Oil leaking, advice please

[Tao]

Hi guys,

sad
Yesterday found leaking oil marks in the garage, I checked the bottom of my little golf (MKIV 1.6 61500km) and saw black wet oil marks near the sump plug (screw). So this morning, I took it the dealer for a health check.

Result:
-Good, they did find leaking oil. They said the oil was everywhere through the whole bottom of the car.
-bad, they don't know where leaks. They told me maybe a seal fail causing this messy leakage. so they wipe off all the oil and dirt and ask me to re-visit in 1000km.

Has someone had same experience before or is it a known problem?
Many thanks...

[Fizz]

it could be anything... head gasket or rear main oil seal which is behind the gearbox etc. most likely leaking near the top somewhere and trickling down.
best thing to do is give the engine bay a good clean. then have the dealership check after a few days.

[Tao]

Thanks mate.
Is this a big $ repaire?

cheers,

[craig_the_german]

oil leak

Hi my 1.6 has started to drop tiny drops of oil as well. Mine is around about the join between the gearbox and engine.
I have noticed some oil/drips around the corner of the rocker cover and a drip about to fall off the small "breather" pipe between the rocker cover and the air intake just before the TB. These could be running down to the bottom of the engine and dripping off.

I am hoping that mine is either the rocker cover or this little breather pipe dripping a little rather than a rear main oil seal or similar.

I will wash mine down at the weekend and see if I can find where its coming from.

[Tao]

I've checked the car again this morning, interestingly no more leaks. In other words, the leaks is not big enough to drip off I guess.

Just wonder, how can you check the car as I can't really see anything clearly from the bonnet even with a torch, unless have to lift the car up.
Thanks for your reply.

cheers

[craig_the_german]

oil leak

Hi, if it is leaking similarly to mine, the only way you can see it is if you lift the car, jack and chassis stands or on a set of ramps.

Again if it is like mine, the leak is very small and can take a few days or even a week or so to drip again.

I put some cardboard under the car when I park at home and just keep an eye on it.

[Tao]

Hi, if it is leaking similarly to mine, the only way you can see it is if you lift the car, jack and chassis stands or on a set of ramps.

Again if it is like mine, the leak is very small and can take a few days or even a week or so to drip again.

I put some cardboard under the car when I park at home and just keep an eye on it.

Just update:

As the car kept dripping since last check, I brought it back to the dealer again. This time heaps easy to see the oil leaks between the sump and engine - caused by broken seal.

Now the little beast is on the rack and under repair.

[craig_the_german]

oil leak

Hi, if you don't mind me asking, whats it costing to have the rear main oil seal replaced?

[Tao]

issue continues,
found bit oil under the car two days after it got repaired.
Sad again, have to go to dealer AGAIN.

[vwguru]

recomend to reseal the sump before replacing the rear main as i have seen this before, i have removed the gear box and found that the rear main was fine but the sump was leaking from this area, maybe yours is the same?

[Tao]

Hi mate,

Thanks for the info.
Actually what I've been told by the dealer is nothing else wrong except the broken oil sump gasket. So the repair was just unbolt sump, reseal, and bolt back in.

I'll chat with the Tech next week.

[craig_the_german]

oil leak

Hi all,

Is there a way of telling if it is simply a sump gasket leaking or a rear main oil seal? Both seem to show a leak in the same general area.

I have read somewhere as well as in this thread (can't remember where ) that a leaking sump gasket is often mistaken for a rear main oil seal, the gear box removed only to find there was nothing wrong with the seal....

The reason I ask is mine is also dripping (maybe one tiny drop every couple of days) and after the amount I have spent on it so far, would hate to have to pull the gear box out again to fix a rear main....hopefully it is a sump seal instead.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Jmac]

Hmm, check the sump bolts mate, there is a couple of tricky ones in the bellhousing area. Its a case of check them , spray some brake cleaner/shellite and clean it right down. Run the car till hot and jack up and have another look. cross your fingers too, does sound like the rear main to me,
Cheers
Jmac

[Tao]

Thanks mate.
Car is with dealer again today, they found nothing wrong with sump&seal, the drip coming from the front crank seal. When the oil dops, it pass the sump area and cause confussion.
They charge me 4x hr labour to replace the seal, including getoff the the cam-belt, engine cover stuff. Does the work repair 4x hour?

Thanks.

Tao

[craig_the_german]

oil leak

Hi,

Unfortunately mine is leaking from the back of the engine