Oil Leak

[Wakz]

Noticed my car seems to be loosing oil while parked up overnight, its been doing it for a few weeks now, there used to be a peice of carpet laying under the car so i never took much notice as it didnt really show up on there, but a recent clear out and now over two days theres small amount there which seems to be building up every night, ill take a pic of that tommorow!

It happened before aswell when the car was serviced but it was loosing alot and the solution was the mechanic had forgotten some seal or something that goes on the screw at the drain point. Which we got from renault for pennies.

My question is does that seal need changing again to stop it leaking?

Pic:

 

[Fred@BTM]

could just be the sump plug seal, but looking at that it could be a possible crank seal, but impossible to say over the interweb

 

[Wakz]

The leak is coming from that screw/plug which you can see on the picture.

Im assuming by sump plug seal you mean were the oil is drained from?

If so then yes thats exactly where the leak is coming from because when i touch it a drop will run off onto my finger.

Whats caused it to leak without being touched? And is it just a simple replacement from renault?

 

[jamesd1263]

Copper washer on the plug needs replacing, or a washer with a rubber seal, either way u need to replace it.

 

[DaveDreads]

Your sump plug washer has a rubber seal on the inside of it,
i'd wager who ever's been doing your oil changes has been re-useing the same washer and the seal's knackered.

 

[Wakz]

Where do i get it from, renault? And how much will it cost?

Well it was done a couple of months ago and it was fine then and its not been touched but now all of a sudden its started leaking.

 

[DaveDreads]

You can get them from Renault, I can't remember how much they are, but I can almost guarantee
that you'll have enough coins in your wallet at this very moment to afford a new one. (They're dirt cheap)

I'd ask whoever changed your oil if they fitted a replacement sump plug washer,
(they should have it's part of every oil change, unless they're a sh*t garage)

Obviously all the oil will have to be drained in order to replace it, so make sure they re-use it seeing as it's only a few months old,
no point in spending more money on another oil change.

Unless their price for replacing it is the same as an oil change, in which case might as well have fresh oil.

It is a job you can do yourself if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.

 

[Wakz]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Think i should get round to this as its slowly making a pool of oil in the garage!

I dont mind having a go at it myself, dont know if i have the right nut to open it but should find someone with it easily.

Asked my dad who had the car serviced by his mate last time, Apprantly the washer was changed and it was from renault but it doesnt have any rubber on it its just a normal washer?

Should i take it back and demand the right one or get another one and make sure its got a rubber seal on it?

 

[pendulumx]

I'd be tempted to undo the sump plug slightly and then re-tighten it to the correct torque just to make sure it's on properly. That could possibly make the leak slightly worse though as the washer is being decompressed and compressed again.

If that didn't work, then rightly or wrongly, I'd either "live with the problem" by putting something under the car to catch the oil, or perform some kind of monstrous bodge (silicone sealant or similar around the sump plug to stop the leak? This is to be applied after the sump plug is fully tightened of course; I don't mean silicone sealant in between the sump plug and sump or anything silly like tha because silicone can get in to the oilstream and clog stuff), depending on how bad the seepage is. I would fix the problem permanently at the next oil change.

What I would also do is give the sump a quick clean, so that you have a better chance of being able to see where the oil is coming from. You may find it's leaking from somewhere else and it's just running down to the sump and dripping off of the sump plug. It probably is the sump plug though.