Garage Oil Leak from 4.5 Chim

[alaws]

My '97 4.5 Chimaera deposits small amounts of oil on the ground when car is stood in my garage for a week or more. Any ideas where it's leaking from?
Do the cam cover gaskets needs replacing?

Cheers
Andy

[V8 Archie]

It depends where under the car the oil is landing. Could be the sump needs re-sealing?

Are you sure it's oil rather than any other fluids?

[parrot of doom]

Clean everything under the car, and stick bits of kitchen roll to anywhere suspect.

The bit of roll with fluid on it will help you find the leak.

[IVANHOE]

Mine was the little u-bend leaking power steering fluid, it just needed the jubilee clips tightening.

[anonymous-user]

Mine leaks from the Valley gasket.

About £200 to fix. I have not bothered having it done at the moment as it is not too bad.

[PeterC]

Favourite oil leak places would seem to be:
Sump metal to metal seal (no gasket fitted)
Oil pressure sender -oil leaks past spade connector
Rocker cover gaskets -oil dribbles down back of engine
Oil filter - not fitted properly
Head gaskets - sign of impending doom!

Followed by:
Power steering pipework & steering rack

By far the most common IMHO is the sump seal. Most garages will tell you that if the sump leak is small ignore it. You can spend money having the sump stripped and refitted but there is no guarantee it won't simply leak again. These are notoriously difficult to seal effectively.

I suggest that you put sheets of clean newspapers on the garage floor and park the TVR over. Then mark the position of the front wheels onto the paper. Next time you move the car you will have a visual approximation of the position of the leak or drip relative to the wheels, you can then hopefully identify the source.

I check oil, water & power steering fluid levels before every journey. This is your best defence.

[shortlad]

Where is the mark on the floor?

Mine drops a very small amount of oil. As you look at the front of the car its to the right. It went to service last year and I mentioned this and nothing was reported back. Its such a small amount and I always check my fluid levels so I don't worry too much.

I will be asking it to be checked again this year at service time just in case its got worse.