My recent MOT gave an advisory notice about an oil leak. I am tempted to take the sump off during the next oil change to give it a clean out as it’s done nearly 110k miles and although the car has been regularly serviced by an ex skoda dealer prior to me owning it, my guess is the sump plate has probably never been removed.

I was wondering...

how easy is this job likely to be?

are there any risks associated with removing the sump plate? (I.e. is there a chance the bolts, sump or engine will break?)

Would it be worth buying a new sump plate as well as a sump gasket? (There are some non original ones available on ebay.)

Is this worth bothering with at all or should I just change the oil and leave it alone?

Thanks in advance for your input

I never bothered taking the sump off a car (Citroen with sump drain at bottom of sump) that had done 250k miles, so I personally wouldn't worry about it.

What I would suggest is using a special flushing oil (not the addative) then letting the car sit for an hour or so over a drain pan to take all of it out. Fill up with a cheap oil and a cheap clean filter, and take it for a quick run and warm up.

This will remove traces of the flushing oil, and then you can drain again and do a proper fill with a good quality oil and filter. I tended to use fully of semi synthetic myself.

Thanks cheezemonkhai, would you be able to tell me where to buy flushing oil? I have only ever seen the additive cans like Wynn's engine flush.

Erm.. i used to buy it from my local motor factors (MDC) but motorist worlds etc used to sell it in a 5L can.

That was a couple of years ago mind.

I'm sure others will have more information regarding your sump though as I'm no expert on the skoda petrol engines as I have pretty much had derv drinkers from day 1.

EDIT:

Of course I should have mentioned that you probably want to locate the oil leak before you do anything as if it is leaking from the sump and not just a sump plug, then you would need it to come off anyway.

I don't know if it is the same on the older engines but the new ones need a new sump plug every time as opposed to just a new washer on the other cars.

the only problem you might encounter is rounding off the bolts if they are really tight....

iirc they are held on by M6 capscrews, so you will need some allen keys to undo the bolts

I would clean the outside of the engine and locate the oil leak before doing any dismantling.

A quick search of the Internet turned up the following flushing additives.

Speeding.co.uk Car Accessories STP

Speeding.co.uk Car Accessories Penzoil Slick 50

eBay.co.uk: Engine Flush (item 270110683290 end time 16-May-07 17:00:42 BST)

Comma Additives Comma Petrol Engine Flush from Halfords Price

the only problem you might encounter is rounding off the bolts if they are really tight....

iirc they are held on by M6 capscrews, so you will need some allen keys to undo the bolts

My sump is held on by a shed load of 10mm hex bolts...not capped head jobbies.The only difficult bit is lying on your back and undoing the damn things and then refitting and tightening them in the right order !!!

Yup! A shed load of M6 hex head bolts (10mm socket required). 2 or 3 of them near the drive shafts are very awkward to reach.

You need to find the source of the oil leak before dropping the sump. It could be from the timing cover or the crankshaft oil seal, both of which need the sump off to fix anyway. However, if you go ahead get yourself a new sump gasket before starting the job (and timing cover gasket and oil seal if required) and make sure all traces of the old gasket are removed from the sump and engine before refitting.

Sump removal / refit is a job best done over a pit or under a ramp. As for the tightening sequence the idea is to get all the bolts to a point just short of gripping so that the sump is just loose. Then tighten the bolts in a diagonal sequence working out from the centre of each long side.

You can make your own flushing oil by mixing some cheapo supermarket engine oil with diesel. About 60% oil / 40% diesel. Drain the old oil and refit the drain plug. (don't change the filter yet). Pour in the flushing oil to the correct level and start the engine. DON'T drive anywhere, just let it idle for 3 or 4 minutes and then drain it off.

Now do the sump job, and when you're done fit a new filter and fill up with some decent quality oil.

Forgot to mention: the sump won't just drop off when all the bolts are out. You'll have to manouvre it around the oil pick-up pipe. Likewise when refitting.

REMEMBER TO DISPOSE OF YOUR OLD OIL RESPONSIBLY!!!

Simon H