Oil Leak - Cam cover?

[SIMid]

Hi everyone,

I am currently trying to get my Spider on the road and pass our road worthy compliance. When I purchased the car, I was advised by the previous owner that it had an oil leak at the rear cam cover. So my friend who is a mechanic, changed all the cam covers. I took the car to "the pits" (that's what you guys do in the UK?) and I was told that the oil leak was still there. I picked up the car and it looks like it is leaking even more.

I asked around and I was told by a contact who has touched Italian cars, that there is a little plate at the back of the cam cover. Also was advised that there was a cam plug that could also be causing the leak?

I am no mechanic, but is the info correct?

If so, anyone got a pic to share so I know what I am looking for and I can then show my mechanic?

Thanks everyone.

[rossocorsa]

One possibility is that the supports that the threads for the two Allen headed nuts that hold on the cover could be cracked, if people over tighten these they do crack and then it is not possible to get the covers snug enough not to leak. Other than that there is a small cover on the end of the cam carrier or the oil seal for the camshaft itself.

[SIMid]

Other than that there is a small cover on the end of the cam carrier or the oil seal for the camshaft itself.

That must be the plate/cover that I was told. I tried looking online to find an image but to no avail. I will mention it to my mechanic and see what happens. Leaks enough that it drips onto the exhaust and sitting at the lights, she starts to smoke a little.

[rossocorsa]

My best guess would be cracked supports, if it is this you would need to replace the complete cam carrier. Hopefully I'm wrong!

[HFStuart]

The other option if it's dripping onto the exhaust is the cam carier gasket. That seals the cam housing to the head and they can leak. Also check the exhaust manifold studs.some of the threads are tapped through into the (oil filled ) cam housing. A leak here needs to be dealt with.

[peteracs]

Hi

I would have thought you should be able to see the area it was leaking from with a mirror and light given how much you imply is leaking.

if it is the cam cover seal/posts, then as temporary measure, cleaning up the cover and cam box mating faces, new gasket and some silicone gasket sealant may go a long way to stopping it enough so you can plan replacing the cam box if the posts are the issue.

Peter

[SIMid]

The car is currently at a metal fabricator to plate up the cross member due to some rust and attention to one of the doors. So I will have to check this when I get the car back. My mechanic said he will check the leak again when i hand it back to him.

As mentioned before, I had another mechanic friend replace both cam cover gaskets, but looks like it's leaking from somewhere else. I hope the cam box does not need replacing.

[mwredit]

I had a cracked cambox stud support on my HPE and actually had it welded up.  One of the previous baboon owners screwed it up and it was also leaking.  It holds fine after I had it welded, but you have to find a welder that knows how to weld aluminum.  Since these are impossible to replace (US spec intake side), I had to go this route.

[SIMid]

Bloody hell! I hope I don't go down this route.

My mechanic doesn't even like working on Italian cars and was hard enough to get him to put in a new clutch!! If this is my issue, then I guess it won't be fixed for quite a while then.