Hi there i had an oil change done at a well known hi street garage, but ever since it has been leaking oil from the sump! i have taken it back an they tightened it but it is still leaking.
How can a simple job like this go wrong? or am i missing something?
Tweak to subject line - engine details and year added later
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 06/10/2007 at 18:38
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kush, it's always a good idea to replace the washer when doing up the sump plug before filling with fresh oil.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 06/10/2007 at 12:56
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These [no engine details - again - and two different cars too!] have a crush washer on the plug that will not seal if reused.
Tightening it will not help and will just strip the thread.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 06/10/2007 at 12:57
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Next time use a franchised dealer ~ I guarantee they'll do the job properly and fit a new washer.
--
L'escargot.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 06/10/2007 at 12:57
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Next time use a franchised dealer
On a car that's at least 10/11 years old! I suspect the costs might be prohibitive.
~ I guarantee they'll do the job properly
Not everyone has had your faultless (and somewhat rose-tinted) experience of dealers.
I agree with the advice given higher up. Get the garage to take the plug out, and fit a new washer, tightening it to the specified torque - re-tightening with an old washer is at best futile, and at worst damages the threads. If the oil drains into spotlessly clean containers, there's no reason why it can't be poured back in.
Number_Cruncher
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NC
Do you mean that you haven't mastered how to change a sump washer with the oil still in the sump?
That's what thumbs are for. Done right; you'll only lose a cupful - done wrong......
Edited by Screwloose on 06/10/2007 at 17:09
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>>That's what thumbs are for.
It's something I've only had to do once or twice, and I've just drained the oil, and started another job while the oil was draining down - in fact most of the oil services I did, I would start another job alongside. Bonus, busy, busy, bonus!
>>done wrong......
A little naughty, I know, but I have enjoyed watching one or two DIYers get into all sorts of trouble - I saw one acquantance become absolutely covered in oil while attempting to do an oil and filter on his Nova 1.2 - Imagine Frank Spencer in overalls!
Number_Cruncher
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garage done it wit a new washer now, the oil leak has slowed right down but tere still some drips, I will do this myself now I have ordered a new sump nut from the dealer there are no torque settings in te haynes manual does anyone have an idea as to wat they should be?
1994 volvo 440 1.6
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It's something I've only had to do once or twice and I've just drained the oil and started another job while the oil was draining down bonus!
I rember doing this once-had the plug out and letting the oil drip out. Next thing,somone called and kept me talking for about ten minutes.I went back to the oil job and promptly poured over thirty quids worth of synthetic oil in at the oil filler only to watch it come out all over the drive. I`d forgotten to put the sump plug back!
By the way, my previous car had a torque of only 25Nm on the sump plug,so just slightly more than hand tight. Scary! I suggest you buy a new pug and washer and do the job yourself using a torque wrench.
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>>I`d forgotten to put the sump plug back!
When working quickly and efficiently, you get into habits. My routine to avoid this kind of problem was to take the spanner for the sump plug from the toolbox, undo the sump plug, and then, put the spanner on the floor where I would notice it. Only when the sump plug was properly torqued back up would I put the spanner back in the box. Therefore, if I saw the spanner on the floor, I knew the sump plug was still out or loose.
The same went for wheel nuts. I would only put the wheel covers on imediately after torquing up that wheel. Therefore a wheel cover off meant I had to tighten that wheel's nuts.
Both these examples sound daft, and perhaps overly prescriptive for DIYers, but, without routine, you end up virtually doing the job twice. If you're on bonus, this repetition is costing you money - you avoid it, while ensuring you don't cut corners.
Number_Cruncher
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>>I`d forgotten to put the sump plug back!
If I don't replace the sump plug while I'm still underneath then I rest it on the filler cap.
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>>When working quickly and efficiently, you get into habits...
I too have certain habits when working on vehicles, but due to the nature of my job this is generally on the roadside rather than in a workshop. My main 'rules' are never to put any tools or equipment down unless it is back inside one of the lockers on my own vehicle unless for example I am sitting underneath something and have a handful of spanners as obviously I can only operate one at a time.
This 'rule' is followed up by the fact that the last thing I do before I leave is to put my overalls on top of my toolbox. Now if the lid of my toolbox is open then it means that I haven't put something away as once I have returned the tools that I was using I shut the lid so I know everything is back.
Obviously once I have gone from the roadside if I have left something behind it will be lost for good, so I have developed the habit of trying to minimise this risk.
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Next time use a franchised dealer ~ I guarantee they'll do the job properly and fit a new washer. (L'escargot.)
Yeah right
One Renault dealer overfilled my DCi by over 1 litre !! not funny ... a Fiat dealer used an air gun to refit the alloy sump plug in their manual it reads 28nm or Hand tight !!
In the motor trade Quality and Profesional aren't linked to the Labour rate per Hour..!!
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i had to take two litres of overfilled oil out of a car only this week ,its dammed hard trying to get the plug back in as its torry canyoning out i can tell you ;-(
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I always buy a spare new sump plug for my cars for several reasons. For one I am prone to losing small things when I put them down, another is that I know I have a new sealing washer if the old one is damaged on removal or is needed due to age and another reason is so that I don't have to fish it out of the drain container straight away when I drop it in. I can replace it with a new one, put my new oil in and recover the old plug (if still servicable) when I pour the old oil into the now empty new oil container ready to take to the council desposal site.
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2005 Ford Mondeo Zetec 2.0 TDCi 130ps
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This is a common problem with these engines (which are Renault). We have a few Volvo 440s and they all have the same problem. I am told by my local garage (who specialise in Volvos) that in these Renault engines it is simply a nut that is welded into the sump and is not as well designed as Volvo engines. The only way that my garage solves it is to put some of the plumber's PVC white tape around the plug and then seal it with silicone. Once my garage did that on my own car, it completely stopped leaking (and it had been done like that previous to the oil change by somebody else too).
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