Sump Clearence

[Davidbolam]

I am at the stage whe I am going to install my engine and fabricate the engine mounts. I am using a 1.6 MX5 engine and want to keep this as low as possible without having to modify the sump.

My question is what how far under the lower chassis rails should the sump sit?

If I do go down the route of modifying the sump. How much is safe to remove before there won't be enough oil in the engine?

[brainbug007]

Personally I wouldn't have the sump below the bottom rails at all as there's too much risk of catching it something while driving.

[skov]

I've gone for 40mm below the chassis rails, as per Spud's advice.
I am terrified about grinding the sump off, but if you position the engine any higher you'll struggle to get it under the bonnet!

I don't know if he's tried it or not yet, but Johno has done a load of research on chopping the MX5 sump and was planning to give it a go.

[Davidbolam]

cheers. I wonder if he fancies welding mine! I don't

[stew]

i was gonna go for 40mm as well, but will be chopping my ali sump. or thats the plan anyway!

[alga]

According to this thread on pistonheads, on some Caterhams and Westfields the sump is hanging ~6 cm below the chassis. So I guess the book recommended 25 mm for the Ford engine/box or 40 mm for MX-5 components are not too bad, really.