Hi all.  Involved i trying to bring a 2002 Octavia 1.9TDI Auto back from years of neglect by previous owner/s.  First job on noticing a very high level of oil on the dipstick, investigate drain and replace with quality oil etc...first negative: silicone all over the sump drain plug never a good sign...the plug almost fell out when i started to turn it, so bad was the damage to the thread in the pan.  I tapped the thread out 1mm and fitted new matching plug, no problem.  But the oil warning light came on while driving next day, so uderneath again, the sump pan was smeared with fresh oil misting.  Cleaned up the whole area and drove far enough to get up to temperature, and on getting under again, a clear dribble of oil coming from around one of the sump fixing bolts.  Checked all bolts and they were pretty tight, already tightened i guessed.  So new sump acquired, and as i've never fitted a sump without a gasket before, i'd appreciate any advice about which type of sealant to use for this job - there are of course hundreds out there.  I'd prefer one that doesn't go off too fast as i like to have a relaxed approach to jobs!  Finally, is it better to run the bead of sealant along the outside of the bolt holes, or along a line inside the holes  ?   I've seen both specified.  Any other tips on this job would me much appreciated.  Thanks.

I had to take mine off 2 weeks ago and when putting it back, I used Wynns black gasket maker - nice stuff to use. 

 

Haynes manual said inside of the bolts which made sense to me or surely the oil would leak out of the bolt holes?

 

Torque settings in the Hyanes manual were 45nm for the 3 large bolts and 15nm for all the smaller bolts

Edited 3 July, 20214 yr by Vijay2018

2 hours ago, Vijay2018 said:

I had to take mine off 2 weeks ago and when putting it back, I used Wynns black gasket maker - nice stuff to use. 

 

Haynes manual said inside of the bolts which made sense to me or surely the oil would leak out of the bolt holes?

 

Torque settings in the Hyanes manual were 45nm for the 3 large bolts and 15nm for all the smaller bolts

Thanks for that, i will look at the Wynns.   Yes to the thinking behind putting the sealant on the inside of the bolts - i think the leaks i've got are from exactly those places so someone moght have put it on the outside of the bolts in the past.   Just found this amazingly detailed guide, with a staged tightening of all the bolts - https://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk1/drive_unit/1.9_l/96_kw_(tdi)_engine_mechanics/engine_lubrication/removing_and_installing_oil_pan/

 

Is the Wynns a silicone based one, and does it dry (too) fast ?  In that guide it mentions having only 5 minutes to get the pan fully on - too rushed for me!

You will be checking and  if necessary cleaning the oil pick-up pipe while the sump is off, right? 

Also worth checking the engine breather system in case that is malfunctioning and creating excessive crankcase pressure; often the root cause of oil leaks.

Which oil warning light did you see, yellow for low level or red for low pressure?

 

There should be info about working time, as well as setting time on your Wynns sealant packaging, I'd think?

 

12 hours ago, crazytony said:

Thanks for that, i will look at the Wynns.   Yes to the thinking behind putting the sealant on the inside of the bolts - i think the leaks i've got are from exactly those places so someone moght have put it on the outside of the bolts in the past.   Just found this amazingly detailed guide, with a staged tightening of all the bolts - https://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk1/drive_unit/1.9_l/96_kw_(tdi)_engine_mechanics/engine_lubrication/removing_and_installing_oil_pan/

 

Is the Wynns a silicone based one, and does it dry (too) fast ?  In that guide it mentions having only 5 minutes to get the pan fully on - too rushed for me!

No idea if it's silicone or how long it takes to dry. I can't think why you wouldn't want to get it on and bolted up once you have the sealant applied anyway. I tool longer than 5 minutes to get it on and bolts tightened and it's fine

5 hours ago, Wino said:

You will be checking and  if necessary cleaning the oil pick-up pipe while the sump is off, right? 

Also worth checking the engine breather system in case that is malfunctioning and creating excessive crankcase pressure; often the root cause of oil leaks.

Which oil warning light did you see, yellow for low level or red for low pressure?

 

There should be info about working time, as well as setting time on your Wynns sealant packaging, I'd think?

 

Thanks for those thoughts.  I was clued up about the oil pick-up strainer, but not about the engine breather system - what does that consist of and where to look ?  A mechanic neighbour mentionned the importance of the colour of the oil warning light but i just couldn't remember the colour as i've only seen it once as had the car just a couple of weeks.  When i repaired the sump plug thread i topped up to Max on the dipstick so it's probably taken a few local trips to get down to a warning light coming on.  I've only just found out that the plastic dip-stick tube/guide could well be a bodge using a length of white plumbing tube (i see they are always orange), which would mean that unless the bodger got the length of the white tubing dead right, all readings of the oil level on the dipstick could be wrong.  New dipstick tube on the way !   Just hoping that the bodger hasn't superglued or fixed the white plastic tube to the lower metal part with any kind of adhesive...  

Found the breather pipe on top of the rocker cover if that's the only one.  A struggle to get off the pipe as the plastic collar baked to something resembling bakelite.  Is it necessary to remove and clean the pan-shaped item that's fixed through the top of the cover ?