My 964 oil leak - Should I repair?
 

1990 C4 Targa, 22,000 miles. I knew the car
had a small leak from cam housings and timing chain boxes when I bought it(I got what I consider a great deal). Dealer suggested leaks should be repaired when original clutch wears out (He quotes total cost at $4300). Is there a danger if I do not repair leaks, or does his suggestion sound rational? THANKS.

i had a leak from that area and tightened up the bolts and it stopped, try that.

EPR
With your Engine Undertray removed, you should remove it anyway. Your engine will run alot cooler, thus saving your valve guides. There are 8 studs which hold down your timing chain cover. Grab a 10mm wrench and tighten them up. Factory torque specs are 7lbs, that not much. 45 minute fix max. This should help alot. Good Luck

epr:

I have a '90 C2 with 28k miles with the exact same leaks. My trusted mechanic gave me the same advice. He did tighten up the covers like Planter and Kevin suggest, and that helped a little. But, he advised to let it leak until more major work is needed (like replacement of your clutch). Then address those leaking gaskets when the motor and trans comes out for the clutch replacement.

Hope this helps,
Jay
90 964

EPR,

I'll chime in here as well. I had the same leaks when I bought my car. Two very trusted mechanics assured me that if it were their car, they'd leave the leaks alone. Just check the oil level.

When I had my 60,000 mile service done, I had my mechanic leave the engine undertray off. (As you've probably heard, it helps the car to run cooler.) Unfortunately, the undertray was helping to keep the oil off my garage floor. At that point, I had my mechanic fix the leaks. He'd removed the exhaust to get to the bottom spark plugs, so it was somewhat cost effective to do it then.

It's been dry as a bone ever since, even without benefit of the undertray.

So, you can probably wait on fixing your leaks -- just keep an eye on the oil level.

Good luck, and congrats on buying a great car!

-- Melissa

Melissa,
Was your leak from the cam covers or timing chain cover? I believe it's not possible to change the timing chain cover gaskets without removing the engine. I would love to have mine changed but removing the engine to stop a couple of drips is a bit excessive!

Richard. :)

Richard,

Now that you mention it, I don't think it was at the timing chain cover. Cam seal sounds familiar, and I know we changed out a few oil return hoses. ("We" = my mechanic did the work, and I paid for it. )

I agree that it's not worth taking apart a bunch of things just to stop a few drops of oil.

-- Melissa

I had a leak from my chain covers and was determined to fix it myself. I first tried to just tighten the bolts. It helped a little, but I couldnt get to all of them without removing what was necessary to replace the gasket and bolt seals.
You cant get to the inner seals without engine removal, but can change the outer covers by removing the muffler, rear engine mount, AC carrier and main pulley.
However, it is difficult to remove the pulley without special tools (9285/1 and 9290). In made the 9285/1 tool with a 16mm fine thread bolt and a 40mm X10mm bolt inserted at the end. I did fix the chain leaks, but now have another leak that I must repeat part of the process to fix (oil pipe from engine to filter seaps oil as well). Nothing better to do on the weekends anyway.

Gerald Myres
90 C2
84 944