Rab

Thanks for the pointers - finally got some time over the weekend to have a good look at this - took the distributor off and found a little amount of oil around the seal but not enough to cause the sort of leak we're seeing. Cleaned everything and put it back together - ran engine until oil appeared and then went over the area with a mirror mirror until I proved that the leak is actually coming from the timing chain cover gasket almost at the point where the cover meets the bottom of the rocker cover. I was under the impression that the chains were lubricated with splash - would this be enough to produce a significant leak - there is a distinct flow to the leak when the engine is running. Replacing the gasket is more time consuming than anything - the cover is one piece covering both timing chains and the oil pump chain. It means all the guff on the front of the engine has to come off - anyone done this and if so anything to watch out for? Do I need to replace the crankshaft oil seal as a matter of course?

Robin