Buying a VY SV8, need opinions!!!

[brapdat]

Hey guys

my import was stolen a couple weeks ago, so i've decided to buy a real car.
i've been looking at the vy range, vy sv8s, ss's and so on.

Today i went and looked at a vy sv8, interior was mint, 170,000km, exterior had a crease line on the rear left 1/4 from a trolley, and the rear right door handle was peeling.

other then that it had no other dents or scratches.
now this is where it gets tricky, i can get the car for 8500, but before i left i stuck my head under the car and noticed ther ewas grit/grim on the sump guard, so i ran my finger across it and came across a puddle/drip, the oil was fresh as, as in straight out of the bottle.

So my question really is, other then the sump/rocker covers, where else could there be a leak? the owner said it could possibly be from filling upon a recent service but i honestly didnt buy this, the rest of the sump guard/trans looked pretty clean.

whats the worse case scenario with the leak?
is there anything else i should be watching out for?

hope some of you can give me some points/tips


thanks guys

adam

 

[richardpalinkas]

On the ls1, usually the sump gasket leaks or the rear main

 

[HTV1900]

+1 for rear main

 

[brapdat]

so if the rear main was leaking, would it leak onto the top of the sump guard? the oil was dripping from the drill hole at the front of the guard? so more so closer to the front of the motor?

i originally thought rear main seal but im no expert, but the location of the oil (ok so it does travel when the car is being driven) doesnt suggest its from the rear, im thinking sump gasket.

 

[richardpalinkas]

The rear main seal is on the opposite side of the harmonic balancer where the gearbox attaches. If the leak is going on top of the sump it would prob be the timing chain cover behind the water pump or the front crank seal. Rear main will leak at the gearbox bell housing, usually just shows where the gearbox joins the engine at the bottom. Best to degrease it and recheck them. Good thing with oil leaks, they won't damage your engine because you can just top up the oil and degrease it every so often to keep it clean

 

[brapdat]

Good thing with oil leaks, they won't damage your engine because you can just top up the oil and degrease it every so often to keep it clean

so saying that, everything else seems mechanically good, would a slight oil leak turn you off the purchase? as you said, they can be topped up every so often until the source is fixed.

 

[richardpalinkas]

As long as it wasn't run low on oil, which you will never know. If it seems mech a1 then it could be a good buy. A good thing to do is to go to your local workshop and ask for a free safety inspection. I work for the largest auto franchise and we do free 100 point safety inspections, just organise it with the seller and the workshop

 

[ARATIC]

Be wary, to change the sump gasket your looking at an engine out job so well over a grand. It's likely to be the sump gasket, the rear main is further back and oil won't collect in the sump guard

 

[Johnsy]

move on... find another ss or sv8 to look at !

 

[brapdat]

Hey guys

appreciate your comments, the whole engine out for the sump gasket has really thrown me off!

richardpalinkas, would you kindly inbox me the chain you work for? over in sa there arent any places that will do a 100 point check for nothing! hell even pedders do a 20 point check but charge $$$ :/

im looking at a couple more during the week, can get a vy ss but it has pretty high km, 250k or there abouts so im not really keen on that.
i guess its back to the drawing board n do some more shopping around