Q – My 1997 Targa has only 20,000 miles on it but I have noticed an oil leak in the left rear corner of the engine. My tech has cautioned me that the entire camshaft chain housing might need to be resealed. Wow; that’s expensive! Considering that I only drive the car an average of 1,500 miles a year, I don’t know if I want to budget that much at once.
The other issue is that the front wheel hubs on the car are extremely corroded! My mechanic had a tough time getting them off. My car is pampered! What can I do about it? Joel
A – In regards to the cam chain housing leak; it could be bad indeed. Before any decision is made, the area needs to be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Then, oil leak detection dye should be added. The last one I inspected was a mess at first glance. But following the cleaning, the stud grommets were found to be the major leak source. There was also an allen head bolt/plug found loose. Four of the stud seals were easy to replace. They had shrunk from age and did not fit the stud tightly. Bear in mind there are more than four studs but the others are tough to reach. So a compromise was made for an 80% improvement at minimal cost. To correct the other 20% would have involved several hundreds of dollars. The cliché’ that applies is “the cure may be worse than the disease”.
On the topic of rusty hubs, although you may think you pamper your car, there’s an area you’re missing. I know you never drove the car in the winter or even when it was raining. But when you walk out to your garage and look at your beautiful sleeping showroom beauty, you need to keep in mind that you’re making her sleep on a stone floor without a mattress. Your garage floor is, all by itself, a hostile environment for your car. I am no snob but bare concrete brings out the worst in steel and aluminum components especially when they are bolted together. My garage is carpeted and maybe yours should be too. Mine has a vapor barrier (plastic) under the carpet. That’s what will keep the hubs (and any other exposed metal components) from rusting in the first place! But, if they have already, the cure for is a hand held sandblaster inside a custom made hood followed by a coating of cold galvanizing compound. Then apply a thin coating of anti-seize compound between the hub and wheel. MC