Years later when changing the gasket I thought about pushing the dent out ( hammer and dolly). Didn't do it in case the steel cracked. .
Not to worry, Sospan.. Hammer away. With a 2002 Plus 8 (or any sump from 1986ish
when the MMC switched from Rover to LR supply to the end of the Plus 8 model in mid. 2004, the cars came standard with these best sumps. More clearance and capacity. And steel does not normally crack. It dents rather than shatters. Just use a length of 2x2 and a hammer and bang the dent out. I have been regularly doing that for ages. In the early days , before the rest of the world realized their advantage, these sumps were very inexpensive. As I noted, I keep two per Plus 8, one on the car and the other off getting leisurely de-dented and waiting for its turn at bat again. If it is a comfort if you find/buy your second sump before you start hammering at the first.
One more note for posterity. The other post Sd1 (1977-1987) ) sumps have less clearance and less capacity. Their less deep front section does not quite clear the later 4.6 crankshaft..so without the earlier cork gasket add-on or "relief" of the sump with a ball pean hammer, they can (harmlessly) scare the "expert" engine person witless.
Didn't happen to me as I had already had these sumps on my engines when I swapped in my 4.6 and 4.8 blocks and their bigger cranks but I have seen it happen to swaggering "pros".
Lorne
