Good afternoon all.

 

My car is a 04 VRS diesel.

 

I noticed an oil leak on my drive and on investigation found the leak coming from the sump plug.

 

Found that the plug would not sit flush against the sump casting as it has been helicoiled and the washer seated flat on one side of the bolt but not on another.

 

I had the great idea of changing the plug to see if a fresh washer could help, unfortunately due to being tightened up by an ape when I unscrewed the plug most of the helicoil insert came out of the hole on the sump plug.

 

I  could see that the hole for the plug had been redrillled of set making it impossible to seat the sump plug properly.

 

To rectify this I decided to change the sump completely.  I removed the sump and there was Lots of the coils of the helicoil in the sump, and in the oil strainer there was even more and also some metal fragments that look like alloy casting parts from the sump up to 3-4mm cubes and I'm hoping they are not from the turbo or something else? 

 

I have decided to replace the oil strainer as it's cheap and it's been well tested!

 

Here is where I need some advice please.

 

I am concerned that the metal pieces I found in the sump could also be in other parts of the engine and when I change the strainer it will be blocked again really quickly.

 

Once I have refitted the strainer and sump I am thinking of changing the oil filter then flushing the engine with either diesel or just fresh oil  then changing the oil again before I use the car on the road again.

 

Does this seem the logical thing to do or am I missing something obvious? Do I change the filter before flushing it or after?

 

I am not a mechanic but I have always done basic maintenance on my cars so would like some input from people with greater knowledge please.

 

Long story of woe over.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Just clean up what you can see, use a solvent, (Brake cleaner spray can), use a toothbrush to get into the nooks and crannies.

Refit sump, taking care to install the gasket correctly and don't overtighten the bolts.

 

Fit a new filter, fill with correct spec (505.01) oil. Not ever with diesel or any other flushing snake oil/additive for that matter!

 

Anything but the correct oil can irreparably damage the camshaft and PD injectors in a matter of minutes!

 

Start the car, check the oil pressure light goes out.

If everything looks fine let it idle a few minutes to get the oil circulated.

 

Drive it normally, the strainer and oil filter will catch/stop any debris.

 

Check for oil leaks from the sump in the initial days.

 

For piece of mind you can change the oil and filter early if you want, but shouldn't really be necessary.

Edited 6 April, 20197 yr by xman

FYI- Asda do a 505.01c oil for a lot less than other makes. ideal for use as a flush. Depends on when you buy it, but I've seen it as low as £14 for a 5l can. Mostly it's circa £20.  How is it that grease monkeys tend to overtighten sump & wheel bolts. And of course ,the "Very best ( nearly had a typo with bast) tyre fitters ( as in ad) , can manage to over inflate a tyre.

I'd re iterate the bit about tightening the sump correctly . Sumps and Rocker cover gaskets are better fitted at correct torque.

And this post is perhaps why it's advisable to use A TORQUE WRENCH. Cheaper in long run. ( NO inference on OP)

If any catastrophic damage were going to happen it already would have.

16 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

If any catastrophic damage were going to happen it already would have.

 

The only thing that might have been damaged would be the oil pump, but the strainer should have hopefully protected it.

 

Edit: After further thought, if those alloy cubes were inside the strainer, could be a sign the oil pump was damaged. Keep an eye on oil pressure, maybe get it checked with a gauge (no, I don't know where and how to connect one)

Edited 6 April, 20197 yr by xman

32 minutes ago, xman said:

 

The only thing that might have been damaged would be the oil pump, but the strainer should have hopefully protected it.

 

Edit: After further thought, if those alloy cubes were inside the strainer, could be a sign the oil pump was damaged. Keep an eye on oil pressure, maybe get it checked with a gauge (no, I don't know where and how to connect one)

 

32 minutes ago, xman said:

 

The only thing that might have been damaged would be the oil pump, but the strainer should have hopefully protected it.

 

Edit: After further thought, if those alloy cubes were inside the strainer, could be a sign the oil pump was damaged. Keep an eye on oil pressure, maybe get it checked with a gauge (no, I don't know where and how to connect one)

 

 

Hi xman

 

The cubes were all on the mesh of the strainer, not inside so hopefully it did it's job.

 

Thanks all for you kind and knowledgeable advice