Garage Work Not Up To Standard

DGLTD

I have been trying to get an oil leak fixed on my car. The issue was with a corroded Oil Sump and leaking crankshaft seal.

The garage replaced the sump and seal. With the car I have they had to remove the front exhaust to gain acess to the sump. As the exhaust was corroded this was also replaced.

This work cost me a fair amount of money. 

One day after getting the car back I noticed the leak was still occurring. So it went back and they said the oil sump was leaking. They said they fixed it by removing and resealing the sump. This took them 3 days to fix.

I have asked someone in a different garage to put it on a ramp so they can look at it and the oil sump was leaking again. They said the original work was not very good and the sealant on the sump hadn't been applied correctly.

The garage is blaming cold weather for the sealant not setting correctly. However everything i have read indicated that if you use the correct sealant then the cold is not an issue.

I am also unhappy with how long they take to do the work. Last time was 3 days just to replace and reseal the sump. In this time it cost me extra money in taxi fares.

I am going to give them another chance to fix the problem but if they don't what are my legal rights?

Goudy

This might help.
Vehicle repairs and servicing: your rights – London Borough of Bromley
They are the same for everybody.

There is a bit of a dark art to sealing sumps and if someone has been kackhanded then chances are it may never seal.

With sumps without a gasket (only sealant).
I clean the surfaces then check the flange (see below) and apply the sealant before aligning, then screwing up all the bolts but only finger tight.
I will then leave it overnight so the sealant has chance to go off before torqueing the bolts down to the right spec in a star pattern. (not go around and tighten the one next to the last)

Fully tightening without giving the sealant chance to go off only leaves a thin smear between the surfaces as most of it squeezes out and there's usually not enough left to take up and gaps as it heats up and cools down.

This torqueing up of the bolts later is very important.
The sump is usually made out of thin steal and if any or all of the bolts are over tightened, the flange of the sump will distort so the two faces of the joint will never come together fully.

There will be a specific torque setting for these bolts that needs following, it's usually fairly low, often less than 10nm depending on what car/engine.

Quite often, cheap aftermarket parts might also cause a problem if they aren't made very well, they just won't seal as they came already distorted.

There's a good chance the garage might have retightened the bolts and distorted the flange so it'll never seal.
If it's leaking, you should never just go back and try to nip the bolts up.
It needs to come off and the flange checked with a straight edge before any attempt to refit it is made, hopefully with the right technique.
 

DGLTD

Thanks for the reply and the great overview of what can go wrong.

The garage are blaming the cold weather for the sealant not setting correctly. The second time they did it they did leave it overnight but it is still leaking a little. The temperatures when they did it were just above freezing both times.

Whilst I am no expert in this I do think the garage should know what they are doing

The leak is not as bad as the first attempt they but it is still there and causing some spots of oil to leak out. My Dad thinks I should just leave it as it is much better than it was however I am under the mindset that if I paid to have the oil leak fixed so expecting no oil to leak out. I also don't know if it will get worse given time.

Goudy

It's hard to tell you what to do.
Yes, you should expect the garage to have fixed the problem but it's one of those problems that can quite often turn out far more aggravating to fix than just putting up with a small drip, if it is only small drip.

I guess you can go back and at least see what they say.

I've done a couple, a few of other peoples messes really.
They have all been Fiat's with the 1.2 FIRE engine, so the likes of 500's, Panda's and Punto's. They are known for rusty sum pans.

Someone had try to "fixed" them once but used cheap aftermarket pans and they had been usually over tightened as the owner had been back to complain they still leak and the garage rammed up the bolts tight thinking that will help.

The only thing I could do was start again with a genuine part.

DGLTD

Coincidentally mine is a Fiat Punto 1.2.  The Sump Pan was corroded, but it was the original and 10 years old so wasn't too surprised it needed changing.

I have read a little about the after market sumps not fitting very well. The posts I have seen all say they leak around the flywheel area which mine does. I haven't asked but I suspect they used an after market part. 

Car is booked in after Christmas for them to take a look at. I will say what they say.

I may suggest they try a genuine part...but I really don't like telling garages how to do their job but in this instance it maybe the best way forward. 

Thanks for your advice it is appreciated.

Goudy

I did have an inkling about yours!

We've had these FIRE's in the family since 1990 and the sumps all go the same way, eventually.
Between us we've had dozens but there's only two in the family these days.

Panda's were our family thing (though I did flirt with a 2001 Punto back in the day, but not for long).
750's, 999's 1108's and 1242cc FIRE's, we've had them all, Even the FIRE Turbo (T-Jet) in an Abarth.

Trick is to wipe the sump pan over with an oily rag when the oil is changed, that can slow the rot down.
One it scrapes off some of the road grit and salt off the pan and the oil on the rag tends to help protect the chips and nics in the paint a bit.

You might want to pay some attention to what's under there at the rear as well now.
The beam axle, particularly the lower spring seats trap road debris and water, rotting them out.

The body is generally well protected, just some of the bolt on parts like the suspension weren't.

I presume you have found The FIAT Forum - For talk on all things FIAT
One of the best manufacturer specific forums on the net.