oil leak,help please dudes

[Ande p]

Hi,my neibour has a clio 1.4 rt L reg,he has an oil leak,its dripping off the bottom of the sump,but its coming from higher up,he has a small pool of oil around the bottom of the dipstick tube,but he also has a small pool on a ridge above that,i think its coming from somewhere behind the heat sheild thing that covers the outlet manifold,but we cant see behind it to see where its coming from,has anyone else had a similar problem,or is it a common problem? oh yeah its automatic(just incase it makes a difference,i really need some advice on this,cos he only got it a week ago and needs some indication as to what it is before he has to shell out a fortune to get it fixed,cheers lads.

 

[iPap]

A pic would be great but could be the sump gasket?

Not too sure but someone should be along soon who can help!

 

[Mole]

could be rocker cover gasket, or loose rocker cover bolts, i had this on mine, lost half a sump of oil, then lost almost the rest when the dipstick decided to slide up n spit oil everywhere

Let me know how u get on mate

 

[Ande p]

well it cant be the sump gasket because there is oil on the block way above the sump gasket,and it isnt the rocker because its bone dry,i am pretty sure the oil is coming from somewhere in the middle,behind the manifold maybe,there is a pool of oil around the bottom of the dipstick tube,but the tube is dry,so its come from somewhere else,but i aint gonna try and remove that sheild because it aint my car and those bolts are prone to breaking,any more ideas anyone?

thanks for the help so far though guys,i am sure someone will recognise this problem soon,it must have happened before,i hope

 

[Mike@Rentech]

Headgasket, look around the area where the head sits on the block, they leak at the corners usually.

Best to clean it up before checking, makes finding the leak real easy then

 

[BradRT]

i had the exact same problem as ur neighbour a couple of weeks ago. turned out to be the head gasket and the actual head! cost a lot to fix too!

 

[BradRT]

this was the thread i started about it:

http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=6&TopicID=90713http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=6&TopicID=90713

ended up costing double that cos a few other things werent rite too! got my MOT on monday so if it dont pass the garage is gonna get a huge ear bashin from me!!!

 

[Ande p]

Yeah sounds about right,it all points to the head gasket,he has no running problems,no oil in the water,no overheating,all he has is this oil leak,one thing i did notice is when he started it up for me,it took a while for the revs to settle down,then when they did,they kept going up and down,but what did you pay in the end,how much would a head gasket be only?

 

[BradRT]

gonna go look for the final receipt... bear with me for a second

 

[BradRT]

Invoice: £848.07

Details: strip head etc and fit new head gasket. timing belt kit. have head skimmed. head water ways welded due to corrosion. reseat etc. head valves seat. fit new distributor cap. rotor arm. alternator exchange.

Parts: head skim and head welded - £83.15. head set - £47.86. cambelt kit - £49.55. alternator - £105.78. distributor cap - £16.27. rotor arm - £5.47. carb cleaner - £4.00. oil filter - £5.46. oil - £12.00. set head bolts - £10.00. consumables - £10.00

Breakdown: 13 hours labour - £390.00. parts etc - £331.76. subtotal - £721.76. 17.5% VAT - £126.31



hope this helps. put some of the above into another colour to make it easier to read

 

[Ande p]

Blimey,i bet he only paid that for the car,how much do you think it would cost to just change the head gasket to fix the leak?

 

[GR7]

Jay172 might be along soon and he is a Renault person and is a great help on here!

 

[Ande p]

ok,cool.

bradders.....i meant my neighbour probably only paid that for his,not yours mate......just incase you thought,cheers anyway.I think i am going to advise him on the head gasket.poor bloke aint got a lot of cash either,he is disabled and relies on an automatic,he has just got rid of a rover that he has had for years and is on its last legs,now he has probs with this after a few days,ah well,cars are a pain in the ass the best of times

 

[JAY172]

get non gen bits its a lot cheaper

i did a 19 energy engine and used non gen bits as follows:-

headgasket £25

headbolts * 10 £12

gasket set £15

oil filter £3

oil £8.50

cambelt £20

aux belt £5

charged £65 labour

antifreeze £6

total=£158.50 all in job done.

even with my staff discount renault parts alone come to nearly £300.for a simple oil leak you dont need the head skimming. ring around for qoutes to see what prices you get.