Buying a Chimaera
Discussion
Help, I am considering purchase of a 1995 4.0 Chimaera. It seems good value having covered 48k with service history, but having test driven it this lunchtime have two concerns, The diff has a whining sound and although the oil pressure is generally ok, under heavy acceleration it reduces significantly, coincidentally so does my 350i. I would welcome any advise, Cheers
For the diff, it depends how loud the whining is. My 95 4.0 has a very slight noise like a faint metallic wind (if that makes sense) and that is apparently normal. Any loud whining would be trouble.
The oil pressure sounds a bit more worrying. It should drop down at tick over (the amount varies on just about every car and pressure guage) but should rise and stay pretty constant once you have more revs on. Logic says it should rise even more if you have the road (and balls) to hold it at high speed for a long time. Short (even hard) acceleration shouldn't really make a difference I would have said. I've never noticed mine drop down again under hard acceleration - It takes a slight while to build up from tickover to normal and to drop back down once you stop moving - probably due to oil viscosity or a damping in the actual gauge - I'm therefore surprised you notice a drop during a relatively short period of acceleration. Is there enough oil in the car???Would be interesting to see what other people say.
For info, my tickover pressure is about 15-20psi. Normal running is 30-35.
Either way, don't rush into a decision. There are a lot of good Chims out there - but the exhaust note often takes over logic! Would be a shame if you bought a bad one.
The oil pressure sounds a bit more worrying. It should drop down at tick over (the amount varies on just about every car and pressure guage) but should rise and stay pretty constant once you have more revs on. Logic says it should rise even more if you have the road (and balls) to hold it at high speed for a long time. Short (even hard) acceleration shouldn't really make a difference I would have said. I've never noticed mine drop down again under hard acceleration - It takes a slight while to build up from tickover to normal and to drop back down once you stop moving - probably due to oil viscosity or a damping in the actual gauge - I'm therefore surprised you notice a drop during a relatively short period of acceleration. Is there enough oil in the car???Would be interesting to see what other people say.
For info, my tickover pressure is about 15-20psi. Normal running is 30-35.
Either way, don't rush into a decision. There are a lot of good Chims out there - but the exhaust note often takes over logic! Would be a shame if you bought a bad one.
stuartlynn said:
[quote]For info, my tickover pressure is about 15-20psi. Normal running is 30-35.
Ditto on mine, I've never noticed oil pressure loss under acceleration.. I'd be wary![/quote]
Again I get the same readings, you should not notice a drop in pressure under acceleration only a rise. As people have said see how much oil is in there, if its up to the max mark steer clear.
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