fix it or not?

serious3

i,ve a saab 9-5 estate in reasonable nick, nct is due needs bushes in the back, droplinks at the front, it leaks oil from the head and now the clutch is slipping slightly:( do i throw money at it for the nct or do i go down the bangernomics route with another similar motor but with a longish nct? love the motor as its surprisingly quick, but also does 37mpg on the longer runs and 30mpg localy..... decisions decisions

Henry Ford III

If you like it fix it up. Pay particular attention to the oil leak first.

fasttalkerchat

If you can do the work yourself its a long job but worth it if you want to keep the car. If you're paying a mechanic its probably not worth it.

serious3

mate reckons 350 to do the head oil leak alone:( gawd knows what the clutch will cost me!!

fasttalkerchat

serious3 wrote: »

mate reckons 350 to do the head oil leak alone:( gawd knows what the clutch will cost me!!

A clutch would be the same again if you go to a main dealer. A DIY job is less than half that.

serious3

well the quote is in.... 650 for the labour plus parts so i reckon aound the 800/900 mark hmmmmm dunno what to do now

Bigus

Why not drop the whole front subframe / drive train and do oil leak and clutch on the ground to save on labour, ask your mate if this is a cheaper option.

_Conrad_

Is it leaking from the actual cylinder head, between the head and block, or from a crack in the head... or what is more likely the join between rocker cover and the top of the head which is far less problematic .

As for the mate... unless they're good with fixing cars themself, or a mechanic/working in other motor related area, don't rely too heavily on quotes of prices.

+1 for the rocker cover where leaks are typical. If yours is manual (as it appears to be) another typical point of leak is the plastic blanking plate on the front LHS of head (looking from the drivers seat). In that case the leaking oil may well contaminate your clutch causing it to slip.

Rocker cover gaskets (2 of) are about €20 and that is the only part that is needed plus maybe an hour of labour. The leaking plug can be fixed with gasket glue and the assembly is held together with two security type T40 bolts (and will be held really tightly, i.e. a cheap T40 bit will break).

If the oil leak is between cylinder head and block the reason may be undertorqued head bolts. They can can be retorqued one by one without disturbing the head gasket while the rocker cover is off.

serious3

ok lads, the head bolts are not undertorqued as that was the first thing i did, its not leaking fom the pcv valve or the rocker cover, its the head gasket between the head and block at the back above the oil pressure switch, it migrates towards the timing chain side of the engine and covers the alternator, belts and powersteering gubbins and then drips on the floor. clutch is at least €200 thats the cheapest uk price i can find. TBH i reckon its gonna go on done deal or maybe traded with a mate for summat different