Sump Repair???

[poseidon]

Hi - last MOT brought an advisory that the sump was corroded and required attention. Of course, I ignored that as there was no oil presenting at the time, but it's now leaving a pool under the truck and needs repaired/replaced. Couple of questions - I'm presuming the sump pan is a simple mild steel pressing and can be welded/plated over the corroded section?

Is it a simple matter of just taking out all the bolts that attach the sump to the block and dropping it (after draining oil)? No other seals involved round front and rear crank bearings etc?

Anyone got a spare 3.0 litre sump for sale?

cheers...keith

[Bazcam]

I think the oil pick up pipe will stop you removing the sump.
You might be able to sqeeze your hand in to remove the pick up pipe
once all the sump bolts are removed, but not sure.

Its a bit more work, but probably easier to remove the front diff, you'll
have loads of room then.

[poseidon]

Thanks guys.... I'm having doubts about whether this oil is coming from the sump or the dreaded turbo tube/seal assembly that seems to be almost impossible to reach and repair. I was very doubtful at the time of the MOT test and I think the MOT tester just wanted to 'show diligence' with that advisory. He even put in bold 'DANGEROUS!! on the test cert. There was certainly a bit of oil down the nearside of the sump and a little bit of corrosion on surface, but I suspect it has been leaking from the turbo zone. Reading a couple of threads on sorting this turbo oil leak fills me with terror - It might be easier to take the whole ###### engine out than trying to dismantle and reassemble that lot.
Whatever, oil is fairly p***ing out now and needs sorted, so I'll need to wipe the drip off my freezing nose and get underneath the beast....aaargh..

[sv1000spilot]

Mine was leaking from the turbo return pipe where it had perished, repaired in situ.

I have taken the air con compressor out and that make access a bit easier i think

[poseidon]

Thanks for that suggestion - I'm still really struggling to actually identify where this oil is coming from. It seems to be running down the rear of the engine and dripping from the sump drain nut. No sign of any oil at all around the turbo, but there's so much gubbins and pipework in that area it's hard to see. I did find both the rear rocker cover nuts were loose and tightened them and there's some signs of oil in this area, but again the rocker cover is so close to the bulkhead it's difficult to see behind and check for oil presenting there. What a palaver....
I may have to take it in to garage to progress and that's the first time in my life I've been defeated in trying to trace an engine oil leak. Oh, and it looks as if the sump won't come off without removing the front axle!! A design classic it certainly is not, although good trucks when they're running right....k

[wishbone]

Maybe check to see if the half moon insert is still in your head - it's at the back of the head beneath the rocker cover and might be missing.

Only other suggestion is give the whole engine a degrease and jetwash so any leak will be easy to find.

[poseidon]

Thanks Wishbone - so this 'half-moon' inset will be in the head and will be obvious once I take the rocker cover off? Can it just fall out? Sounds pretty serious and likely to give much more oil leakage than the few cc's that dribble out onto the ground when I park up...cheers....Keith

[wishbone]

...

[poseidon]

Thanks for that Wishbone. I presume it'll be sitting in a grove in the head. Should be an easy enough matter to get the rocker cover off and check it, but I've never actually lifted this cover before and I expect there is bound to be some complication in even that simple task. I'll post what I find. Does that inset serve any purpose, apart from providing a oil leak point?...cheers...Keith

[tonupteabag]

It's what is left from the line boring of the camshaft journals

[poseidon]

OK thanks.... I've now managed to explore around the engine in more detail and the oil is definitely NOT coming from the rocker cover, head or turbo and related oil pipes or even the sump gasket. No leaking oil above the sump/block junction. Strangely, it does look as if it's seeping from corrosion zones on the sides of the sump, but even that's hard to be sure as the sump is really inaccessible with the front diff and other bits. Maybe the MOT guy was correct with his advisory.
I think I'll need to get it onto a ramp and power clean it all off. Taking off the sump and replacing it looks horrendous - does the whole front axle need to be dropped first?
Other option might be to find the seeping area, clean/abrade it and fabricate an epoxy patch over it. Presumably the sump oil is not under much pressure and it's only fully pressurised through the oil pump and the main shaft journals etc, dripping back into the sump on return?
Nightmare, whatever....Keith