Dropping the Sump

[ElliottN]

Want to drop the sump in situ to reseal - gasket is shot and the drips of oil have become a steady trickle.
How do you get at the last 2 x 7/16" bolts at the rear (adjacent to the big end)?
No sockets/extensions I have can get in between the lower bell housing cover plate (which is concave in shape and restricts access) and the rear of the sump to remove these 2 - and I'm not really looking to remove the engine to separate the bell housing.

[rgh0]

Hi Elliot t- I use hex socket headed cap screws and a long ball headed allen key to get in there. I use these for all the sump bolts as easier to get at and tighten once the engine installed.

But if you have hex headed bolts it not easy. If you have a small 1/4 or 3/8 inch drive socket set with U joint and a suitable socket you may be able to get in or maybe a tube spanner but I have never tried these so may not work. Otherwise you may have to split the engine and gearbox to get a little working room

cheers
Rohan

[john.p.clegg]

Elliot

Have you removed the lower cover plate?Gives you slightly better access..

John

[steveww]

With the cover plate removed a 1/4 drive with a UJ will get in there, but it is not easy. Expect profanity

[Robbie693]

I've wondered this too - I couldn't even see the back bolts because it looked like they were covered by the lower cover plate(!) How does the plate attach?

I must admit to not really investigating this as one look and I decided to extract what I had dropped in the sump through the drain hole instead. An exercise itself littered with profanities..

[miked]

Is it not easier to pull the lump and do it standing up.

I did what Steve recommended with seal it to block in one stage (and let it go off) and then do second seal with gasket nicley held in place. Really good and not messy

Laying on the back doing this sound hard graft.

Mike

[billwill]

With the cover plate removed a 1/4 drive with a UJ will get in there, but it is not easy. Expect profanity

I'm pretty sure that I did it this way on my 'baby' Elan once long ago. Once loosened I probably used a bendy shaft socket driver (*) to wind the bolts out.

(*) Like a screwdriver with a flexible shaft and a small square tip to fit in a small socket spanner head.

To put the bolts back I sawed screwdriver slots in the heads, but it would be better to use hex-socket heads mentioned above.

[CBUEB1771]

With the cover plate removed a 1/4 drive with a UJ will get in there, but it is not easy. Expect profanity

Expect even more profanity when you try to put the sump back on. I ended up cross threading one of the two screws at the back where they go into the main seal housing. With the engine out now, for other reasons, I have made the repair with HeliCoil inserts.

[ElliottN]

I haven't had so much fun since I did the clutch slave cylinder.
I looked at removing the lower back plate but in my case it would have meant disconnecting the slave cylinder and at least 3 of the block/bell housing bolts. I didn't like the idea and ultimately I was able to tease the 2 rear most and 2 front most bolts out working vertically with a long, thin spanner. Anyway, no going back now, so I will use cap head screws and ball headed allen key to refit (thanks Rohan).
Two more questions...
* The 6 bolts that have come out so far are quite a collection of lengths. The parts list says 16 x A026 E 6064 and 2 x A026 E 6051 and I assume they differ in lengths. As I'm off to buy the cap head screws, what lengths and where do the 2 different ones go? Or doesn't it really matter??
* To refit I will set the gasket on the block and let the sealant start to cure, then do the bottom and fit the sump. Suggestions for recommended sealant to use??
Thanks & rgds,