it looks like I may have some serious engine damage as a result of oil pump failure - '03 SEAT Leon Cupra 20VT knocking prob both top &
bottom 
It could be very expensive and I'm not sure I trust the initial advice - "...recomend...new engine" 
!! can anyone do that
without a proper head-off , etc assessment?
anyone know of a good garage (Non-SEAT main dealer) I could talk to? any South-East but pref Surrey.
I'm pretty depressed right now
thanks
same things just happend to my 52 plate vectra dti.
bad luck, i feel for you mate.
I've been told its a common fault that the oil pick-up pipe becomes blocked on the Leon. A collegue saw it on a forum and decided to check and
clean his out, said his was just about blocked as well!
Sounds like you weren't so lucky
[Edited on 14/10/07 by MkIndy7]
Surely if. as stated, "it is a common fault", then there should be some come back upon the manufacturer, as the vehicle obviously was NOT
fit for the purpose for which it was sold.
A six or twelve month warranty is not the end. Some manufacturers have been made to cough up after six years.
I doubt very much that you would get someone to do a rebuild without having the head off. If it is that serious that a complete rebuild is nescesary
then an engine from a breakers is going to be the more cost effective way I would say, shouldn't be too hard to find.
My brother ran one of his cars dry of oil and knackered the bottom end. It made a real mess of the whole engine, the residual oil got baked to
everything and left everything with a sticky treacle mess. This took ages to clean off and I had to find him an engine from a breakers as a new one
was £4000 from renault. Got one from a breakers for £275. Different make I know but same principle.
[Edited on 15/10/07 by stuart_g]
What about trying one of the VAG specialists e.g.
http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/workshop.html
Fuzzy,
I know somewhere with a low hourly rate that'd probably change the engine for a very competitive price if you source one eg from
spares247.com.
If it sounds bad enough you probably wouldn't need the head off to tell, prob better whipping off the sump and a conrod to look at the big end
shells. Garage time wise it's prob quicker just to change the engine than take it out, strip it down to find the problem/rebuild etc etc.
Ned.
Problem with modern engines is that when they go wrong like this as in no oil pressure they tend to do a lot of damage. If you've got to pay
garage labour rates to strip & inspect you're going to be commited to a lot of dough without necessarily getting anywhere. I would agree with
the above that the best answer is to source a decent second hand unit, perhaps from the sound of things have the pickup cleaned out! & pay a
reasonably priced decent garage to fit it. Surely must be the better gamble of the 2
id recomend a company called Vagtech near Milton Keynes. very nice blokes.
I've had a 20v engine apart befor there not that bad and parts from wv are not as expensive as you think.
also i'd check getting a new engine doesnt cost more than the car's current value!
back in the early 90s we had to part with our brand spanking new red BMW 318 coupe when, after the gearbox had died, and we changed it, the engine
followed pretty soon and we knew a new engine would cost more than the car itself... so we sold the car and bought a merc 190E... stuck to mercedes
ever since 
[Edited on 15/10/07 by robertst]
Depending on what you get with a replacement engine you may have duplicate bits that are serviceable on your dead engine so you might be able to recoup a bit of cost there by flogging them off once you're back up and running.
thanks for the advice; all very much appreciated.
I wanted to add that my dad is a retired mechanic, had his own garage for 40+ years, etc who still does a bit once in while. He definately knows his
stuff and is adamant he can do the job. I'm not so sure as he doesn't have that much kit or facilities anymore.
You can probably imagine where he's coming from and I'm sure with the right resources he could do it but would anyone else attempt it under
the circumstances and with such a modern car?
People can whack these engines into all sorts of older VW's at home, don't see why an ex-mechanic can't do it. Worst case I would have
thought is it'll start itself up in limp home mode and you'll have to limp to a garage to reset it.
I recently changed the engine in a '51 Alfa 147. Apart from having about 3 times as any things attached to it that needed plugging back in, it
wasn't any more difficult than the 80's motors i'm more used to.
Oh, and i've never used them myself but i've heard good things about The Phirm in Guildford 
quote:
Originally posted by TimC
What about trying one of the VAG specialists e.g.
http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/workshop.html
quote:
wtf they carge From £59 for an oil and filter change on a 8v mk1