Went to get my oil changed at the weekend on my 2001 90bhp,TDi ambiente, and after a few minutes the machanic came and got me, and showed me my sump plug spinning round, but not coming out, so it looks like i have to change the sump!

at first glance looking under the car whilst it was on the ramp, it just looks like a ring of allen bolts, with a couple coming in horizontally from the bell housing.

also there is an electrical sensor (oil temp/level?) that will need to be swapped over.

after a bit of research, it seems that this is not an uncommon problem, and both german and swedish and euro carparts sell the sump, and it seems that no gaskets are used apart from silicone sealant.

what i need to know is, are there any hidden bolts that hold the sump on, or is it really as simple as a ring of bolts?

does the sensor on the sump need a gasket, or is it just the silicone sealant again?

and lastly, does anyone know the spec of the silicone sealant, as i use quite a few different types in work (on aircraft), and if i can get some from there instead of shelling out nearly

yeah the sump i just held on ny cap srews. and there is no gasket, it's just silicone sealant, the sensor has an o-ring iirc...

it may not be necessary to remove the sump, some of the better equipped garages have thread inserst they can put in , it involves drilling it and tapping it to a larger size, then inserting a special sleeve

You might be able to have a helicoil thread insert repair done. This shows what is involved.

I have used a tapered plug before to get me out of trouble....

dont use a helicoil on a sump becuase they are $hit!!!

also they dont stay watertight for long, the best ones to use are the time-sert inserts made by wurth

i'm familiar with using helicoils in my job and they are quite easy to use, its just having to buy all the gear to do it will probably end up costing the same as a sump, and after a chat with a local garage, he said the price would be about the same as getting in the chap who does helicoils as to change the sump.

The real question is not "how to replace the sump?" but "what gorilla overtightened the sump plug that much in the first place?"

it was a company car before i bought it a year ago, so has a full skoda service history, i've had the oil changed earlier this at kwik fit, but they suck the oil out of the dipstick hole....so it looks like its the various dealers its been to.

having said that, during my search for info on here i came across a post that a car with 90k on the clock, and full dealer history had a stripped sump plug thread, and despite argueing with skoda uk, they said it was normal wear and tear.

my car has 112k on the clock, so perhaps its to be expected....if it is, thats pretty crap in my opinion!

I certainly would not regard that as "normal wear and tear", even on fixed servicing.

dont forget that skoda normallt replace the sump plug every time the oil is changed

not sure what that has to do with the thread in the sump really?

if they were only ever tightened to the correct torque setting then all would be fine forever so i'd say no its not wear and tear.

I am sure this came up a while ago, and someone said the sump thread was only good for about 10 changes.....

Still (deliberately?) bad engineering/manufacture, like the whole "you need a sealing ring and/or new plug every oil change thing". Sumps and sump plugs used to last 100_000 miles or more, back in the days when you changed the oil every 3_000 miles.

I am pretty sure I have never replaced a sump bolt or washer when I have done an oil change on any of my cars.... and never had a leak either :-)

Mind you, if you can go 20k between services, that gives you 200k if the thread can last for 10 changes.....