I asked a local garage the cost of replacing the sump gasket and they said £187. That sounded very steep and when I questioned the price they said it also included a new sump. I said all it needed was new gasket and fresh oil and filter. They then told me it was sealant and not a gasket and gave the price breakdown as £33.57 for the sump, £17.36 for sealant and £20 for oil and filter plus VAT and 1.5 hours of labour making a total £148.11 without the sump. Still sounds allot, any thoughts on what true price should be.

Are you absolutely convinced that it's engine oil from the sump? Is this causing an oil patch under the car whilst parked? Does that patch look and smell like engine oil, or diesel fuel? It's just that the very common fault here is a leaking injector seal, which, as delivered, this engine is prone to... I've had it on my 1.4Tdci and I've read on motoring forums that it's a common problem. Diesel fuel leaks out and drips onto the exhaust pipe.. Then fumes enter the cabin and there will be visible smoke from the back of the engine. It's a common problem from new, but if you find a good mechanic to re-seat the injectors, they'll never leak again!

Doing the sump pan may be a lot cheaper than an injector job! This picture of a sump pan, £65 on e-Bay, suggests that it is a simple job providing that you can do it with the exhaust pipe in place.

compare.ebay.co.uk/like/170752022598?var=lv&lt...0

I've not heard of any common problem with the crankshaft oil seal on this engine. There should be no oil behind the crankshaft damper pulley as the cam belt (dry) is behind there. The cam belt was changed at 90K miles on my 1.4 Tdci, with no report of other problems from my local garage who did the job. About 30K miles later, the crankshaft damper pulley failed - the rubber filling between the two halves of the pulley ripped, and what a noise it makes when that happens! I left that one to the local garage as well and a new auxiliary belt had to be fitted as well.