Oil Change K dry sump

[Born2Run]

Ok having read many of the threads related to removal of oil from dry sump cars I was a little surprised to find a conventional sump drain plug in mine. I have a K series, dry sump, gold pump set up SLR with sump drain plug fitted, even though manual says it does not. I have drained the oil through the sump plug but only around 2 litres came out. Manual indicates there should be around 4.5 litres. I find it hard to believe that the engine top end, filter and associated dry sump pump pipework holds around 2.5 litres - I could go with 1 litre perhaps. I am fairly sure the correct amount is in the system as I have regularly checked the level in the bell housing tower and generally a little oil is pumped out into the bulkhead catch tank on a long run - so I assume I am overfilling it slightly. Therefore I am after a confidence check before I fill it up again chaps.

 

Q1 - Can someone with similar set up confirm the amount that has come out is about normal please.

 

Q2 - If this is correct is it possible to get the rest out by means of simply turning the dry sump pump or do you just live with it on the basis the oils is probably over changed given limited millage.

 

I must admit I was a bit reluctant to mix oil when only 50% comes out but if that is how it is, then so be it.

[Nick Green]

The sump pan drain plug came in when the gold pump did, as the fitting of the scavenge pipe at the bottom is somewhat more involved than with the earlier scavenge pump.

 

Sounds like you need to drain the bell housing tank ? You don't explicitly say you have done that. Blue plate on the bottom ?

 

Edited by - Nick Green on 17 Oct 2013 09:46:15

 

Edited by - Nick Green on 17 Oct 2013 09:46:40

[Born2Run]

Thanks Nick, Not sure which bottom plate you describe as blue but the sump pan is silver as is the bottom of the bell housing tank. No blue in sight. However I did find the allen key bolt on the right hand side of the bell house tank that looks very mush like a drain. That should make a nice mess. I am not sure how much is in there but could account for another half litre at a guess. Will try that later. First 7 I have owned so I am still learning my way around. Cheers Ian

[Shaun_E]

Normally the bell housing has a plate on the bottom of it secured by 4 allen keys - you remove this plate to empty the tank - be warned its often messy so you need a large vessel to catch the oil in. The plate is normally anodised blue hence the "blue plate" reference.

[Nick Green]

Maybe the blue plate on the bottom was replaced by a drain plug on the bottom at the side... That would have been a sensible move as the plate method is/was very messy. A plug can't be any worse than the plate!

 

Is there oil in the tank still ? If there is, it should account for your missing oil. That quantity of oil can't be anywhere else in the system (if there is no evidence of escape).

 

When refilling, most of the oil goes in the bellhousing tank, but 4l will practically fill it up. I stick a litre in through the engine cam cover filler, to put more in in one go, but on cranking the engine that oil (in the sump) will just get sucked out into the bellhousing tank. The main filling point is the bellhousing tank.

 

Edited by - Nick Green on 17 Oct 2013 11:21:12

[Born2Run]

There is oil in the bell housing tank and quite a lot that would make up another litre based on depth. Mine has a 6 bolt flange joint between the tower and bell housing casting. Rectangular approx 150mm long (almost the depth of the bell housing and about 70mm wide. What I thought was a drain is not as it is to high, so the only way the oil is coming is out is via suction method. I had not appreciated it held so much oil. Thank you chaps, I now know what I need to do for a 90% oil change.

[Nick Green]

If there really is no plate on the bottom of the bell tank, try removing the hose joint at the bottom on the right hand side.

[Richard Price]

Born2Run,

the "blue plate" refered to above is almost flush with the BOTTOM of the sump and bell housing, accessed from underneath the car.

[Born2Run]

Thanks Richard. Located the blue plate now. Did not realise the tank went all the way to the underside. That definitely explains where the missing oil is. I had been looking at the top joints for a blue plate. Nick you can ignore the mail I just sent to you unless you want pics of oily parts

 

'It was to obvious for my advanced brain gov'

 

Time to get oily.

[Nick Green]

Glad we got there in the end! Everyone's got to start somewhere.

 

I'll check out the pics at my leisure...

 

 

[oldbutnotslow]

Having to remove the 'blue plate' every time that you want to drain the bell housing tank is a very poor design. The hex head alan set screws that hold it in place are very small and are going directly into tappings in the alloy bell housing. It is very common for the fasteners to be over tightened which in turn become stuck fast.

 

It is therefore VERY easy to round off the hex head when you come to take them out. Get every scrap of muck out of the heads before you start inserting a hex key. I’ve found a number that have been stripped previously and that were now held in place by the sealant that is necessary to stop the plate from leaking! If you strip one don’t worry overly as all you will need to do is fit helicoil inserts.

 

Every dry sumped K that I look after and that has the CC bell housing tank has been modified to include a drain plug, thus overcoming the need to remove the plate constantly.

 

Not quite got the hang of inserting the picture directly on to this post

There is one for a Vauxhall that is about 4mm thick and that is tightened using a torx bit

 

The boss on the plate shown here goes inside the bell housing with the drain plug fitted from the other side. There is a 4mm drilling into the tapping to allow the last bit to flow away.

 

A much better solution IMHO.

 

 

Edited by - oldbutnotslow on 18 Oct 2013 18:20:43