Sump Leak

[brainbug007]

I was in the garage the other day and noticed a small amount of oil on the floor under the engine. Had a closer look and the whole bottom of my sump is covered in a thin layer of oil and slowly dripping off onto the floor. It's really hard to work out where the leak is so I'm hoping someone knows a clever way to find it and seal it without having to take the whole engine/gearbox out of the car?

edit. when I orginally shortened & welded up the sump I left it for a week full of water to check for leaks and didn't find any. Does oil seep through things easier than water??

[alga]

There's lots of tips online. You could try wiping it clean and degreasing it, then covering in baby powder. The source of the leak should become apparent.

[ozzy1]

Or clean the sump off completely and put some nice clean white printer paper under it and check daily for the drips on the paper.

[alga]

When shortening the sump, I used water in the sump and chalk smeared all over the seams. It used to take up to a minute or two for smallest pinholes to visibly wet the chalk.

[brainbug007]

ok those sound like good methods to find the leak. what about sealing it? I'm guessing using the welder will be a really bad idea as the oil is likely catch fire inside the engine... will I get away with some sort of glue?

[ayjay]

I used that 2 part plumbers leak sealer- the stuff that activates as soon as you knead it in your hands.I rubbed it into the weld area to fill the pinholes.You can sand it smooth once set. No leaks as yet and the engine has been run up to temp. quite a few times.

[ozzy1]

Same sort of thing, that liquid metal stuff you can get from Halfrauds.

[robo]

If you have access to gas or a tig welder its much easier to get a leak free weld, mig is all happening a bit too quick. I am not saying dont mig a sump, its just a lot easier with tig or gas.

bob

[gerryhow]

hi, super steel by plastic padding ,halfords in weston will sell it £ 6.99 ,

[brainbug007]

I can imagine it would have been easier to weld with a better welder. took me ages as i kept blowing holes with the metal being so thin. I'll give the super steel stuff a go, least it's cheap and easy to obtain. thanks guys