the 2 letters look identical to be fair... I andy brownlee sounds better actually makes me sound important... or full of myself xD
3.9i .. Look what I found in the sump
- Thread starter Ipcress
- Start date
This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
No time to waste on this so the sump came off this morning. It was filthy. Clearly it hadn`t been cleaned for ages or at least if it was cleaned at the last engine build it must have been a pretty quick one.
Immediately checked the con rod nuts and bolts and all were there and firmly in place!
So as mentioned, the extent of the rebuild I don`t know, but what one can summise is that the sump if it did come off was a haven for bits of the engine in times gone by including the big end nut.
When draining the oil earlier in the week, clearly not all the oil left the sump even if it was left for 30 mins. Okay, so I don`t have a level drive, but even so I`d be surprised if all the oil drains on any change, hence the buildup of carbon and other deposits that hid the nut, caveat of sump may or may NOT of course have been taken off before?!
Cleaned up things as best I could including the sump bolts and determined to get some RTV 600 sealer or similar; I found some minus 80 to 650F at EuroParts along with 8 more litres of Magnatec plus oil filter. Looking at the state of the `new` oil just drained from the sump there was no way I was putting that back in again. Chose the sealer first because I couldn`t get a gasket until late next week it seemed, but mainly because they don`t tend to be recommended I found for V8 sumps. Maybe I`m wrong, but its done now. Spent some time giving it time to chill and semi set before tightening down some more.
New filter and oil will go in tomorrow and hopefully that will be it.
Although the engine is fine on that at least and there is no indication of any problems at all (at the moment?!) it was the peace of mind that made it all worth it. AND knowing that any new oil put in from now won`t immediately be contaminated by the dregs in the sump; just look at the colour of that 5 mile old oil in the yellow bucket that came out this morning..
There was also the danger of course, it being a good off roader that sees a fair degree of action, that the nut could have found its way to the crankshaft and con rods and caused total mayhem.
Thank you to all of you for your kind help and all done with such enthusiasm, great to be amongst such dedicated Landy people.
Great Stuff!
Last edited:
cooltide
sheep fancier
- Posts
- 2,570
- Location
- Over the hill
Glad to hear it. You certainly couldn't have ran it without first checking. I don't use sump gaskets and my current one doesn't leak. First time for everything
classic kev
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 3,500
I had a similar view of things yesterday, so sump gasket or no sump gasket that is the question. 3.9's didn't originally have a gasket, just sealant. Part of the problem with the sealant is putting the sump on invariably spoils the nice bead of sealant and very often results in a leaking sump. This time round I have fitted the cork gasket, however, this requires a delicate trim of the timing cover gasket to account for the thickness of the cork.
Anyway, I'm glad to see the OP has all his bottom end nuts and bolts.
Anyway, I'm glad to see the OP has all his bottom end nuts and bolts.
Put oil in it!... I don't use sump gaskets and my current one doesn't leak. First time for everything
Needalandy
Active Member
- Posts
- 120
- Location
- Edinburgh
I agree with what you've done and glad you've got piece of mind to enjoy your Landy again. Photo of you crawling out from under the car made me laugh, it sums up Landy ownership for me. How many times have we crawled underneath to check something that doesn't sound or feel right?
norseman
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 3,160
- Location
- Essex - UK
Being electrical this is not of course the same thing but, looking at the pictures of your sump, indicative of poor workmanship from someone that I assume was a professional. My RRC was fitted with a OE sun-roof during the car's time with it's previous two owners, a task I would have thought requiring a specialist? Having owned the car for nearly eight years, a few days ago I had the need to remove the driver's side kick panel & found that the live feed wire for the sun-roof had been taken around the OUTSIDE of the loom grommet instead of through it, resulting in the grommet itself not fitting into the hole & the loom unprotected
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Glad to hear it. You certainly couldn't have ran it without first checking. I don't use sump gaskets and my current one doesn't leak. First time for everything
New oil and filter in this morning and startup; ran for five minutes only, all seems fine apart from the known slight leak from what I learned on the forum earlier was the oil pressure switch which I slipped a `fine` adjustable to to nip up half a turn. Then retightened a touch the sump bolts.
You`ve gotta love these engines.
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Reason I didn`t go for a sump gasket apart from the delay in getting one was the shape of them & those that were available which in my opinion weren`t quite right. And then besides, the RTV 650 Sealer over all seemed a better option, its not a high pressure space TMU, and sealants have improved immesurably since my `94 fell off the production line. We`ll see on the first run this Weekend.
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Thinking about it I concur, `The Sump` was likely a dirty depository for bits on the rebuild, and remained so up to the point of the rebuild. Can`t imagine ANYONE dropping a big end nut thru from the top ... and not worrying about it enough to investigate otherwise; unless mechanic was a V8 Sado of course..
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Yep, peace of mind when an old man is everything (well... you know). Yes had to do `a photo` of me crawling out from the Big Void Underneath.. don`t we just love it. I did a couple including me with glasses at odd angle a la Captain Mainwearing in awkward situation LOL, but out of focus so.. afraid you had to have laugh with me looking `relatively normal` for a Landy owner?!
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Being electrical this is not of course the same thing but, looking at the pictures of your sump, indicative of poor workmanship from someone that I assume was a professional. My RRC was fitted with a OE sun-roof during the car's time with it's previous two owners, a task I would have thought requiring a specialist? Having owned the car for nearly eight years, a few days ago I had the need to remove the driver's side kick panel & found that the live feed wire for the sun-roof had been taken around the OUTSIDE of the loom grommet instead of through it, resulting in the grommet itself not fitting into the hole & the loom unprotected
Sorry to hear about your sunroof wiring. I wouldn`t ever `assume`, not that you are or did, that olde Landieos have had `professionals` working on them. Besides, `professionals` aren`t all they`re cracked up to be anyway, I mean look at Govt ?! LOL!
Ipcress
Member
- Posts
- 75
- Location
- South West London
Whilst fitting the new oil filter I pondered on the little oil leak from `just above`. Was it The Lord telling me something, I asked myself? Was he annointing me personally for goodness knows what? No, after looking on our Good Forum it appeared to be a leak from the oil pressure switch. No spanners to fit that (23 to 25 mm perhaps) so the slimline adjustable appeared and slotted in nicely. It was almost hand loose?! Half a turn and we`ll see tomorrow if its cured.
