In my continuing quest to be oil leak free, I tackled the sump gasket today. The patch of oil on the garage floor had been steadily growing, and it was obvious the sump gasket was the problem.
Nothing major, just VYK marking his spot really, but it needed doing. I had been putting the job of replacing said gasket off, because it looked like it was going to be another of the Triumph Dolomite design disaster jobs. Access is frustratingly tight between sump and subframe, and although I had read the sump can be removed whilst the engine is in the car, I have to admit I was a bit sceptical when looking underneath.
So, armed with new gaskets and blue hylomar it was the latest of my Sunday tinkering jobs. It was a little tight to get to all of the bolts, but it’s not too bad. Just a 6 out of 10 on the frustration level of Triumph Dolomite Sprint jobs I’d say. There’s two nut and bolt arrangements, one of which is hidden by the starter motor, which are a bit tricky to access. But once you have all bolts removed, you can slide the sump toward the near side of the car to expose the oil pick up bolts. Remove the oil pick up, then you can twist the sump through 90 degrees, and drop it out through the gap in the subframe. Clean everything up, new gasket, fit in reverse order, and fingers crossed for another leak fixed!
VYK looks to be clean and tidy. Nothing unusual to be seen.
Cleaned the gunge out of the bottom of the sump.
Found this chain tensioner shim lurking in the sludge! Looks like it’s been there a while!
Another satisfying tinker.