Hi all, I have just bought an 86 xr3i cvh.  It has an oil leak that appears to be coming from the sump seal.  Drips a bit of oil but doesn't doesn't seem to use any.  Runs fine, no smoke.  Having read the issues replacing the sump seals, my question is should I get the seal changed which from what I have read is normally an engine out job, or just bite the bullet and go for a rebuild??  The engine is nearly 40 years old, has has a head gasket and cylinder head done over the years although sounds pretty tappety... Any ideas greatfully received

Don't think I'd go to all the hassle & expense for a minor sump leak. 

Would try to seal it externally for now and just wait until a bigger fault needs an engine out repair. 

53 minutes ago, Mauk1980 said:

although sounds pretty tappety... Any ideas greatfully received

If it is running fine I'd leave it well alone, but you will have to fix the oil leak. I had quite a number of the 1984 - 1990 cvh engines back in the day. They always sound a bit tappety if the oil is in poor condition, or the wrong grade of oil is used. I recommend changing the oil, and maybe do an oil flush (be careful don't over do it). Then change the oil and filter again after about 3000 miles and you should find it will be as quiet as a church mouse.

51 minutes ago, unofix said:

If it is running fine I'd leave it well alone, but you will have to fix the oil leak. I had quite a number of the 1984 - 1990 cvh engines back in the day. They always sound a bit tappety if the oil is in poor condition, or the wrong grade of oil is used. I recommend changing the oil, and maybe do an oil flush (be careful don't over do it). Then change the oil and filter again after about 3000 miles and you should find it will be as quiet as a church mouse.

Thanks for the reply.  What grade of oil would you recommend??  The oil is pretty clean to be fair, it's not done many miles since it's service last summer

58 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Don't think I'd go to all the hassle & expense for a minor sump leak. 

Would try to seal it externally for now and just wait until a bigger fault needs an engine out repair. 

Is there a way to seal it externally then??  Other than just re-tightening

1 minute ago, Mauk1980 said:

Is there a way to seal it externally then??  Other than just re-tightening

Not long term.  But cleaning up, adding a bit of liquid sealant and nipping up the bolts could hold it off for now.  

I used to use 10W30 on all mine including the 1.6Efi. Some might say 10W20 but I never tried it.

Check in the handbook if you still have it, but from memory I seem to recall 10W30 was the default for the UK

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Not long term.  But cleaning up, adding a bit of liquid sealant and nipping up the bolts could hold it off for now.  

Thanks for that... I'll give it a go

4 hours ago, unofix said:

I used to use 10W30 on all mine including the 1.6Efi. Some might say 10W20 but I never tried it.

Check in the handbook if you still have it, but from memory I seem to recall 10W30 was the default for the UK

I'll give 10w30 a go...  I have the container from the last service so will have a look what's been used currently.  Thanks