It's a beautiful day s i went out for a drive

i noticed that my suspension is soft and i bottomed out the rear suspension

well that was ok carried on with the drive, about a mle from home there was a big bump and a cloud of dust from the front .

checked the oil pressure and all ok, hurried home and checked under the car.... oil flowing out the bottom of the sump

well the car needed an oil change

what do i do?

1. weld up the sump in situe?

2. remove sump and weld?

3. buy new sump?

i will have to design a sump guard and raise the engine (put spacers under the engine mounting rubbers).

your advice required

Ditch

I done this with my cortina after a big jump over a bridge.

I welded it up with a plate of metal, sump still on the car and then used engine flush to clean out the inside, no problems after

oh on my falcon which has a habit of striking the ground I welded a 5mm plate to the bottom of the sump, though took it off for that one. After that I never put anything more than a shallow grove in it.

[Edited on 10/2/08 by Mr Whippy]

i'm just off out to the garage to see if the tray i put under the sump is full yet.

i know the engine is low as there are 2" between the nose cone and the cam belt, where others with the pinto have only a couple of millimetres.

so i have to raise the engine, if i take the sump off i could weld on a plate

should a sump guard be separate to allow some deforation with out damaging the engine?

ditch

Are you running a standard sump?

If yes then make a shortened one.

just been out to the garage to look at the damage

the front of the sump is V'd but the welds are ok with no oil leaking

the leaks are at the back where there is no damage

strangley this is where there was always a leak ( i bought it from MK), i think that this has opened up a weld at the back. i realy need to jack the car up to have a proper crawl under, but i'm much more up beat about it a learning experience

can i get away with a sacrificial steel plate on the sump or is it better to have a separate structure.
ditch

na just weld a plate to the sump. The engine will lift on the mounts if it hits and I've clobbered the ground hard and never saw any damage after the plate was fitted.

did you plate the whole sump of just the front of it?

i just happen to have some 5mm plate in the garage and i did not realy want to make a full structure and weld it onto my nice powder coated chassis

ditch

Ditch, I know one lad who killed his x-flow engine by landing from a yump onto his sump. It pushed the sump onto the pickup pipe, no oil pressure, no bearings

Once he'd changed to a Zetec (any excuse) he fitted a pair of timber skids to the inner chassis rails, about 1" x 1" and the length of the engine bay. That way if he landed the car again the skids would take the force rather than the sump / reinforced sump.

HTH

Mike

Ive landed hardish on my sump before with no ill effects. Nice spark show behind. Base of sump is 3mm steel and angled up at the front to for a kind of skid pan effect.

Ive since slotted engine brackets a bit to lift engine and also lifted suspension by an inch or so - been Ok since.

this is the plate I have welded onto the falcons sump, it's taken some very hard knocks with little to show for it. Pity ford never fitted them as standard...

looks like some paint is in order down there

ahh and I have just discovered where the missing axle stand went...

[Edited on 10/2/08 by Mr Whippy]
Rescued attachment sump plate.JPG

Many thanks lads.

i've decided to take the sump off and check the oil pick up pipe and straighten up the sump.

i will then weld on some plate, lift the engine a bit.

i may also look at guards on the rails if i can lift the engine far enough. all belt and braces i know but if it saves this happening again then all the better

i always know the sump was low, and it was on a down hill section of bumpy road that this happened

prehaps i should drive slower NAH

ditch

quote:

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Originally posted by ditchlewis


i always know the sump was low, and it was on a down hill section of bumpy road that this happened

prehaps i should drive slower NAH

ditch

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i was glad the oil pressure held but i must have lost a couple of litres of oil in the mile drive home.

my sump sits an inch or two below the bell housing too.

the shocks are protec and are only on 5 clicks from softest, this gives a soft ride on the lanes but also sump crunching abilit when it is bumpy

a bit of ride height adjustment and stiffening is also on the way.

you were not up in Northumberland on the old military road adjacent to hadrians wall when it happened were you?

i used to live up that way and my parents still do. a long fast road but those dips are all scarred by car sumps

i would like to take the 7 up there some time and enjoy the roads.

Ditch

Yeah it was up Northumberland. Cant remember what road exactly but not far from the A68, maybe 20 miles or so up from hexham. I dont think it was far up as the wall but the road sure was scarred.

Sump is only a few mm lower than bell housing. its extended forward right to the front with a bit of a ramp up over the last 3 or 4 inches. Oil pick up didnt need to be shortened by too much.

Hello again.
I think your running a pinto if so take a look at this.link

Have a look in the for sale section, there is a lowered pinto sump and close to you.

Just can't help but wonder what would've happened to one of these moped type engines that so many seem to fit to these cars nowadays. So far this week we've had a pinto and an X-flow dumping considerable amounts of oil and living to tell the tale. ;-)

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
this is the plate I have welded onto the falcons sump,

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thanks piddy, i am running a shortened sump, like yours.

wish i had had the skill you have and done it myself.

i bought one from MK when i bought the kit. i think that it always leaked a bit, a drop or two a day which i ignored

the front of the sump took the blow and bent, the back is where there is a big leak, the welds must have opened up

the problem i have is, the engine mounts sit the engine, even with the shortened sump, about 70mm off the road

and thats after i rased the front suspension by 35mm

so the tasks are remove the sump, check the oil pick up. bash out the dent. fill the sump with water and find all the leaks. weld up the leaks. fit 3 to 5mm plate to the bottom to provide improved bump protection ( and lower the centre of gravity).

raise the front suspension, and try and alter the engine mounts to gain extra height under the car. Ohhh nearly forgot set the shocks to a stiffer setting

sebastiaan i agree how much oil does a BEC hold not enough to get you home i think

having said that my BMW only holds 3 or 4 litres

anyone got any advice on how to protect the engines innards while i have the sump off???

ditch

is there much difference in height in an RS2000 alloy sump and a shortened pinto sump?

since ropping to 13s my car is on the tiles!

i would have thought the only difference is in strenght

i would have thought that steel is much tougher than alloy but i stand to be corrected

i can recommend that some form of protection is used as it really spoils your fun when the sump splits

ditch

yeah Im tempted to swap to a steel sump. I can get it properly baffled etc then too

quote:

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Originally posted by ditchlewis
anyone got any advice on how to protect the engines innards while i have the sump off???

ditch

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quote:

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Originally posted by sebastiaan

quote:

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Originally posted by ditchlewis
anyone got any advice on how to protect the engines innards while i have the sump off???

ditch

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Don't turn the car upside down? ;-)

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