oil leak

[AShaikh]

I am looking to buy tiguan tsi 2009 and saw one car. It drives fine but there is a oil leak from top of the cover. I checked underneath and side of engine and oil is everywhere. Apart from the rocker cover where else can be leaking from. Is there any damaged to other parts due to oil leak (engine mount belt etc.) I can fix the rocker cover but concern about other leak which might be expense to fix.

[fiankomike]

That will probably be as a result of a damaged rear main seal. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the highest mark for difficulty, I will give a rear main fix 9/10.

The rear main seal protects oil from leaking from the crankcase and is covered by the transmission. As such, the transmission has to be detached from the crankcase before the rear main seal can be fixed.

If you haven’t bought the car yet, then don’t.


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[Lucas_R]

Plenty of spots the oil could be leaking from. Valve cover, oil filter, PCV valve, turbo oil feed or drain pipe, sump, rear main seal etc etc. It may be a cheap and easy fix (eg valve cover) or could be expensive (rear main seal).

What engine is it? 2.0T petrol?

For reference, my Golf Mk6 GTI (same engine as fitted to the Tiguan 125TSI and 147TSI) had a leaking rear main seal which is reasonably common on these engines and cost me nearly $900 to fix just that (gearbox needs to be removed so 90% of the cost is labour).

The previous owner probably decided to get rid of it because of the leak(s).

I would keep looking, there are heaps of them around so shouldn't be hard to find a suitable one.

Lastly - dont buy the 1.4L twincharge version of the Tiguan (base model). Its a ticking time bomb engine.

[AShaikh]

It is 2.0 petrol 2009 190k. It is definitely leaking from the rocker, but not sure if anything leaking. If want i to buy in this condition what it worth.

[Lucas_R]

It is 2.0 petrol 2009 190k. It is definitely leaking from the rocker, but not sure if anything leaking. If want i to buy in this condition what it worth.

Just have a look on Carsales and compare it to others and you will get an idea of whether its well priced, or above/below market value.

Actually, just had a look, somewhere between $8,000-9,000 for a 2009 with 190k on the odometer. I assume its a 125TSI as you have not specified? Worth a bit more if its the higher spec 147TSI. Manual or auto?

Volkswagen Tiguan 2009 Price & Specs | CarsGuide

[AShaikh]

its 125tsi auto.

[Lucas_R]

its 125tsi auto.

$8-9k then and if its got oil leaks then as close to $8k the better as you will be spending money on it straight away to fix the leaks.

[AShaikh]

i found two tiguan under my budget both same year. one is 150k and other is 190k. Higher km tiguan has water pump changed and new tyres but has a oil leak. The low km one havent checked yet but the price difference $1k. Do you think it is better to buy higher km one with new water pump with oil leak. I assume low k one with no oil leak.

[Lucas_R]

The water pump on these cars does not need to be changed unless it is leaking or has failed - so the higher km car obviously had a water pump issue (very common on these engines and VW's in general).

I would buy the car that is in better condition overall - the km's are sort of irrelevant really in my opinion. Personally I would go and look at the low km Tiguan and then make a decision - you can always negotiate the price down a bit on the lower km model if its in better condition overall.

[fiankomike]

i found two tiguan under my budget both same year. one is 150k and other is 190k. Higher km tiguan has water pump changed and new tyres but has a oil leak. The low km one havent checked yet but the price difference $1k. Do you think it is better to buy higher km one with new water pump with oil leak. I assume low k one with no oil leak.

Avoid purchasing a car with an oil leak anytime you can. That $1000 difference will be worth every penny when you do not have oil leakage issues.


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[AShaikh]

Yes you are right. I had experience with oil leak with other cars, unless you know where the leak is its guessing game.

[AShaikh]

I had a looked the same car again which has a oil leak. He replaced the upper timing cover and rocker cover gasket. I checked the after he drew a week to see if the leak still there. When I checked underneath the mechanic didnt clean previous oil leak from cover. I can see the oil leak underneath. I am not sure if it is previous oil which still there somewhere on the cover. But there is no oil leak on upper timing chain cover or rocker.

I also noticed the engine sound. It sounds like a diesel engine. Is it normal sound of tsi engine? (tried to upload .mp3 file but does not allow).

The car as services history but there is no entry any major work done. The owner also replaced the water pump few months ago.

[Lucas_R]

I had a looked the same car again which has a oil leak. He replaced the upper timing cover and rocker cover gasket. I checked the after he drew a week to see if the leak still there. When I checked underneath the mechanic didnt clean previous oil leak from cover. I can see the oil leak underneath. I am not sure if it is previous oil which still there somewhere on the cover. But there is no oil leak on upper timing chain cover or rocker.

I also noticed the engine sound. It sounds like a diesel engine. Is it normal sound of tsi engine? (tried to upload .mp3 file but does not allow).

The car as services history but there is no entry any major work done. The owner also replaced the water pump few months ago.

Sloppy mechanic to not clean the oil off after fixing an oil leak.

And yes, TSI engines are quite loud when idling - its the direct injection. Normal.

[h100vw]

The brake vacuum pumps leak on these. RKXtech for a new seal if its that