Zetec alloy sump

[Bonzo]

This morning I have managed to complete the sump alteration .... Assuming I don't change my mind & extend the rear end of it !!

Here's a few more pictures.

This was after the initial first cuts, I know it would of looked neater if I followed the shape of the sump plug but just decided to keep it simple !!



The next one shows the part saved for the sump base & the section of material that was removed.



This one is an example of the completed weld seam .... Was not aiming for pretty, just a functional leak free join.



All in all, not such a bad job to do .... No real dramatic moments .... Well besides blowing a massive hole in one side of it !!??
Got a bit excited with the heat, if you know what I mean

[Davey]

Nice job Ronnie, I might have to do something similar with the ally sump off the V6 but as I don't have TIG I'll have to learn to do it with oxy acetylene, should be fun . I could always take it to my mate to do but where's the challenge in that?

D.

[Bonzo]

Thanks Davy

One tip when dealing with a casting of this age .... Get it as clean as possible

The outside of the casting will have a good layer of oxide & years of corrosion.
The inside would have been better protected but will still have a layer of oxide & oil contamination to the surface.

The best solution would be to have it grit blasted first.
In the case of my sump .... Just could not be assed to drag my grit blaster from its home ( The pit ), then drag the large compressor out + I only have sand here, that would of meant dragging out the air fed face mask & small compressor .... Blasting with sand is not the most healthy of things to do

I just made do with flap disks & sanding wheels in the dremmel .... Done the job reasonably well but it did cause the tig a few problems in the odd place or two.
Nothing a little patience didn't cure though

[Bonzo]

With the kind help of some fellow forum members

It transpires that I have lost 3/4 Litre of oil capacity during the sump chop.

Given that the original capacity is listed at 4.25 Litres & the difference between Max / Min on the dipstick is aproximately 1 Litre .... In theory the engine will be running with aproximately 1/4 Litre more than if I were running the engine on a standard sump at it's minimum level.

Going to be fitting an oil cooler in any event .... I have several here & would be daft not to make use of one, I guess that'll hold another 1/4 Litre or so.

I have no problem with extending the sump but now it's nice & oil tight, I don't realy want to introduce another area with the potential to leak at some later date.
The sump flange is still perfectly flat, it would be a real pitty to risk distorting it by extending the sump.

I was interested to note that the CVH engine only holds 3.5 litres of oil .... I understood that the CVH engine runs hotter than the Zetec engine !!??

What are your views folks ?

[HandyAndy]

Ronnie, ....

nice work there

now i am no expert on engines etc but i,ve heard its not always a good thing to run a zetec with an oil cooler, even tho i see your point of increasing the oil capacity.
maybe i,m barking up the wrong tree here but i,ve heard that zetecs prefer to have hottish oil rather than cold thickish oil?

cheers
andy

[onedayTM]

hi ronnie, nice work there, out of interest I seem to remember reading some years ago an article about the zetec engine and it stated the one of the problems with this engine is sticking hydraulic tappets and you need to use the lighter weight of oil 5w.
anyway, great job.
tony

[Bonzo]

I believe you may well be right there Tony .... Early Zetec engines & sticky lifters does ring a bell

I'll be sure to do a little research before I fill her up with oil

Hopefully my clutch will arrive tomorrow & I will be able to bolt the engine n box back together.

My chassis can then have a coming out party