Expensive oil leak repair

[northern_nubie]

Hi,

New here, but thought I'd ask for some much needed advice.

I've had an engine oil leak for up to a year. It doesn't lose much. I just add a really small amount about once a fortnight - but it is a little annoying especially when the oil drips on to wet ground and spreads out on a driveway. And it's covering quite a bit of the car's underside. So I looked into getting it fixed...

 

Been quoted by an Audi dealer over £1200. They say it's the rear crank oil seal, sump seal and oil filter housing. But when I rang another car repair place quite a knowledgeable-sounding person said he was surprised all three things had gone at once. So, does a problem with all three sound reasonable?

I'd very much appreciate any opinions on this, thanks.

 

 

[Brad-B5]

Hi Peter

Comes across to me that it's all just wear and tear, could all be linked, have you got quotes from an Audi specialist instead of a main dealer to see what there opinion is and cost of repair from themselves?

Kind Regards

Bradley

[northern_nubie]

Thanks Bradley. The dealer carries out work at a nearby VW workshop, so I'm assuming they're a specialist in the sense you mean. I spoke to them again and it seems that a leak was flagged up (one less bad than this not bad one!) a year or two ago (I have had the car for nine years). So maybe its a cumulative affect of wear and tear. He did say I could hold back on having the oil filter housing done if the other fixes worked, and he's getting back to me about the cost of that, if I had it done separately.

[Brad-B5]

That's good at least you're moving forward with it, keep us up to date with it all Peter :), what you could always do is do the cheapest thing first and see if it helps then work your way up the ladder? 

Regards

Bradley

[cliffcoggin]

I don't know, but it is possible, that the Audi mechanic can not pin point the exact location of the leak so he has quoted for the nearest three possible oil sources. Why not ask the dealer for details? I take my A3 to a main dealer and he will always get answers to my questions from the mechanic (I refuse to call them technicians,) who carried out the assessment or did the work.

[northern_nubie]

Sorry for the delay in replying. I asked more about this issue at the dealership, and there was the option of having the oil filter housing work done at a later date, if the new rear crank oil seal and new sump seal didn't fix the leak. While the oil filter housing part itself wouldn't be too costly, I would effectively be paying twice for labour, as that would be included in the price if I got all three jobs done at the same time. So I decided to have all the work done in the end. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for your replies.

[Magnet]

Hello Peter,

Not sure if this is going to help or hinder your decision, but I'm with Brad, and an appreciation that this car is 14 years old and X miles and reasonable oil leaks are likely to be a matter of fair wear and tear. 

I would guess the main problem is probably the rear crankshaft seal and this entails removing the gearbox to replace it. Since the gearbox has to be removed, I would expect a call to the effect "your clutch is fairly worn sir, and it it would be wise to replace it now the gearbox is out" and all of a sudden your £1200 bill has escalated to a value which approaches/exceeds the value of the car. Pessimistic perhaps, but might be worth bearing in mind.

If it were mine, would I spend this amount of money? No I wouldn't, but... 

Two temporary actions. Simply clean down (get it cleaned down) so at least you have a window of time to actually assess how bad this is. Add an oil leak additive to the oil. I don't like this method since it causes the seals (all of them) to expand and minimise the leaks, but as an alternative to spending a minimum of £1200 plus the likely cost of a clutch ( if manual) ?? A lot of money for a bit of oil  from an old car.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[cliffcoggin]

I would agree with Gareth that if the mileage is very high, the deeper you look into the engine and gearbox, the more faults you will find, and the more expensive the job becomes. However I see no mention of mileage yet in Peter's comments so perhaps we are too pessimistic (or too cynical), and some new seals will keep the car going for many years to come.

[northern_nubie]

I've gone ahead with the work and I understand they've done most of it already. No sign of any suggestion of gearbox problems, but I note what you say. As for mileage, you may be a bit surprised. It's only done a little over 70000 miles in those 14 years of its life. It used to be my parents' car until 2008 when it had 23000 on the clock. I had a new cambelt fitted 7 years ago and it's due again the end of the year. I think since it was replaced last time, I've done around a bit over 35000. Now that I think, I can't remember after how many miles or years they suggest an A3 needs a new cambelt. I hate the cambelt thing - a pretty large outlay. They should last forever...! I may go to a local Halfords for the new cambelt, they seem to be up to £200 cheaper than an Audi dealer.

I should add that I love driving the car and am also averse to replacing it as I'm very fussy and things wind me up when buying items. Better the devil you know, perhaps - certainly in my case.

[niedzial1983]

Cambelt its usaly 5years max. It loses strenght over time and can break causing lots of issues 

[Magnet]

OK Peter. I can understand you are attached to the car, and it looks like you will get it fixed for your £1200 outlay - that's great. 

I'm beginning to sound like the prophet of doom here! - but at least with bottom line situations, you can form your own views. Sorry about another second thought possibility - for the future - in relation to the cambelt change.

Might be worth asking why Halfords are considerably cheaper to renew this very critical assembly. Yes, it could simply be that their labour charges are considerably lower than the main dealer, or it could also be influenced by the fact that they are using aftermarket parts whereas the main dealer would obviously use VAG parts. Halfords are likely to ring their local motor factors and obtain a kit from the cheapest aftermarket supplier - quality?? 

Might be worth looking at other forums to gain opinion on whether entrusting this critical job to Halfords is a wise move or not based on their price being lower. You didn't say who is doing the oil leak work for you, and I guess you have had a quote from them. I think you will find that a consensus of opinion across many forums in relation to cambelt changes is to use main dealer parts wherever possible, and if cost is really king ( and I don't think it should be with this application) then assemblies from Gates (only?) can be an acceptable alternative. If the water pump, forms part of this application, then I would avoid aftermarket pumps like the plague - they can be a source of potential short service life with catastrophic results. 

All in all Peter, it might be wise to first establish what parts are going to be changed and what make parts are going to be used to replace them. I would advise to beware of the often used OEM term. 

Main dealers sometimes/often? have offers on cambelt changes ( shop around) and some will give discounts on the supply of parts which then makes using aftermarket ones simply not worth the saving. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jeffo]

Hello from Oz...

Not relevant regarding the oil leak, but O have had some experience with after market vs OEM parts.

Engine is an Ecotec V6. Had a crankshaft position sensor fail at about 300,000 klms. Straight foward. I bought an "ebay" item, fitted it, problem fixed.. So I thought.

The replacement dies after about 5 months' service. I couldn't get to the dealers to buy the right one (long weekend and I needed the car), so I bought a supposed OEM one from a local parts supplier. When I got it home and opened the sealed box (no returns once the box seal is broken) it was the same brand as the "ebay" one!.. Needless to say, I had to fir it. All good. Car was back on the road. For a while.  This sensor couldn't cope with anything over 4,000 rpm. At the point it would shut the engine down. Only way to get it to restart was to shut it down, and restart.  So... I then paid twice as much and bought the real OEM one. Same brand as the original. All good now. Revs to rev limitter, and it has lasted 3 months.  Spot the lesson!

At about 200,000 klms, and probably 13 years,  one of the radiator hoses started leaking. As it was the first cooling system problem the car had had, I decided to buy a complete set of hoses.  Went to the local parts store and bought the set.  Duly fitted and away I went. The next day I was driving on work business and one of the new heater hoses split!  About 2 inches long split! Limped home and asap went to the dealer. Bought a complete set of hoses. Cheaper than the local parts store!  That was 6 years ago. No more leaks and no more failed hoses.

Stick to OEM.  And make sure if you are getting your own mechanic to replace parts, that they use OEM parts.

[Magnet]

Hello Jeffo?,

Welcome to the forum. 

As I said in my post of 13th August 2017 - ‘I would be aware of the often used OEM term’. It is widely used in the marketplace of aftermarket supplies. I really don’t think it’s a question of whether to use ‘aftermarket’ or insist on ‘OEM aftermarket’ rather than genuine dealer parts. In my experience you just as well ignore the significance of OEM if buying in the aftermarket quarter since it is often misused. 

Through bad experiences such as yours, I have developed my own buying restrictions if buying aftermarket - they aren’t all bad, but you build up respect for certain brands and disrespect for others. 

Main dealer parts and higher prices? You are buying quality for your extra outlay and as you have found out, buying cheap once, can mean buying again.

We are fortunate here since we can buy genuine Audi parts at discount, so we have a better change of buying quality at competitive prices. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

p.s. Many thanks for joining and posting, but I think it’s worth asking the Forum Admin to consider not allowing new contributions to threads which have not been responded to for say over a year. Problem is that folks read - and may even attempt to post replies - in relation to the first (long outdated) post without noticing the dates.