sure but think engine out is the only way to get the front cover off?

It’s not getting through any noticeable amount of oil & not leaving any puddles so I’m inclined to just leave it for now & maybe think about actually using the Cerb instead of just looking at it. It does look nice in this months PPC magazine though…

[robsco]

Luckyone said:

Imran999 said:

I thought (could be totally wrong) that they all leaked, from where the front cover meets the block and the heads - three different sections expanding and contracting with each heat cycle etc

Ours has relatively recently started leaking there, glad to hear its common!

I was debating if I could really be bothered to pull the engine out to re-seal the front cover. It was about 8 years ago I last had it out & can’t remember for sure but think engine out is the only way to get the front cover off?

It’s not getting through any noticeable amount of oil & not leaving any puddles so I’m inclined to just leave it for now & maybe think about actually using the Cerb instead of just looking at it. It does look nice in this months PPC magazine though…

All of mine have leaked from the front cover, I also assumed it was just all cars. You’d have to be seriously committed to pull an engine to rectify a weeping front cover, that is unless the engine was already out of course. I do remember that it can’t be done without pulling the engine.

Edited by robsco on Saturday 2nd October 18:34

[ukkid35]

robsco said:

All of mine have leaked from the front cover, I also assumed it was just all cars. You’d have to be seriously committed to pull an engine to rectify a weeping front cover, that is unless the engine was already out of course. I do remember that it can’t be done without pulling the engine.

Edited by robsco on Saturday 2nd October 18:34

The only time mine has ever leaked was when I failed to torque the bolts correctly, once I torqued them to spec the leak stopped

[Luckyone]

ukkid35 said:

The only time mine has ever leaked was when I failed to torque the bolts correctly, once I torqued them to spec the leak stopped

Front cover bolts? Good call, well worth a check, my water rail bolts worked loose on one side, nipping them up stopped the water leak. I guess any of the others bolts could too, I’ll check them…

[ukkid35]

It was mainly the ones that secure the engine mount brackets that worked lose

[robsco]

ukkid35 said:

The only time mine has ever leaked was when I failed to torque the bolts correctly, once I torqued them to spec the leak stopped

Thanks for that, it’s in next week anyway so I’ll ask them to nip the bolts up while it’s there.

[Luckyone]

I just checked every nut & bolt in the general area. Only exhaust bolts would nip up a bit everything else was still perfect tight.

Mine is definitely not coming out of the chain tensioner bolt. I cleaned it all off a while ago & its still bone dry under that. It seems much more to be coming out at the point the front cover meets the head gasket its wet from there down:



I’ll need to clean it up again & check. There wasn’t any oil there after the first drive with it cleaned up so I forgot about it for a while, looks like that now.

As mentioned above it doesn’t drip or use any significant amount of oil. It you have lots coming out it’s probably from somewhere else.

[RobTuscS]

Thanks for all the posts guys, however contrary to my original thoughts it is actually coming from the rocker cover directly above the tensioner bolt and ended up pooling on it.

I cleaned everything down with brake cleaner on both sides and bottom of the engine and in the centre of the V. The engine came up very well I might add.

Started the car with both air boxes off and got the car up to temp, once at temp I gave a few revs using the throttle on top of the engine and I could see little amounts seeping out of the edge of the rocker. The more revs, the more oil!

A bit of patience has paid off and the fact that the specilaisuts were all busy in my area saved my wallet as well..