Do any of them actually work ?

Missus has an advisory on her mot , it's an old Peugeot 207 and really not worth paying for a proper job

Magic potion sees oil leak and seals it (maybe). Magic potion sees small passageway in oil system and seals that too. New car time.

Some find they work on some engines, best check Peugeot 207 engines, coolant sealants seem more popular that oil sealants but there are all sorts for all sorts of leaks. Coolant (or head gasket I forget) I've seen reported as used on modern VWŠkoda engine on this site and was reported as seemed to do the job, at the time and no report back of failure (or continued success) make of that what you will.

How bad actually is the leak, could it be resolved simply by a hose, part, gasket or seal replacement or is it even that bad to worry about, old cars (especially American) leak like sieves, some from new, the old saying for some was/is if the engine isn't leaking it means it's run out of oil. Wipe clean just before MoT as a drip of residue leaked oil from the underside of the car can annoy some MoT testers but a small leak to ground is allowed on MoT as you have discovered.

Is the leak that bad or would another Mot tester perhaps have ignored it. Bear in mind an MoT is just one (hopefully trained) person's opinion that the car passes the minimum statutory minimum standards at that oner point in time only, it doesn't mean the car is in as good a condition as it could or should be and may fail an MoT as the car is driven away from the "pass".

Edited 22 April22 Apr by nta16

Mechanic has sent me this video and he said its coming from the oil filter housing

I'm not a mechanic or expert in anything, all that video showed to me was evidence of a fair amount of oil to the area.

I've no idea of Peugeot 207s, I wouldn't know one if it ran me over, or their engines, or your mechanic of course so if it was my car I'd need more info from the mechanic if he's not already given it. Is the leak actually from the engine or the filter housing, is it a difficult or expensive job to stop the leak at that point in the engine or filter housing. I'd take your engine code and search to see if it has a common problem like this and what the resolves are and how successful these resolves are.

TBH as soon as I saw filter (housing) I was thinking of whether it might be a filter gasket/seal left in from removal of previous filter or new gasket/seal damaged, or if the filter housing was removed for some reason if that was replaced correctly or gasket/seal damaged - but I've no idea what's on your engine.

I also wondered if the short piece of silver (?) insulation(?) held by what looks like perhaps a cable-tie is a Peugeot thing which it may well be, same as some VW homemade looking factory things.

I think you might be best doing more research perhaps looking at a 207 forum with owner's using the same engine code and possibly getting more info out of the mechanic, is it that big of a job or that he or the garage don't want the job, big or small (or being a cynic from past personal experiences that the mechanic/garage are that good or con-artists).

When was the engine oil and filter last changed, who do that work, was there a (reported) leak in that area then, how much oil have you had to add to the engine over how long and when did you first notice the leak or need to add more oil than usual.

You could totally clean that area from the result of the oil leak, add dye to you engine oil (from a kit with glasses and light perhaps) and look for the source of the leak with the dye. You might even be able to tell just by cleaning the area of the filter housing (if the or any other oil leak isn't above or around that area).

A teaspoon of oil can look like a gallon (4.5l) of oil on the ground beneath the car and a build up of leaking oil over a period of time might look like a mini-flood - but if you've needed to top up the engine with a significant amount of oil over a short period of time or frequently then of course that's a difference matter.

You may also need to take into account if, other than this leak, the engine had/has, or appeared to have any other issues.

HTH.

The leak is from the oil filter housing for which a replacement is proving to be quite difficult to source

Are gasket makers any good ?

Sorry I'm lost as to what you mean. If the leak is just from an oil filter housing can't that part be repaired or is it new gaskets/seals aren't available, depends on what the material of the gasket/seal is but a replacement might be able to be fashioned (I don't know but someone who rebuilds engines would). Liquid style gaskets/seals and/or sealants have been used by themselves and in addition to the gasket/seal. The stuff you use has to be suitable for application and be done so that there's no excess to block or break away.

ETA: the area or parts that need a gasket/seal and/or sealant have to be apart to make or apply a gasket/seal and/or sealant applied. (seems a bit odd to me you can't get or have made a gasket/seal but I don't know the situation)

Easiest way might be to look at a parts diagram to see what oil filter housing is and how it's fixed to the engine and where and what gaskets/seals are used.

Unless the filter housing part you're referring to is an integral part of the engine casting?

You really need those that know about your particular engine, or research if this is a particular problem that for some reason is difficult to resolve.

Diesel engines can leak like sieves, look at "workmen's" vans, where they pull or park up or even pull away from oil on the road, pavement, your drive or grass . . . Yet they still run and (hopefully) have MoTs.

Edited 25 April25 Apr by nta16
ETA:

The stop leak additives work on orings and rubber seals that have gone hard. They soften rubber and swell it slightly and generaly work for a while unless they are completely shot. Daughter has a 205 gti and got a replaement gasket on ebay for about £20-00 on hers its a rubber type shaped seal. Not sure on the 207 but if its rubber then an oil leak additive might work short term.

Alasdair

Ordered these off Ebay, it's due an oil change so may as well get it all done in one go

Yes you might find with the oil change that some previous guy's work wasn't as good or careful as it should have been, or a mistake made, and/or perhaps a faulty or damaged part.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

ETA: Or perhaps it's a known problem with the engine, component or part, possible age related. When I had my old cars (British from 1960s and 70s) I had to use a gasket sealant a couple of times as I also used a coolant that was very good at finding or making areas of weeps and leaks and some other owners told me that only the (paper) gaskets were required, in my experience they were wrong sometimes. Just in case you should ever need it this is what I used for the coolant system (metal, Red 100 if required, gasket, Red 100 if required, metal), I found it better in that application than the Hylomar Universal Blue.

Edited 4 May4 May by nta16

New filters tend to come with a new O ring.

If the housing itself is leaking it's likely to be cracked somewhere.

It is possible it's the gasket between the housing assembly and the block that is leaking, in which case either a new gasket, new O ring or an appropriate sealing compound should fix it.

Oil leaks usually with gravity so to be sure of leak/weep origin I'd clean all around the area before doing anything to check where the leak/weep is and that, hopefully unlikely but, there's not another leak contributing - never assume if you find or solve one issue that there isn't another or more issue(s).

If leaks are difficult to pinpoint you can add a florescent type dye to the fluid and then sometimes with glasses and torch look for where it starts to leak/weep from.

Also never underestimate the potential laziness and sloppiness of some professionals (and DIYers) work previously done, on cars (and homes).

Good luck and let us know how you get/got on.