68 reg GTI - Oil leak - possibly rear main crank seal..... Any advice!!

[Meister]

For context, I took out the all-in warranty and servicing deal at a reduced special offer of £25 per month last year.... glad I did... (well I think I am....!)

I took my 68 reg GTI to the dealer today after spotting a major oil leak under the engine. Just had the report back.... the gearbox needs to be removed, which costs £480 in labour and they think the rear crank seal has failed (does anyone know whether this is covered by VW warranty?). Also spotted coolant on the engine sump, which is possibly the thermostat housing (anyone know if this is covered?). I am shocked that a 30k miles 68 reg car has any of these issues at all to be honest!

What didn't sit right was the service manager telling me 'now you have to play a game of roulette... if the gearbox is taken out and it is covered by warranty, all good, you don't pay anything. But if any part is not covered, you are eligible to pay the full repair costs and £480 labour.... Something about that doesn't seem correct to me! Why should I be 'playing a game of roulette!?'....

Anyone had similar issues or know whether these potential problems are covered by warranty?

Many Thanks

[joe6]

If it has been serviced by vw dealers to the correct timescale or other garage to vw spec parts which presumably it has to get the warranty and service deal and no tuning then you may be OK. A specific exclusion includes bodywork, glass and seals. If that includes the rear engine crank seal there could be some arguments about it being covered depending why it failed. That seal should not fail in a 4 year old car so consumer rights comes into play if vw is difficult. Thermostat housing should be covered. Keep us up to speed with the outcome as it may affect views on the value of the warranty.

[Paul70]

RMS is a known issue on these cars, mine failed at just under 3 years old and was replaced under the factory warranty. That was just over two years ago and no further issue since then.

There are plenty of reports on other forums - not many on this one though.

Good luck!

[Meister]

RMS is a known issue on these cars, mine failed at just under 3 years old and was replaced under the factory warranty. That was just over two years ago and no further issue since then.

There are plenty of reports on other forums - not many on this one though.

Good luck!

Thanks for this! The dealership are being vague and said that they 'have no idea what the issue is, but suspect it is the rear crank seal'. They are saying they need to remove the gearbox to find the issue - is this correct? Then then cost 'may' be mine to pay - I will refuse to pay anything of course, or be covered by warranty. This may be correct, but just doesn't seem right to me!

Did your gearbox need to be removed in this process?

[joe6]

Definitely gearbox out job. It is something that is usually checked and replaced if necessary when clutch is replaced to avoid having to remove the gearbox again and for labour charges again. Good luck with pursuing this.

[madstaff]

When they get the box out, and if its a manual, they'll be saying the clutch and flywheel need replacing whilst theyre at it.

These are the retail prices when i priced the parts up at VW.

Dual Mass Flywheel - £654-31

Clutch - £284-01

Clutch slave cylinder - £48-29

Oh, all plus VAT.......................

[symonh2000]

Isn't this caused by a faulty PCV system?

It would be worth getting that looked at if it is, otherwise it might just fail again.

[joe6]

PCV usually also has other symptoms as well such as rough idle and often an eml but certainly worth checking.

I had my DMF and clutch replaced by an vw indie specialist recently for £1200 all in including labour using vw quality parts on my mk6. Shows how much we all pay for 'free' coffee and lovely dealer showroom.