Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Roadster Sport 3.0 sump replacement

Having scraped and dinged the original sump a couple of times in spite of being very careful I decided it was time to fit a lowered one from Sifab. Expecting an easy job I bought he sump, set a morning aside, got the car on my hydraulic ramps and set to. All went well until I found a particularly tight bolt at the 3 o'clock (looking forwards and upwards) position. Bolt head snapped off and left a short stump protruding from the crankcase. S**t. Mole grips wouldn't grip so next trick was drill and 'easi-out'. Upside down drilling is no fun but I managed to get a 3mm hole more or less central and inserted the easi-out. Then a gentle twist, followed by a less gentle twist and the easi-out snapped. Double s**t.
After googling easi-out removal I tried cobalt drills (several and now all blunt), a carbide tipped drill (equally blunt) and a diamond tipped tile hole saw (4mm) - in all about £40s worth. No impact on the easi-out whatsoever and the diamond bit was in danger of sliding and damaging the surface of the crankcase.
More googling and I found a YouTube of a chap with the same problem, solved using a Dremel and several grinding heads. Obvious really. Checked it worked with my sole 3mm grinding head and it did so bought a large box of grinding heads from Amazon Prime (£14 next day delivery) and after an hour or so of grinding got the bolt + easi-out out. Unfortunately the thread was damaged so time to deploy the helicoil kit (£10 next day Amazon Prime, same kit c£40 at Screwfix) and that was actually not as difficult as I thought it was going to be and completed in 30mins.
Next challenge the rubber seal, which was stuck in the old sump because of a few centimetres of corrosion. Managed to get it out using plastic spatulas but it showed signs of damage so thought I ought to buy a new one rather than risk a leak. Bought this from doctor_car on eBay, 'Sump Gasket Seal FOR FORD MONDEO III 3.0 03->07 Petrol B4Y B5Y BWY Elring' for £27.73 and delivered in 2 days. Finally put it all back together yesterday, topped up with new oil (Mobil 1 5-30w circa £45.00) and ran the car on the lift for 10 mins to check for leaks. Fortunately none and went for a short drive this morning (Sunday). Again no leaks.... phew.
As an aside, I fixed the leaking lawnmower exhaust manifold with the helicoil kit and a new gasket bought locally.
Next job is to change the leaking radiator, which I'll start later in the week.
Chris

Chris, well done on your perseverance and getting a good result

Good effort Chris!

Well done. The raised sump is an essential fix on the S1 Roadster

Well done, I'll leave the sump replacement to Matt at Lifes when I next get it serviced, as access without a lift is difficult and I doubt whether I would have the patience and perseverance to resolve a snapped stud as you have.

One of the local Mog group members who joined us on our Northumberland tour a couple of months back managed to crack his Roadsters sump. Fortunately he was aware of oil loss before any other engine damage.

Unfortunate the drama of getting your modified sump to fit Chris, but it's over now and you can benefit from this seemingly essential mod.

I agree it is an essential mod, as I have SSL front suspension fitted, it has raised the front ride height therefore the sump by about 20cm, so will get done at next service.

And that ladies and gentlemen is why I don't use Easy outs.

When I've had to remove them, the cheap ones tend to yield to a carbide slot drill in the mill.

The more expensive ones needed to be sparked out!

Arwyn

Could that be 20mm ? I'm currently having SSL front suspension fitted, and I'm hoping it won't come back looking like some kind of dragster.....

Yes Peter but not guilty m'lud