Hi,

Anyone care to give the diagnosis/prognosis on this please?

Felcia 1.9D 1997.

Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6.

I'm embarrassed to say the first I knew of this was when informed by a friend I'd left oil on their driveway.

Now I'm no expert, but that (see photos) looks serious to me...

There is some oil spotting on the ground at my usual parking space, but not a massive amount tbh.

Checking with the dip stick it's only showing on the tip, and that's after I poured in about a Litre.

MOT is due in 4 weeks. (i.e. I can book it in now)

I was hoping it would last out a couple more years since it's had 3 new springs/dampers (2 x front, 1 x rear) and a new exhaust in recent years.

(Edit: replace imageshack pages with direct links to photos)

Edited 9 May, 201115 yr by charliebrown

Hi,

From the pics i would say its the sump gasket and oil filter thats leaking, I wouldnt think this is a particularly hard or expensive thing to fix, just remove the sump put a new gasket and fill it up with oil again.

Is there any oil higher up the engine? or its all localised down the bottom as in the pics?

Hello Charlie,

I'd definately start by changing the oil filter. It's the simplest place to start. It looks like the sealing ring on top of the filter may have failed or the filter may have worked loose. There seems to be a fair bit of oil dripping down the side of it which is likely to be getting sprayed out when it's under pressure.

By the way, does anyone else think that the filter looks a bit big for its mount and possibly the sealing ring isn't seating properly?

Then clean up the engine and keep an eye on it for a few days of normal driving. If the oil leak starts again, as Courier says, change the sump gasket.

Is there any oil higher up the engine? or its all localised down the bottom as in the pics?

It's localised as shown in the photos, I didn't think to take any shots of the upper parts but yes they are dry.

I'd definately start by changing the oil filter. It's the simplest place to start. It looks like the sealing ring on top of the filter may have failed or the filter may have worked loose.

There seems to be a fair bit of oil dripping down the side of it which is likely to be getting sprayed out when it's under pressure.

Those were my first thoughts too (although I'm no expert!), until I got underneath.

If the gasket has failed would it go in just one place? How come it looks like there's oil coming out right around the gasket and not much above it?

Also to mention that while there is oil spotting on the drive, there's a damned sight more stuck to the underside of the vehicle!

By the way, does anyone else think that the filter looks a bit big for its mount and possibly the sealing ring isn't seating properly?

Funny you should ask that. It might just be coincidence but on the last oil+filter change (same time as the MOT) the mechanic said something about being sent the wrong filter and it being sent back. Hopefully the expert eyes around here will be able to confirm if looks the right size.

Since the MOT is due I was going to get the oil+filter changed as I usually do.

You might have guessed that I don't actually "do" car maintenance. Actually that's a lie, I did manage to do the brake discs, but a sump gasket would be one for the garage me thinks.

almost 100% oil filter,it does look big and maybe the wrong one,easy to check,drain oil and remove filter and make sure the o ring on top of the filter is in place and also aligns with the mating plate on the engine,looks like its been leaking for a while and spraying down the underside of the car when you drive along,cheap to fix and if you service your car once a year your just about ready for an oil change....looking on the bright side the floor of you car is now protected from the elements,mot man might not like it though

I've had another look at photo 5. You can see the rubber sealing ring on the top of the filter sitting out beyond the mating surface of the engine. That's almost certainly going to be letting oil past it. It doesn't take much oil to make a mess of the underside.

My Felicia gearbox has a slight leak where the selector shaft enters it (not even enough to leave a drip on the ground). The floorpan around it looks like it's been painted with an oily brush. No rust there then!