After making a hole in the bottom of the engine (an icy skid into a ditch), it's time to replace the sump (aka oil pan)

Access is pretty good, though I did need to separate the exhaust cat' (two bolts) to get at a couple of sump bolts. Even then one sump bolt needed a ring spanner to get at it.

After taking out all the sump bolts, I needed a hammer to get the old sump off. The front must have been ready to rust through; you can see where the metal has split from me hamering it

Also you can see the old sealing stuff. I don't think that's original spec' - someone's been in here before. It was like 'hermetite' - almost solid.

I spent ages cleaning the old sealant off the bottom of the engine

I used normal gooey black non-setting gasket sealer for the new sump since I had a tube spare.

All but three of the sump bolts are very long, probably going right through the aluminium bit and into the botom of the engine block. (The bottom of the engine is two-parts; an aluminium bit then the steel sump that I replaced)

Here's the nice new sump - surprised by the quality, since it was about £40 delivered



Here it is all bolted in place


With a new oil filter and fresh oil, all's running fine. I'll run it for a few hundred miles then do another oil/filter replcement, since the old oil looked like it had been there a looooong time.

Great job Toby, and thanks for the "how-to"

I would re-check the sump plug a couple of times before then, though: for any minor leaks and for tightness, especially if you're still using the old plug in the new pan.

S