texasbluesdownunder

Hi all,
After many attempts to get my sump plug to seal I have come to the conclusion I need to put a new sump in.I've tried numerous different new gaskets but it appears some over tightening over the years (not by me) has pulled the spot welds on the nut inside enough to make them sit proud on the outside surface.I was told to look for this by a mechanic and it appears to be the case.There are a couple of raised dimples around the plug hole that are causing the leak.

My question is .. can I replace the sump easily in the car ? I have done this on a 289 Falcon when I did a rear main seal years back.
Can the crossmember be unbolted with safety ? Does it need to come out ?
If it's not easily done insitu I might suffer the small but annoying drip until I can get the 347 built.
Any help would be appreciated.
TIA Ron

Scott H.

Yes, unless your car is so rusted out that it shouldn't be driven, you can, and have to, pull the crossmember to take off the pan. Unless you want to pull the engine.

No worries, park your car on ramps, block the rear wheels, put on a pair of safety glasses, pull the cross member, pull the pan. Don't forget to drain the oil first, and lay a tarp under the car, as the engine will continue to drip oil with the pan off.

texasbluesdownunder

Thanks for the reply Scott.I appreciate it.
I have a mechanics pit at home so that'll make the job easier.I wasn't sure about what I'd do structurally and safety wise by taking the crossmember off.
I'll give it a shot.Shouldn't be too big a job by the sound of it.
Ron

DrBob67

I'm not familiar with the term Sump. But by the discussion I assume you are talking about the oil pan. I'm not sure about the differeces with a 66 but I was having problems with an oil leak on my 67 so I pulled the pan. and yes I did have to remove the crossmenber. As Scott mentioned it was no big deal. I just realized I was not wearing my safter goggles as Scott recomended maybe next time.

However there may be an alternative. Years ago I had a stripped oil pan drain. there was a part I think it was rubber that would replace the oil drain plug. There was a tool that you used to remove and replace it sort of like a screwdriver with blunt tip that had some type of a yoke or tabs half way down the shaft. You would put the rubber plug in place. it was dome shaped, then push the tool in the center of the plug and rotate it untill the tabs grabbed or something like that. Sorry I'm not more specific about it this was about 15-20 years ago. And I don't remember the name of it.

If you do have to remove the pan, it is not that difficult. You want to talk about difficult try removing the pan on a 86 porsche 944. the crossmember is attached with the motor mounts which have to be removed also. that means I had to support the engine from above during the process. Also I was doing this in an enclosed ground level parking structure. so jack and jackstands.

Good luck