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I'm new to Caterhams although I did once own a 1966 Cortina GT (amongst a slew of other English cars back then). And I don't recall that car being as messy as this one. Just how badly do Cortina gearboxes leak? Mine appears to be leaking from the front, back, top and possibly also where the tailpiece bolts to the main box. It's coming out pretty well too; a 30 mile drive leaves a nice mess under the car. I cleaned everything off before the drive which is how I know it is coming out from several locations. Could it be overfilled? (Easy) Is there a breather on the gearbox somewhere? (Maybe easy) Is it filled with the wrong kind of oil that is foaming up and building pressure inside the case? I dunno. I can try changing the oil -- I'd love to hear what folks recommend to use. It's possible that it's leaking just from age. It was completely refurbished but it was quite a few years ago. The car had a total of less 100 miles on it since then, so it isn't an age/use thing, but perhaps the seals all deteriorated from sitting? Doesn't seem right to me, the seals don't look like cork or string or anything weird. Oh that reminds me -- there is some sort of black goo oozing from the rear seal. Enough woe. Thanks for ideas and suggestions.

Hi all, I'm Dave and I just bought a 1995 Caterham Super Seven that was recently offered on Bring a Trailer. It was a bit of kismet I think; the car went up for sale last year, it was not far from me, and I really wanted to at least go see it. But I was caring for an ailing parent and going off chasing little yellow cars was not an option. So reluctantly I watched as it sold to someone besides me. Fast forward about a year and, lo and behold, the car is once again up for auction on BaT! Still nearby, still with the same owner in fact -- the first sale had fallen through. This time I was free to go see it, crawl around it, meet the owner, and eventually win the auction. Owning a Lotus is one of my bucket list items and as far as I'm concerned this gives me a checkmark. Rather than post a bunch of pictures I'll just link the auction. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-seven-2/ I also have my first question, namely just how badly do Cortina gearboxes leak? Because mine appears to be leaking from the front, back, top and possibly also where the tailpiece bolts to the main box. I'll start another thread on that rather than clutter things up here.

That one is me. Well, soon it will be me.