Thread: P38 sump oil leak example

To avoid aulro p38 members prematurely blaming a major oi leak on the rear crankshaft seal, I attach the following photos that show how much oil can escape past the rear section of the sump gasket when it fails.

This sump(pictures attached) had been sealed with an unknown brand gasket and sealant had been applied at the correct points as per the manual. The bolts were at the correct torque.

A large amount of oil is migrating past the seal either side of the rear main bearing and looks like a rear main seal failure.

To check - the sump can be easily removed once you select high ride height and then put axle stands under to get the tyres off the ground. It is easy for me with the manual inflation kit as I just drop the rears and pump up the the fronts.

So, if you have a bad leak from the rear of the engine, suspect a sump gasket first before jumping to conclusions about a rear main seal failure.

Hope this helps anyone with a similar problem.