Removing sump

[Triumphman]

Hi all, Iā€™m going to replace my sump gasket in situ, whilst not having oil pressure problems, no knocking, oil light goes out straight after starting etc, I was wondering if it would be wise to pull a bearing cap to check the state of the shells, if it ainā€™t broke donā€™t fix it?
Also wanted to check the chains, looking from the rocker cover, the adjusters only look to be 3/8ā€ out?
Iā€™ve only had the car 3 yrs & canā€™t find much history apart from when it was tested in 05 mileage was 13k, I bought it in 19 with 16k, now on 22k with no engine problems apart from oil leaks.
Cheers
Paul

[AlabamaJones]

hi

if good sound on engine no need to check shells i would mean.

think chain is easiet checked with topcover off. But is mileage since new chain low there should be no need.

[sujitroy]

To remove the sump on my auto, I recall I had to lower the cross member. I was able to remove the bolts, but I didn't have enough room to remove it.
Sujit

[Triumphman]

It looks like thereā€™s room on mine, did you disconnect the track control arm?
Iā€™m taking mine off because I want to replace all the bushes.

[sujitroy]

I recall folks with manuals are able to remove it. I think the rear engine plate being different between the two is the issue.. I just undid the all the bolts and dropped the cross member away enough to drop the sump.

[DJT]

Sump cannot be removed without dropping the front crossmember. It will not drop enough to clear the oil pickup. See instructions in section 12.60.44 of the ROM.

EFDBF868-CF76-4001-9A57-A3AA27C97D69.png

[flying farmer]

Its not difficult to pull a bearing cap while you are under there to get an idea of the state of the crank. If you are going to, I suggest no2 or no 4 main bearing caps as these wear fastest of all the crank bearings. Big ends are generally ok until the worn mains drop oil pressure.
Neil

[sujitroy]

Its not difficult to pull a bearing cap while you are under there to get an idea of the state of the crank. If you are going to, I suggest no2 or no 4 main bearing caps as these wear fastest of all the crank bearings. Big ends are generally ok until the worn mains drop oil pressure.
Neil

If you pull a cap, can you or should you not reuse the nut or bolt holding it in place?

[Ian Durrant]

If you pull a cap, can you or should you not reuse the nut or bolt holding it in place?

No need, these are not torque to yield fixings. Unless obviously damaged they can safely be reused.

[Triumphman]

Thanks to all for your advice. Sump is off, No 2 main bearing cap off, bearing is down to the copper, but crank is unmarked with no ā€œlipā€ in the centrešŸ˜. Shells are -010, I will remove a big end cap tomorrow for piece of mind, is it worth pulling the oil pump? Itā€™s an Eaton pump. Removed timing cover as had a leak from gasket, chain tensioner is only pushed out by 1/8ā€ or so, but j/shaft sprocket looks quite worn to me

[Triumphman]

Photos for previous post!

[MikeParker]

Wow, well done for taking the bearing cap off. I would never have guessed that the shells could be that worn without some signs. I changed mine at 80K miles from new and all still had white metal and looked OK. The oil pressure was dropping at idle (down to 15 psi) and that's what made me do mine. The engine is now 160K and oil pressure still perfect, so I am hoping my shells are OK. As a matter of interest, how was your oil pressure. Were there any warning signs of bearing wear?

Mike

[Triumphman]

I donā€™t have a pressure gauge, my reason for checking was I had the sump off for a leak.

[Triumphman]

It looks to me like the chains have been changed but they didnā€™t do the j/shaft gear?

[flying farmer]

You got lucky there, they are the tri metal bearings with the soft lead surface that wears away before damaging the crank. Mostly they are aluminium faced bearings these days which don't show wear as well, and wear an unhardened crank twice as fast as the bearing wears, from previous measurements I have made.
Its not that unusual to find the cam and jackshaft sprockets have not been changed, they don't wear much compared to the crank sprockets. Another thing is that the new sprockets are generally much softer than the originals and personally I prefer to stay with the original sprockets if the teeth are not significantly worn.
Neil