Car seems to be leaking oil.

[madder]

Thanks John. I think this is good news. So do you think it is possible for the dipstick to be the culprit as so far I haven't found any other evidence. I have managed to keep it locked in place with some dodgy DIY and I'm satisfied that it will stay in place now. Next thing now is the Oil change and making sure I use the 10W40.

 

[Burnerman]

The thing about dipstick tubes is that they are high up on the engine, so what generally comes out are fumes / vapour rather than liquid oil.
However, if oil was present here then there would be a clean streak down the outside of the tube, and an oil pool somewhere near the bottom. You may also see any spray on the bonnet underside.
Unfortunately I have my doubts that this is the problem, but you never know!
Lets know when you get the undertray out from under the engine.
John

 

[madder]

I'm finally going to tackle that ''lazy thermostat'' issue too. I have ordered a new thermostat and should have it by monday or tuesday.

I am wondering though, will I lose much coolant in the changeover? Like how many litres? And at what point in the process will the coolant start to pour out? Hose removal, housing removal or both?

I intend on doing the changeover all at once. Loosen the hose clamp, pull the hose end off the thermostat housing, and then using my ratchet set, I'll remove the thermostat housing. Swap the thermostats over, fix the housing back in place and finally fit the hose and hose clamp back. SO how many litres should I expect to lose? I hope I can catch it as it drains? And then should I top up the coolant expansion tank with the equivalent of what I lost? Is that it? Or is there more to the job? Should I run the car immediately afterwards?

 

[Burnerman]

With the engine clay cold, make sure the cap stays on the coolant expansion bottle, and then get cracking.....as everything is at the top of the engine, I doubt if you would lose more than a litre or so of coolant, but do be prepared with a 50 - 50 mix standing by.
If you can turn the top hose upwards, so much the better!
Take your time, and when the jobs done, undo the expansion bottle cap and refill the system. It will self bleed when you start up.
No worries about this job, apart from the slight risk of the plastic thermostat housing cracking.
John

 

[madder]

You make it all look so easy!!!! I'm sure it will work out. If the housing is hard to remove is there something I can use to loosen the screws? A spray to loose them a little?

 

[Burnerman]

I believe the stat housing is held by 10mm bolts.....ideally use a full hex socket on a 1/4" drive, and the chances are all will be well.
Make this your first job before getting stuck in, if you get my drift.
If I remember correctly, the stat housing uses an 'O' ring seal, so water rarely gets in to attack the studs.
If the bolts feel awkward, give them a good spray with WD40 or similar, and if they tighten during removal, turn them back in a bit - again with the spray. You really don't want them snapping - but they won't.
John

 

[Mursal]

Found a video to help you with the thermostat, but ..............

 

[madder]

Cheers Mursal. Classic stuff. But it does help because I bought the thermostat off ebay and this video eliminates any doubt. I bought the right part thankfully!!!! It is all helpful, so thanks. There's a youtube video of a VW Golf thermostat change and this will be quite similar, I suspect.

 

[Avocet]

Couple of thoughts:

1. That's no where near half a litre of oil in that photo! It's going somewhere else. How did the OP establish that he's not burning oil? Often you won't see it in your mirror when driving (unless it's absolutely horrendous). Might be worth getting someone to follow you, looking for smoke, and try hard acceleration (probably piston rings) and complete lift-off the throttle at high revs (maybe valve guides).

2. With the engine warm and idling, try taking the oil filler cap off and see if there's a lot of pressure blowing oil vapour out of the filler hole. That might suggest a blocked crankcase ventilation system (although it's very hard to tell). Worth putting your hand (or something that makes a good seal) over the filler hole for 10 seconds and see if it builds up any pressure. If the car does lots of short runs, there might be a fair bit of black sludge blocking the breather pipes. With the engine cold and NOT running, it might be worth trying to get a finger or something in the filler hole and see if the underside of the cam cover is coated in sludgy black goop (that's a technical term) or whether it's nice clean, golden engine oil.

3. Worth a look in the handbook if you have it - they sometimes specify a maximum permissible oil consumption - and it can be surprisingly high. On my wife's last car it said up to 1000km per litre was OK!

4. I'm not suggesting this is the case on this car, but sometimes when I check the oil on my wife's, a few drops come off the end of the dipstick as I pull it out. That's more like what the photos (particularly the one in the middle of the hose) look like to me. An oil leak would go from somewhere, TO somewhere (usually downwards) from the source. Is there any on the ground were you park? You'd notice half a litre, that's for sure!

5. Using the wrong grade of oil can increase oil consumption, and I think VAG group engines (more especially their diesels at any rate) are extremely fussy about oil grade and type.

 

[madder]

Avocet, there are some marks under where I park. They are not very heavy, but are recent. I have found no evidence of a leak, and no evidence of burning oil just yet. I think it was a combination of normal oil usage per mileage and the dipstick lifted. The oil change will happen in the next few days and I will learn a lot from that. Thanks for the thoughts.

I relation to the thermostat issue, would it be possible to change the thermostat over, without removing the hose? Just loosen the screws from the housing, pull that out, replace thermostat and screw it back in? Is it 100% important to remove the hose first?

 

[Burnerman]

So long as the hose is flexible enough, you can do just that.....you don't want to strain the radiator top tank though, at the other end of the hose!
John

 

[Avocet]

Afraid I've never done one on one of those, so can't help on that front. Make sure you know what sort of antifreeze needs to go in it. There's ""OAT" stuff (Organic Acid Technology), which is generally used on newer cars. It lasts longer than the "other stuff" (can't remember what that's called)! It typically needs replacing every 5 years compared to every 2 for conventional antifreeze. They're not compatible though, so you need to know which. If your antifreeze is due for a change, you may as well flush the engine through and replace completely and that's one less job to worry about. I know the new "OAT" stuff can't be used in cooling systems with any "yellow metal" in them (copper /brass).

 

[madder]

Thermostat arrived today. Might have a go at that now in a few minutes. Shouldn't take more than 20 minutes, I reckon.

Now, back to the oil. Don't know why but I decided to test again for leaks overnight. I left it in a clean spot on the road, and moved it this morning, around 15 hours later, and there was a leak on the road, about the size of a flat peach! Is that big for 1 night?

And finally, the battery seems to be losing power now also. No signs that it is the alternator. If I change the battery, will I need the code for the radio to work again? Or if I remove my old battery and recharge it overnight, will I also need the radio code?

Thanks.
EDIT/UPDATE: Ok, so I just changed the thermostat. There was a larger deluge of coolant than I was ready for. I managed to catch about 50% of it. It is red coolant. Anyway, I had a litre of red coolant and I topped back up with that. I have checked for leaks and that seems to be fine(no leaks), but I ran the car for 45 minutes(30 mins sitting in my driveway and 15 mins driving) and the gauge on the dash hasn't moved up. It still remains at minimum. :/ Surely to God within 45 minutes it should be moving up to the middle(90) mark?

 

[madder]

Think I am making progress with the coolant temperature sensor. I have located it in the car, and now I just have to remove it and get a look at it.

The other issues are now also a concern. I believe my battery is on the way out ad I don't have a code to reset my radio. If I remove my battery, just to give it a full charge in the house, will I have to reset my radio? Will I need the code?

 

[Burnerman]

If your radio is coded, then disconnecting the battery will lose the code. A Seat main dealer will help, if its the original set.
Nothing to stop you charging the battery on the car though - just get the polarity right first time!
John