DieselJohn 0 Posted May 7, 2003 Hi all, I looked at a VR6 (M reg, 72000 miles) with a a view to buying last night and was a bit unsure about a couple of things. First there was some oil gathering on the bottom of the sump after we had been out for a run, not a lot but enough to indicate somwthing was amiss. Probably just the sump gasket but could it indicate something more serious? Secondly one of the drive shafts was much thicker than the other. The thick one being easily twice the diameter of the other. Is this normal? I'm guessing one of them has come off a 1.8 or 2.0L. Cheers. John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vr6storm 0 Posted May 7, 2003 Hi all, I looked at a VR6 (M reg, 72000 miles) with a a view to buying last night and was a bit unsure about a couple of things. First there was some oil gathering on the bottom of the sump after we had been out for a run, not a lot but enough to indicate somwthing was amiss. Probably just the sump gasket but could it indicate something more serious? Secondly one of the drive shafts was much thicker than the other. The thick one being easily twice the diameter of the other. Is this normal? I'm guessing one of them has come off a 1.8 or 2.0L. Cheers. John right first off did you check that the oil wasn't already over the sump before going for the test-drive......also did you check what sort of oil-level was reading on the dipstick before starting the engine as that could give you an idea as to whether or not its got an oil-leak problem(though bear in mind that the vr6 can use as much as 1litre over 1000km's) as for the driveshafts.....i'm not too sure on that one...have to look at mine first......but think it could be right that one is thicker than the other.....i think that it could be why the vr6 doesn't seem to be affected by torque steer as you would think with almost 200 horses going thru the front-wheels....could be well off the mark there btw Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted May 7, 2003 All front wheel drive cars have one shaft thicker than the other (except some Citroens and the Alfa Romeo Alfasud). The long shaft is tubular and the short one is solid. The reason for this is due to the location of the gearbox preventing equal length shafts. The tubular shaft is therefore as torsionally strong as the solid one to reduce torque-steer. If the long shaft was solid it would twist. All perfectly normal. As for the oil, I bet it's just leaks from previous oil filter changes. The sump gaskets can weep but nothing serious. Just wipe it and keep an eye on it. One leak you do want to look for is from the head. Look around all for sides of the block and make sure the head gasket isn't seeping. Kev 94 VR6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselJohn 0 Posted May 8, 2003 Thanks for the advice guys. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scott 0 Posted May 8, 2003 Thanks for the advice guys. Spot on about the driveshafts *:) Oil leak I bet is the crank shaft seal going.... not a major problem but means oil on driveway.... what happens is the oil leaks out from between the flywheel and gearbox and then spreads over the sump and bottom of gearbox.... But it could be that the sump nut not been tightened up or even the copper washer not been replaced.... havent known sump gaskets to leak on VR6 though...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmk 0 Posted May 8, 2003 I had a small oil leak on my VR6 and a new sump gasket cured it. Before it'd lose approx 1/2 ltr every 100 miles and now it hardly uses a drop. What price are they asking and what extra's does it have? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
