S16 Main Oil Seal Replacement.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Hi yall , seems as though I have been royally stitched up, I bought a 205 recently with an S16/Gti6 engine in and it had no oil leaks when it arrived at my house despite running on the drive for 15 mins, I did a couple of miles in it the next day and now it is leaking like a sieve from the main oil seal , amongst other issues which were covered up.

 

I'm wondering if it can be changed without taking the engine out? ?

 

Cheers

Liam

[dcc 855]

Assume this is the one behind the flywheel?

 

Easy enough to drop gearbox out if so.

 

If its other end is a little more difficult to do as the seal is quite firmly held in position.

[welshpug 1,657]

yes they can all be done in situ, one end needs flywheel off as mentioned, other end is timing belt off.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Cheers gentlemen, I have apparently been sold a lemon.

But I'm keeping it and it takes as long as it takes to get it sorted.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Blimey. A few issues to sort. Presumably though some of them were clear to you before you bought it and they were reflected in the price?

Best of luck. Photographs?

Andy

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Blimey. A few issues to sort. Presumably though some of them were clear to you before you bought it and they were reflected in the price?

Best of luck. Photographs?

Andy

Well I knew the gauges didn't work at all cos he was at least honest on that and the dipstick but he lied over the oil leak and everything else.

The mot that's on it is obviously as bent as a box of frogs.

Not entirely certain what my next move is or whether to just park it up and leave it to be honest with you, I'm s*it with spanners!!!!!!!

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Looks like a list very typical of most amateur built 205's to be honest. A good day on the car with the bits to hand would see a lot of those things sorted in my eyes.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Looks like a list very typical of most amateur built 205's to be honest. A good day on the car with the bits to hand would see a lot of those things sorted in my eyes.

Looks like a list very typical of most amateur built 205's to be honest. A good day on the car with the bits to hand would see a lot of those things sorted in my eyes.

Looks like a list very typical of most amateur built 205's to be honest. A good day on the car with the bits to hand would see a lot of those things sorted in my eyes.

If I had any mechanical knowledge that would be a bonus too hahaha!!

[Alan77 78 1 Cars]

Piece of bike frame used instead of metal coolant pipe, brilliant!...

[Anthony 1,003]

Obvious question here - did you not inspect the car prior to buying it or ask someone clued up with 205's (or cars in general) to look at it on your behalf?

 

Just strikes me that an awful lot of that stuff on that list should have been quite obvious to see and you could have either walked away or negotiated a deal factoring in the costs to sort out the issues. I've inspected a few cars for friends over the years now and almost without fail have found numerous notable undisclosed issues, which has allowed them to either dodge a bullet and walk away or negotiate a deal taking into account rectifying the faults.

 

I agree with Tom though, most of that is comparatively easily sorted and is depressingly common, particularly on cars that have had extensive modifications like engine swaps etc.

 

Ironically though, of all the items on that list, the oil leak is perhaps one that might just be bad luck - hard to say until it's removed, but those seals are something that can go from being fine to a sizeable leak with little or no warning.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Obvious question here - did you not inspect the car prior to buying it or ask someone clued up with 205's (or cars in general) to look at it on your behalf?Just strikes me that an awful lot of that stuff on that list should have been quite obvious to see and you could have either walked away or negotiated a deal factoring in the costs to sort out the issues. I've inspected a few cars for friends over the years now and almost without fail have found numerous notable undisclosed issues, which has allowed them to either dodge a bullet and walk away or negotiate a deal taking into account rectifying the faults.I agree with Tom though, most of that is comparatively easily sorted and is depressingly common, particularly on cars that have had extensive modifications like engine swaps etc.Ironically though, of all the items on that list, the oil leak is perhaps one that might just be bad luck - hard to say until it's removed, but those seals are something that can go from being fine to a sizeable leak with little or no warning.

I did it all over the phone Anthony, I'm not complaining it was my choice to trust the chap selling it otherwise like you say if I'd have seen it in the flesh then I'd have got it a lot cheaper or walked away.

I really don't know whether to just cut my losses and get rid of it , spend a few thousand on it or mothball it untill it's the last one on earth!!!!!!!

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Gentlemen , and Ladies I suppose, I have a plan in motion, watch this space!

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Intrigued!

Andy

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Intrigued!

Andy

Collected the car from ******* this morning, they at least gave me that the car was not rotten underneath and is in fact pretty solid and in good condition.

And I can find no evidence whatsoever of a knackered head gasket.

I drive it 40 miles on fresh oil and it's still crystal clear with no signs of any water ingress, I've looked all over the head and can see no evidence of it either, I'm not casting aspersions as I'm glad that were brutal on the things they deemed to be wrong with the car , quite a few of them you wouldn't bat an eyelid at, so things are nowhere near as grim as I first thought.

And I've got a nice list that I can be working my way through over the ensuing weeks/months.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

The black bit on the end is the actual dipstick and not a blob of crappy black oil! !

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Right. If the shell is good you have a good buy( in my eyes at least, as major structural work can be a challenge without the right tools )

 

With a sound head gasket and no obvious nasty engine noises, then the power unit has integrity, so most of the other things you have to fix are a bit tedious but not overly difficult or expensive. You may well end up with a better car than you first feared

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Right. If the shell is good you have a good buy( in my eyes at least, as major structural work can be a challenge without the right tools )

With a sound head gasket and no obvious nasty engine noises, then the power unit has integrity, so most of the other things you have to fix are a bit tedious but not overly difficult or expensive. You may well end up with a better car than you first feared

No mate it runs like a champion, pulls and pulls like no one's business and doesn't smoke at all.

I've got new valances and locks already, and ill probably put perspex in the windows eventually so a lot of the electrics won't be an issue as it is primarily my track car but I want it spot on and capable of passing an mot with no shortcuts.

[Anthony 1,003]

XU engines don't tend to fail oil to water when the headgasket fails, so you won't get mayo in the oil, and often in the early stages it'll run fine as well.

 

Usual symptoms is unexplained coolant loss, excessive pressurisation of the cooling system and sometimes loss of compression on one or two adjacent cylinders.

[welshpug 1,657]

or a little cold start misfire that clears.

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Ok cheers chaps, I'm quite enjoying this learning malarkey! !

[changingman 7 1 Cars]

Something strange happened tonight, the chap contacted me out of the blue tonight asking to but it back.

Why would you do that unless it's better than you thought it was? ???