Will the RAC come out for an oil leak?

mezzor

So my Wife's car has been suffering with a mild oil leak for a few months, had it in our local garage for it's MOT and paid an extra hours labour for them to see if they could locate it, they couldn't and said as it was a slow leak it was fine to leave it.

Come to the past 2 weeks, I've put almost 8L of oil in the car as the leak has clearly intensified and this morning my Wife rings me in a panic as the car is telling her to stop as there's no oil.

I was wondering whether instead of taking it back to the garage that would the RAC come out and have a look at it? I have home cover but I've never had to call them out before. I don't want them to come out and offer to tow me to the garage, I just wondered whether anyone had any experience of them coming out for this sort of thing and what the outcome was?

Robin9

Not a breakdown - not covered by RAC

8ltrs ! your driveway must be covered in oil.

BoGoF

You have breakdown cover - it's not a breakdown.

mezzor

Ah dammit!

I've just gone to the car, and the bonnet latch that you pull at the front of the car seems to have snapped too so now I'm screwed as I can't get the bonnet open!

Looks like a trip to the garage it is!

How much should I reasonably expect to pay to locate an oil leak?

Robin9

Locating it shouldn't be a problem - two initial thoughts either the oil filter not sitting properly or the drain plugs fallen out.

It's the repair that will cost - particularly if the engines been run without any oil.

PasturesNew

mezzor wrote: »

How much should I reasonably expect to pay to locate an oil leak?

That depends.

I think I was recently quoted a ridiculous £100-300 (can't remember now) just for the garage to diagnose what the problem was - after the MoT said "slight oil leak, not sure where from". Funny that as I didn't do a thing and this year there's no mention of it *shrugs*

AdrianC

mezzor wrote: »

How much should I reasonably expect to pay to locate an oil leak?

If it's that bad, then an hour or two's labour - it's going to need to be cleaned-up before there's any hope of diagnosing the source.

And that's just diagnosis - actually sorting it may be much longer, depending on where it is. Let's say it's the crank rear main seal - engine out, flywheel off, change seal, new clutch while you're there...

Or it may be very simple - I recently had quite a substantial leak, due to a split crankcase breather hose. A couple of quid off ebay for a length of silicone hose, and about ten minutes all in.

Car_54

mezzor wrote: »

Ah dammit!

I've just gone to the car, and the bonnet latch that you pull at the front of the car seems to have snapped too so now I'm screwed as I can't get the bonnet open!

Looks like a trip to the garage it is!

How much should I reasonably expect to pay to locate an oil leak?

It would be unwise to drive to the garage "as the car is telling her to stop as there's no oil". Get the garage to come and tow it in.


As for how much to pay to locate the leak, that's really the wrong question. How much to locate and fix is what matters, and no-one here can tell you that.

mezzor

Robin9 wrote: »

Locating it shouldn't be a problem - two initial thoughts either the oil filter not sitting properly or the drain plugs fallen out.

It's the repair that will cost - particularly if the engines been run without any oil.

I'd say it's been run about 8 miles since the car warned her of no oil.

AdrianC

mezzor wrote: »

I'd say it's been run about 8 miles since the car warned her of no oil.

Please tell me that it really IS a low level warning, and not just the usual oil light... which is zero oil pressure...?

Carrot007

AdrianC wrote: »

Please tell me that it really IS a low level warning, and not just the usual oil light... which is zero oil pressure...?

I would assume so sine the "oil light" does not tell you to stop.


However how sensitive the low level is might depend on the car. My old one lost oil very slower, and only need 200-500 ml to get it right again.