I've tried re-sealing the pan twice, and getting a tad annoyed that I'm failing to fix the oil leak.

 

I've used Loctite 5699 as the sealant, I thought it should work, but I'm starting to have my doubts. I'll take any recommendations on sealants that have worked for you guys. And tips on how long should I let the sealant cure before adding oil back into the engine. And to be honest, any general installation tips, as I'm starting to doubt my repair skills...  

 

I'm contemplating on getting a new oil pan as well, as they're dirt cheap, but I'm not sure if that's the root of my problem.

 

I'm also sure I used the incorrect torque for the bolts the second time around, as I apparently used the wrong workshop manual for guidance on those. Can anyone confirm if this is the correct one for my use case? And if it is, any idea which bolts does the part "Tighten up the bolts on the oil pan/gearbox to a torque of 45 Nm." refer to?

 

Cheers.

 

 

Personally I use blue hylomar for oil tight seals, the page link you show is for the 8V MPI engine, 45NM sounds crazy tight, have you stripped the threads?

Are there a couple of bolts that go horizontally through the end of sump into bellhousing of gearbox? Or some large bolts that need to be removed for clearance to remove something? If so, those will be the 45Nm ones, not the little sump holding screws. Memory is very hazy since I tackled this on my manual gearbox, alloy sump, 16v about 3 years back.

Is it a steel or alloy sump?

Manual or automatic gearbox?

I can probably find good info for you tomorrow, but that link does look like the right engine, just a bit brief and lacking diagrams,

 

If the oil separator on the back of the block is clogged up, you may be getting excessive crankcase pressure causing leaks to arise.

 

Fitting a couple of longish bits of M6 studding temporarily to allow good 'first time' alignment was a useful tip from, I think, Haynes.

Seem to remember it's quite awkward with alloy sump, working on the ground.

Edited 1 March, 20233 yr by Breezy_Pete

The workshop manual page I just found  for Polo with these engines only mentions 13Nm for sump bolts, nothing about 45Nm.

4 hours ago, Tursoke said:

Can anyone confirm if this is the correct one for my use case? And if it is, any idea which bolts does the part "Tighten up the bolts on the oil pan/gearbox to a torque of 45 Nm." refer to?

Yes the linked manual is correct.

 

 

So screw 29 is the one that needs 45Nm, and should go in horizontally if diagram is correct.

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

the page link you show is for the 8V MPI engine

 

The link is definitely for the 16v engine. VW like to confuse by calling everything 'MPI'.

1 hour ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Are there a couple of bolts that go horizontally through the end of sump into bellhousing of gearbox? Or some large bolts that need to be removed for clearance to remove something? If so, those will be the 45Nm ones

 

Yep

I wonder if those two horizontal bolts are only a feature with manual gearbox, which wasn't available with the 55kW 16V in UK market Fabias AFAIK?

 

I found one image showing where they are in my Polo 9N3 collection, but that's a manual transmission, like my 9N. They appear to go the opposite way to what @varooom's image shows, and surprisingly the way my memory had them; nearer the camera/right-hand side of image than the red arrows, which were trying to show something else.

 

 

 

 

I think the OP's car will have steel sump, and no such 45Nm horizontal bolts.

 

So investigate the block breather, over-pressure idea, I suggest.

Edited 2 March, 20233 yr by Breezy_Pete

7 hours ago, Breezy_Pete said:

I wonder if those two horizontal bolts are only a feature with manual gearbox, which wasn't available with the 55kW 16V in UK market Fabias AFAIK?

 

I found one image showing where they are in my Polo 9N3 collection, but that's a manual transmission, like my 9N. They appear to go the opposite way to what @varooom's image shows, and surprisingly the way my memory had them; nearer the camera/right-hand side of image than the red arrows, which were trying to show something else.

 

 

 

 

I think the OP's car will have steel sump, and no such 45Nm horizontal bolts.

 

So investigate the block breather, over-pressure idea, I suggest.

 

 

The engine indeed has a steel sump, and has a manual transmission. The 45nm bots still are there, but they only hold a thin, separate metal plate in place to cover the opening, for which I imagine 45nm is more than sufficient.

 

I'll check the leak more closely during the weekend, and see if I'll order a new sump, and perhaps the breather as well, depending on the findings.

 

Thanks everyone for the help so far!

I assumed from your excellent written English that you were in the UK, so probably wouldn't have a manual transmission 55kW 1.4/16V, but since you do, are you elsewhere, or is it maybe a Fabia Sport, which maybe did have that engine/gearbox combination at some point?  What year is the car, please?

Do you have any photos of the thin plate you mention?

Edited 2 March, 20233 yr by Breezy_Pete

1 hour ago, Breezy_Pete said:

I assumed from your excellent written English that you were in the UK, so probably wouldn't have a manual transmission 55kW 1.4/16V, but since you do, are you elsewhere, or is it maybe a Fabia Sport, which maybe did have that engine/gearbox combination at some point?  What year is the car, please?

Do you have any photos of the thin plate you mention?

 

I'm from Finland, the English I picked up by being frantically interested in everything computer.

 

I'll snap a photo of the plate while I'm under the car on saturday.

 

It's a 2004 Fabia, I haven't been too bothered about the oil leak, as it's only been a drop or two after I park it, but the yearly inspection rules changed recently and now you get a fail if they see even a drop of leakage. And the smell isn't nice either, as it tends to leak right on top of the exhaust. Not its only problem by far, it has a slight knock/tick sound as well, which I suspect is a valve, but it seems to take it in stride so I haven't worried about it too much.

 

I actually had been thinking of buying the Haynes manual, but as the description on their website is vague if they cover this engine or not, I haven't yet bought it. Any idea if it does?

Thanks for the further information. 👍

It's possible that the oil leak is really from the block breather module, and just seems like it's coming from the sump, judging by your description of it dripping on exhaust?

i will link to a thread with some photos of a very blocked breather on my 9N3 Polo. Got a bit of work to do first. 🙂

9 minutes ago, Tursoke said:

I actually had been thinking of buying the Haynes manual, but as the description on their website is vague if they cover this engine or not, I haven't yet bought it. Any idea if it does?

Go with erWin Skoda, about 7 Euros for one hour, you will easily grab all wiring diagrams and repair manuals.

 

It's where my screenshot came from.

 

On 02/03/2023 at 20:41, Breezy_Pete said:

 

Man, that’s a filthy breather.

 

Upon inspecting the breather, it indeed seems like it’s the current culprit for the leak. Are the seals replaceable, or will just a cleaning do, or should I just order a new unit?

 

 

Photo of the plate I mentioned:

 

 

I would advise replacing the whole breather box, I think. Even if it doesn't look obviously clogged up, the internals are really impossible to clean effectively.

 

Is it an AUA engine code or BBY/BKY?

For BBY/BKY here are the part numbers, there is a different oil separator part number if it's an AUA:

 

 

 

 

Unless you are quite rich, you will probably want to find an aftermarket equivalent of that part number, rather than genuine, in the UK a genuine one is ~£135 !! Aftermarket are more like £40-50 here I think.

Edited 6 March, 20233 yr by Breezy_Pete

11 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Is it an AUA engine code or BBY/BKY?

For BBY/BKY here are the part numbers, there is a different oil separator part number if it's an AUA:

 

 

 

 

Unless you are quite rich, you will probably want to find an aftermarket equivalent of that part number, rather than genuine, in the UK a genuine one is ~£135 !! Aftermarket are more like £40-50 here I think.

It’s a BBY, and yeah, the OEM parts are ridiculously priced. Looks like I can get a bilstein for 50€. There’s a couple tenner or so cheaper ones there, but I’ll go with a brand I know for that slight of a difference.