Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign?

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 09:39
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - thingstodo

Hi All,

I'm thinking of buying a Skoda Fabia.

I looked at one yesterday, its a 2008 model, with 36,000 miles on the clock.

All round it looked in pretty good nick. But, on the engine it looked like there was a bit of oil seeping out of a seem from the position indicated by the arrows in the linked image:

onsitenow.co.uk/stuff/car/skoda/skoda_fabia_engine...g

The engine I looked at was a 1.2 ie not the 1.6 in the image this was just the best image I could find to indicate the position.

The dealer said it wasn't oil just dirt, but it was right on the seem and the rest of the engine was clean.

Is this a sign of something serious?

Thanks for any help or tips

Cheers

Mike

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 14:30
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - thingstodo

I've taken some pictures of the actual engine:

onsitenow.co.uk/stuff/car/skoda/index.html

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 14:40
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - Cyd

it does look like a small weep from the joint. It does seem to be very slight though. Even very small amounts of oil will spread out and produce quite a large stain. If that's the worst thing wrong with the car then I don't think I'd worry too much about it. Just clean it up periodically.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 14:42
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - Falkirk Bairn

Ask for it to be fixed as a condition of sale - or find another car @ another garage without that fault

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 17:03
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - dadbif
I would rather see a good honest engine with dirt and dust on it, you will be able, as you have, to spot any leaks and gauge their severity.
Steer well clear of steam cleaned and lacquered engine bays, they were cleaned for a reason, more than likely to hide an oil leak.
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Sun 7 Jul 2013 17:08
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - thingstodo

I cleaned it up and took it for another test drive for a couple of junctions down the motorway.

Popped the bonnet when we got back and it was still clean.

The dealer suggested it could have just been an oil spill when filling up with oil that had dribbled down the gasket edge as the path of least resistance.

I think that could be the case.

Mike

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 19:00
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - elekie&a/c doctor
oil leak or no oil leak,I would avoid the 3cylinder engines in VAG models at any cost.They are nothing but problems.hth
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Sun 7 Jul 2013 20:31
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - thingstodo

What problems have you had/ know about?

Thanks

Mike

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Mon 8 Jul 2013 11:48
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - BenG

Just looks like minor oil seepage from the timing chain cover gasket. I wouldn't worry about that.

As for the faults with the VAG 3-cylinder engine, I'll let the previous poster elaborate as I'm interested myself (my Dad has a Seat Ibiza 1.2)!

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Mon 8 Jul 2013 19:27
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - elekie&a/c doctor

Lots of info on this HJ site and others.Search timing chain and misfire issues.hth

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Thu 11 Jul 2013 17:19
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - BenG

Easier said than done. Searched on 'timing chain' and got 17,000+ matches, scanned about 10 pages of matches & saw nothing about the VW 1.2 motor before I lost interest...

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Tue 23 Jul 2013 23:47
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - Braunschweig
oil leak or no oil leak,I would avoid the 3cylinder engines in VAG models at any cost.They are nothing but problems.hth

I think that's a bit harsh.

Sure, they can have problems (what engines don't?), but mine has done 130,000 without any major issues. The only thing I've had done on the engine is had the timing chain replaced and I've had it from new.

There are worse engines out there.

Edited by Braunschweig on 23/07/2013 at 23:49

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Wed 10 Jul 2013 05:03
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - 1litregolfeater

With a skoda, oil and dirt on the owner would be a bad sign.

With a vw, could be a good sign.

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Fri 19 Jul 2013 10:51
Skoda Fabia - Oil/dirt on engine - is this a bad sign? - thingstodo

Well I bought it, and looks like it was just an oil spill, as no more oil has seeped out in the last week and about 250 miles driving

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