O/T Car leaking oil

I’m feeling rather pleased with myself and my husband today. My car has been leaking oil for a little while and a few mechanics quoted us between £450 and £600 to replace the sump. Well, we’re willing to try our hand at anything if it saves us that kind of money. We bought a sump online for £30, bought a car lifting kit for £40 from Halfords in sale and then spent £35 on various other bits (ratchet, mallet, sealant). 3 hours later, the new sump is on and the oil is leaking no more. All in, it cost us £105 with the tools to tackle more jobs in the future. It’s amazing what you can learn from YouTube these days.

 

Really satisfying when you have a go yourself and nail the job. Well done ! I once changed the oil in a motorbike and cracked the sump by over-tightening the oil drain bolt, my how I laughed so had to replace the sump and gaskets having watched a few you tube vids. After that I bought a proper torque wrench !

 

I'm often too lazy to even try and change some of the bulbs if they fiddly. So bravo to you!

 

Nice one. I remember changing one on a mates old banger when I was 16 (seem to remember failing miserably actually) but I'd never have the balls to do it on my own so well played for not only attempting it but also making a success of it.

Please tell me you went under the car as well as him.

 

Of course! I really struggled with some parts due to not being strong enough which I hate as it means I have to have help. For example, the sump plug was completely stuck and I couldn’t budge it. It took Will 50mins to get it loose so I had no chance. It’s really frustrating having the knowledge but without him I’d have been stuck paying the hundreds of pounds due to not being able to unfasten one bolt.

 

If I ever have car problems I'm coming round to yours then. You can do the hard work with Will and I'll just make a nice cup of tea for you both.

I know exactly what you mean about it sometimes being frustrating though, I get really frustrated if I'm doing for example some simple electrics but the wires keep slipping out or I cant get my fingers in a tight gap so I can definitely get where you're coming from with not being able to untighten something.

And again, all I can say is well done. If a little girly librarian wuss who cant handle a little bit of cold weather can do it then maybe I should start doing more for myself instead of taking the easy way out all the time.

 

I did start to wish we could move the car inside as it got colder!

Seriously, give things a go! Unless it’s dangerous to try yourself then there’s no excuse really. You can get free knowledge at the click of a button these days and if it goes wrong then there’s still the option to call in a professional anyway. I saw something that said Millennials don’t know how to do as many odd jobs as their parents’ generation. I probably don’t off the top of my head but I’m far more likely to know how to find it out if needed and act upon it.

 

I must be missing something I am not a mechanic but used to run an old low tec MGB roadster years ago. An engine sump used to be akin to the container on a deep fat fryer. You drained it, undid the bolts holding it in place. Removed it and cleaned the seating where the gasket fits,seat new new gasket on sump,position an retighten bolts taking care not to overtighten. refill with oil up to level on dipstick start engine and check for leaks. Not belittling the job but £450-600 sounds outrageous!!

 

Just done an online quote myself and for my car the average quote coming back is just shy of £500 for sump replacement WITHOUT a new gasket.

 

Yep, that’s the job (no gasket just used silicone sealant and a new sump as old one was cracked) and I completely agree, hence us doing it ourselves. That was the result of three quotes too! (With the most expensive being the dealership so no surprise there).

 

Well done people love tackling any problems on my old motor bike satisfaction guaranteed or your love back

 

Ripoff UK! Just had my Yeti annual inspection done (not the bi-annual big one) New air filter,new oil filter and pollen filter engine computer analysis new tyre valve check lights wipers etc.75 euros Inc parts and, labour!!!
. Family run local garage but authorised approved VW SKODA service centre. Italy is expensive for a lot of stuff but people are in the main honest and generous.

 

I owned many Haynes manuals with some of the more dubious cars I purchased in my youth. The initial instructions were always fairly easy to follow. Then you hit on a step which ran something like: "Disconnect the multi-sprocket universal joint from the flange bracket and carefully remove the heat exchanger." Right!

I've done the story of the weird heating controls on the Lada I owned before on here, so I won't rehearse that one again. Suffice it to say I still wake up in cold sweats!

 

well done you! I try to tackle most things on my cars and have saved a few bob doing brakes, exhausts etc etc! I get a real sense of satisfaction from it!

 

Have a go hero’s!

of course many tradesmen would despair but the mrs has a motto... “if someone else can do it why can’t I”. As the OP has said all the information is available... having the right tool is often the hard part

she’s fixed the oven heating element, boiler which needed stripping and flushing through, the car gets serviced, her brother does the brakes, flat pack building etc bit of decorating

me? I’ve got 2 left hands and no patience!

 

I've done a few smaller things before - fixing a bad earth on brake lights, replacing heat shield and a dodgy lambda sensor etc. but not having anything to lift the car meant I couldn't tackle much. It felt worth the outlay this time though, especially as the kit was half price on Black Friday.

 

That's like when I've attempted to learn to draw. 'Draw a rectangle, draw a square, now draw the rest of the horse'

 

my problem is 'in the mind'
-- if I do anything mechanical/electrical/car related it's probably alright but I'm convinced it's not and everything will pack up so rather than have the worry (I know it's completely irrational!) I get someone else to do it.

 

My only bit of advice would be to be extra careful when jacking up the car - I'm always really careful about using axle stands etc dont want a car on my head!!

 

Don't worry, I'd never get under it on jack alone, that's something that's been drilled into me from being young (although I have no idea how or why as I've never seen my dad jack a car up in my life). I got this a few weeks ago when it was down to £40. Really impressed for the price. https://www.halfords.com/workshop-t...MIsbmv2pjZ5gIVirTtCh3O7Q5iEAQYASABEgJkuPD_BwE