Oil leak from sump gasket!!

Noticed I had a slight oil leak from the rear of the sump, mainly coming from drivers side rear corner area. Bought a new Febi sump & gasket (sump had a couple of dints) so thought might as well put a new one on, only £30 for both.

Anyway I fit them today, cleaned the surface well & using 20NM for the bolts, took it for a blast & its still leaking from the rear! Front seems fine.

So whats the issue here? Is the aftermarket gasket poor quality? Should I use silicone sealer, even though people say you shouldn't due to it getting into the oil feed?

Any Ideas?

Cheers

First and foremost, I don't want to teach granny how to suck eggs etc but is it definitely leaking from the sump gasket? If it is the sump that's leaking, is it possible that the mating surface of the sump is not flat all the way round? I know you've fitted a new sump and it's unlikely that the block is not flat. My sump gasket appears to leak a little at the back as well but I'm not sure where or even if it's definitely the sump gasket that leaks. Is it leaking much?
I would clean the engine and make double sure it's coming from the sump, as it's the drivers side rear are you sure it's not the crank oil seal are possibly the cam oil seal and because you're driving, the air flow under the car is making it look like it's the rear of the engine.
As for the sealant, I would say a big no no. I used some instant gasket on a MK1 Astra sump back in the day and 9 months later I started getting tappet noise even though the cam was good which was then followed by low oil pressure and the light would come on at tick over. When I removed the sump the filter on the end of the oil pick up pipe was like a toilet brush with hardened bits of instant gasket that had been sucked up into the filter. It was properly in there and took a bit of cleaning to get it out but the oil pressure was restored and the cam noise went after the repair. A couple of months later the big ends started knocking and I put it down to the low oil pressure so now I try to avoid any form of sealant if it could get into the oil ways.

Was the gasket paper/card or rubber?

It's definitely the sump gasket, you can eat your dinner off my engine so the oil is not coming from anywhere above. Mine has a 87 16v KR in it so I'm thinking the rubber gasket that this is, is not suited? Originally it would have had the paper type. There are no obvious issues with the surface of the block, so I can only surmise it is the gasket.

Ive ordered another rubber one that looks slightly different & also a paper one. If these don't work I can't see any other option other than the sealant route?

The rear two 10mm bolts on the sump between the Bellhousing of the tranny and the engine are very easy to get cross threaded and strip.

You have to use a 6pt short socket and a few wobble extensions to get them out or in,  Do NOT OVER TORQUE.  Start the bolts by hand prior do not try to use a Ratchet wrench to start the bolts….. Unlike the majority of the bolts at the front or rear you are screwing into Aluminum.

Briano1234 said

The rear two 10mm bolts on the sump between the Bellhousing of the tranny and the engine are very easy to get cross threaded and strip.

You have to use a 6pt short socket and a few wobble extensions to get them out or in,  Do NOT OVER TORQUE.  Start the bolts by hand prior do not try to use a Ratchet wrench to start the bolts….. Unlike the majority of the bolts at the front or rear you are screwing into Aluminum.

Yeah that's great Briano, Ive no issue fitting the thing, as stated I've just fit it. Looking for feedback on the quality of the rubber gasket used & if anyone else has had the same issue & if so what method was implemented to resolve it?

The last one I used was a Vicktor-Reinz...