1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump

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Mon 4 Apr 2011 17:46
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - Mabel Stark

I've noticed that there are small patches of oil appearing on the ground underneath the car when it is parked. I've had a look underneath and thought I located the drips to the sump - after wiping the oil away I could feel a little spot on the sump that feels corroded. I have spoken to a garage (just over the phone, they haven't seen the problem) and they said that the sump is rusted and will needed replacing. They quoted me approx £100 for parts and labour which seems reasonable, but are there any alternative ways of fixing the problems and is the car safe to drive until I can take it in, which wouldn't be for a couple of weeks? Many thanks in advance.

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Mon 4 Apr 2011 17:55
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - ddr

It's probably safe, so long as you keep checking the oil levels.

It will be difficult to fix the hole with any kind of glue/araldite etc because of the oil that will be all over the place.

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Mon 4 Apr 2011 18:29
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - Mabel Stark

Thanks very much. I've spoken to another garage this afternoon but they said they can't tell me anything until they've seen the car so I'm just getting some advice before I take it anywhere. Trying to gather some info to avoid being ripped off. Thanks again.

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Mon 4 Apr 2011 19:52
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - Peter.N.

If its only in one small area you could try drilling a small hole and fitting a self tapping screw with a large washer with a layer of sheet cork or some other gasket material behind it, silicone sealant on the washer would do as long as you leave it to set before you fit it, preferably overninght.

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Tue 5 Apr 2011 01:36
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - Duncan112

As suggested above it will be extremely difficult to get anything to stick to an oily sump (you can get fancy plastic metals but they are not generally available in small quantities or on the retail market - Devcon and Durmetal are two brands that I have used with limited success) I also feel that drilling into a potentially weakened metal area is likely to cause more problems than it cures.

Can I suggest that you spray the sump and engine with Gunk or Jizer, work it in with a stiff brush then hose off - this willl remove all the congealed dirt and maybe give you a better idea where the oil is dripping from - areas to particularly look at would be the sump plug (maybe the sealing washer has failed) oil seals on the transmission output areas, insufficiently tightened oil filter or filter fitting, if the engine has a mechanical petrol pump then these can also come loose producing a hard to find leak.

Once the engine is clean, if you have access to a large mirror putting this under the engine may help you to find the leak.

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Tue 5 Apr 2011 16:00
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - mickyh7

Do a google,there are company's who repair rusted/leaking sumps for a fraction of the new price.

Or take it off, clean it with gunk/Jizer etc.. screw in a self tapper, then cover the whole area with fibre glass resin

I was told this is what the repair company did.

I repaired a rusted Nissan Sunny sump years ago like this, and it lasted the life of the car.

Didn't used to happen on leaky oily engines,modern ones rust from the outside in !

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Tue 5 Apr 2011 20:03
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - boggles

Plenty of people on e-bay, selling sumps. I got one for daughter's Corsa for about 30 quid. Don't waste your time patching and bodging, it WILL leak again.

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Wed 6 Apr 2011 12:30
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - madf

"Can I suggest that you spray the sump and engine with Gunk or Jizer, work it in with a stiff brush then hose off - this willl remove all the congealed dirt and maybe give you a better idea where the oil is dripping from - areas to particularly look at would be the sump plug"

Don't. DO NOT touch the sump.

If it is leaking there are small holes held closed by rust and mud. Cleaning it will clear the mud and you will have large holes.

Been there, done it.

Replace with new of secondhand is the only solution which will last more than a month. Repair attempts? To do it properly, remove sump job.. so you might as well replace it.

(IF it was one hole from a rock, I would try repair but rust means lots of weak points)

Edited by madf on 06/04/2011 at 12:30

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Wed 6 Apr 2011 23:45
1998 Ford Fiesta - Rusted Sump - Duncan112

"Don't. DO NOT touch the sump."

And, if it's not the sump you waste £34/40 on a new sump and still have the leak!! If its that bad that cleaning it will produce a catastrophic failure next time you go through a flooded road or gravel track the effect will be the same.

If it was my car I'd still clean the sump bfore spending money.


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