Hi all, i bought my 63 plate vrs in feb from a car dealer, since had one or two issues with the vehicle which have been sorted but over the last week as its stopped p***ing it down, i noticed a small damp patch where the front of the car was parked, stuck my head under and the lower engine mount looked wet with oil, so after squeezing under the car today i found what looks like a good chunk missing from the gbox mating face, and tiny bits of what seems to be jb weld (or similar) , now the gasket sits proud of this damage so you would assume it would be damaged also, unless this was a bodge job where the gasket was swapped and putty'd up so the garage could sell it on (speculation at this point).  Does anyone have any ideas on where i stand with the garage?   as if they had inspected the car thoroughly as they claimed this definitely would have been visible? 

I dont think that there is a gasket between the bellhousing and the engine and what you have photographed is the weep hole intended to drain away any engine or gearbox oil that finds its way past the seals.

 

I cannot see any JB weld on your photos, there doesn't seem to be enough oil to complain about certainly on a 15 year old car but if the engine mounting is wet that is another matter, perhaps there is another oil leak higher up.

Edited 29 May, 20215 yr by J.R.

its not good - I can just about see that damage.  The only way that you will be able to see the level of oil - is if it is replaced. 

I'm making the assumption that the selling garage is not a VAG specialist or Skoda garage, but could be wrong.

 

First - now you have identified it, get a quote for a repair.  You need this when you go back to the selling dealership in terms of a negociation on getting them to fix it (unless they are willing to fix the issue for free).  If you have financed the car, then you need to let the finance company know that in essence you have purchased a pup.

There is local trading standards if you don't get any joy.

Thanks for the replies guys, to further my original post, it only seems to weep/slow drip oil after its been driven/oil is hot, i  managed to get some better pictures, is this the aforementioned weep hole?  Also can confirm i was being an idiot, its not the gbox engine mating its under the block next to the sump, there does seem to be more oil than id expect to be around the area? 

On 30/05/2021 at 05:16, varaderoguy said:

its not good - I can just about see that damage.  The only way that you will be able to see the level of oil - is if it is replaced. 

I'm making the assumption that the selling garage is not a VAG specialist or Skoda garage, but could be wrong.

 

First - now you have identified it, get a quote for a repair.  You need this when you go back to the selling dealership in terms of a negociation on getting them to fix it (unless they are willing to fix the issue for free).  If you have financed the car, then you need to let the finance company know that in essence you have purchased a pup.

There is local trading standards if you don't get any joy.

Thanks bud, i had an injector let go on the car recently after a month of ownership and 500 miles and the garage contributed what they would cost it at to replace (as they are about 60 miles from me) but they were a bit funny with me, im just hesitant to go back with another problem in case i get told to do one.  I think i have another month and a half through trading standards/consumer rights act.  

 

Id like to add the car has a smidge under 60k on the clock so its not been to the moon and back. 

As you are under the car, make a note of the part numbers for the gearbox bell-housing.  If you like the car, then stick with it. Get a quote for the replacement parts or go hunt around a scrap dealer.

 

The other way is this: find a local expect who can do alloy repair (hopefully via Aluminium welding).  You would also need to be able to check that the two parts of the bell-house are still good and that the seals between the two parts are still intact.  You would also need to get a boroscope if you went down the aluminium repair route and check that any repair is okay inside the gearbox housing.

11 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

As you are under the car, make a note of the part numbers for the gearbox bell-housing.  If you like the car, then stick with it. Get a quote for the replacement parts or go hunt around a scrap dealer.

 

The other way is this: find a local expect who can do alloy repair (hopefully via Aluminium welding).  You would also need to be able to check that the two parts of the bell-house are still good and that the seals between the two parts are still intact.  You would also need to get a boroscope if you went down the aluminium repair route and check that any repair is okay inside the gearbox housing.

I had to park in on a kerb to get underneath, wasn't all that much room & i don't trust the old jack i have, car is booked in for inspection at a vw specialist near me so hopefully get a bit more clarity on whats going on under there.   My issue will be if it is indeed damage that was there prior to sale it definitely should have been picked up on by the sales garage as they fully inspected & serviced the car including an oil change, it would be hard not to notice it on a ramp.   Thankyou for your advice though, with the amount i spent buying the damn thing i was hoping it would be a solid car i could just run, look after and keep me going for a good few years. 

12 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

As you are under the car, make a note of the part numbers for the gearbox bell-housing.  If you like the car, then stick with it. Get a quote for the replacement parts or go hunt around a scrap dealer.

 

The other way is this: find a local expect who can do alloy repair (hopefully via Aluminium welding).  You would also need to be able to check that the two parts of the bell-house are still good and that the seals between the two parts are still intact.  You would also need to get a boroscope if you went down the aluminium repair route and check that any repair is okay inside the gearbox housing.

There is no seal between the bellhousing and the rear engine flange, its a weep hole to let out any engine or gearbox oil that makes its way past the crankshaft rear seal or the gearbox input shaft seal, there will always be a film of oil within the bellhousing that eventually makes its way out via the intended route.

 

One drip on a 7 year old 60000 mile car is not cause for concern and certainly not for specialist Tig welding, look at the sump and bellhousing, you could eat your dinner off them, they are testament to how oil tight modern VAG engines are but unfortunately that can cause a massive over-reaction to a single drip.

42 minutes ago, Thelongblueone said:

 with the amount i spent buying the damn thing i was hoping it would be a solid car i could just run, look after and keep me going for a good few years. 

 

One drip of oil is not going to hamper your plans, 1000 times that amount would have been dropped when the mechanic removed the oil filter element, that may even be the source of the drip.

 @J.R. Thankyou for all your advice mate, its appreciated, as you stated it was indeed a drain hole (albeit a suspicious looking one) but the source of the leak is a suspected main rear seal,  and like you say a couple drops of oil a day is nothing too serious so ill keep an eye on it, and when the clutch is due ill get the seal done at the same time. Otherwise, all is groovy and i can relax