Who says there is nothing in this life for free? I thought I had found something close to it today.........But,
A major high street tyre specialist are offering oil and filter change for £10 with Duckhams oil or £15 with semi synthetic. Any car up to 2:3L. My 10 year old Volvo 360 (two litre B200K non injection) fitted the bill. The outlet in Warrington were very obliging, ordering in a filter as they didn't have one in stock and today I went along for the job. Alas the technician was unable to release the sump nut stating it had seized solid. He broke a spanner trying to free it, and wouldn't go "all out" with a hammer incase he damaged the sump thereby causing extra expense. So my "for nothing " oil change never materialised.
What should I do now though about the seized nut. The tech' said it was alloy and wouldn't respond to a little loosening from the blow torch. I'm not adverse to having a crawl under the beast to have a look but am concerned about causing serious damage when I weild my sledge hammer.
Any suggestions?..............Oh and before you advise scrapping the car which I would love to do, It alas has proved to be a far too reliable and faithful workhorse..........
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Try
a) using a single hex socket so you don't round the corners off (old style wheelbraces with the four sizes in a cross can be like this)
with
b) holding the socket in place with a scissor jack against suspension/whatever
with
c) 2-3 feet of scaffolding pole as a lever extension
This worked on an old Skoda. Alloy sumps and steel plugs can be a nightmare.
Best of luck.
Rob
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Stu,
These sump plugs need a special tool don't they?
If so is it not so much that it is stuck too tight but that the plug is too damaged to apply a decent torque.
The last one I had here suffered damage because mole grips and chisels had been used in the past ant there was almost nothing to grip for removal.
Treated it to a new plug after I got the old one out.
David
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I've had to resort to finding a nut large enough to fit over the hex of the plug and welding it on at a couple of spots around the inside dia. This usually works. The heat from welding does some good. And then you have a much bigger hex, in good nick to use.
Don't forget to buy a new sump plug before starting!
Good luck,
Peter.
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I tried to remove such a nut on a Ford and cracked the brazing/welding around the sump plug housing. New sump needed. Be careful
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I once had this problem with a very thin Honda sump. I found a nut with the thread to match the plug and brazed this nut to the sump to replace the original housing.
Better than new, done in half an hour, and at no cost.
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Suck it out through the dipstick (oil not the nut !) see previous threads months ago :-)
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Stu,
Firstly the contingency plan - you need a fallback before employing some beef on the end of an extension bar.
I am not familiar with how your sump is constructed, but if its cast and aluminium, the thread may "pick up" and you need to think about about a repair option, ie a local engineering workshop and a new "Helicoil" thread, removing the sump and keeping things clean.
A second hand sump is a neat just in case option.
If the sump is steel the threaded portion could well be a fabricated insert, so welded seams may be a sensitivity here.
My plan of action would be first to "cover" the likely failure options in your minds eye and then tackle it. For safety, make sure you have the car on axle stands. Remember if the loads are large something else on the structure may fail. Would be interested in any feedback as to how you got on!
Regards,
Julian.
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Try turning to tighten the plug this often breaks a sized bolt loose , you are only trying to get a slight movment, failing this carfully tap the plug with out causing damage but with as high a frequency as possible , this again is a trick ive used often at work . but you must use the correct spanner ,once you round the plug off it will only get harder.
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I've always found that with difficult to free components simply using leverage and then extra leverage is likely to cause damage.
For example an immersion heater in a copper cylinder which is quite fragile, the safest way is to fit the spanner and exert leverage on to it. Then using a lump hammer give it a sharp clout. This gives a very high impact and shock to the threads. This is the safest way to avoid damage but the spanner has to be a good fit and all slack taken up before striking. And the tool must have no flex in it or the effect is lost. After two ot three whacks Stu If it dosn't move I would be very wary and perhaps take it to a workshop where they would have the tools and experience.
Alvin
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When all else fails, Roll up your sleeves cos it gets messy, drill a correct size hole into the MIDDLE of the sump plug, and use the biggest (broken) stud extractor that you canfit.
At least you then have no oil left in the sump.
If the plug then still refuses to move you can either redrill and tap in a decent Hex headed bolt or, if you are confident the hole is central, keep drilling out until you can retap to fix a new sump plug. (Or just leave the stud extractor in and sell the car...
Funnily enough I had this problem on a Volvo 240 I think. Make sure that you use the correct sealing washers crushable copper if required.
In the distant past I remember that Araldite did an effective job on an alloy sump cracked on rocks on a welsh unmade road and then repaired in a field. I think we made it go off quickly with a little help from a blow lamp.
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Blimey, you don't take any prisoners do you?
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Always think laterally and be inventive. I've seen a mini sump (cast aluminium) with a tapered wooden plug hammered into the drain hole. It didn't leak and was a pig to get out. Used a bit of wellseal and hammered it back in again.
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For a long time I have re-used copper washers instead of buying new ones. The important point is to wrap them in PTFE plumber's tape (40p a roll) which not only seals well but means easy removal next time.
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The copper washers can be heated to cherry red then cooled n water to restore sealing properties. My Pug 405 is running the same washer since 1994. If in doubt, add a small amont of silicone RTV "instant gasket" to the threads.
rg bhaji
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I always change the oil on the motorbike halfway between services, always re-use the sump washer and never leaked a drop.
However, these washers are flat steel, not copper, and I always make sure everything is scrupulously clean so no grit gets between the washer and the sump.
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Peter's story brought back memories. On holiday years ago, I punched a large hole straight through the steel sump of my old Alfasud on a rock. I was in the wilds of Northumberland, and there wasn't a breaker within 100 miles who had a sump to sell me. Almost at the end of the holiday, I was sitting with a can of beer in my hand, wondering whether to torch the car and claim on the insurance, when I had a brilliant idea. I finished the beer, cut a square of aluminium from the empty can, and glued it onto the sump with Araldite. This temporary bodge outlasted the rest of the car (the floor fell out six months later).
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I have to reply. Mine was a 918cc SV low headlamp Morris Minor MM and if I remember correctly we actually built ramps out Welsh Slate and Rocks to make life a little easier. Like your reply the repair outlasted the car. If only I had the car now comlete with NUG37 regn. It must have been a very early car because it had a single windscreen wiper and ns headlamp only when dipped.
I could even find the field to this day, because we camped there and after a few beers one night one of our number went outside to do the decent thing! The ensuing scream engraved on all our memories that salt laden urine conducts electricity - there was anadjacent electric fence to keep out the sheep!(or was it to keep out the welsh?).
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when I went to school & did metalwork (resistant materials nowadays!) you had to let copper cool naturaly to anneal it?
and as for alwyn's new sump because the brazed insert twisted out, whats wrong with brazeing it back in, or cleaning it up & welding it in if its steel? I give up, what ever happened to the old ways? give me bakers fluid & a stick of tinmans solder, a leaking brass rad, gas torch & soldering iron any day!!
must go, medicine trolleys coming................
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