Seymour Bust Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Hello Chaps, Recently bought a Superlight. While driving on the road with "2 up" we "grounded" the sump. Its badly gouged and on advice of caterham it's been replaced. To avoid a repetition thinking of fitting a sump guard. Does anyone have any experience of their effectiveness/cost? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I wouldn't have replaced a sump unless it was seriously dimensionally distorted (risk of blocking the pickup) or was leaking from a crack. Even then cracks can be welded, so sumps can last a lot longer than you might think. The sump itself is a good quality casting which contains quite a lot of sacrificial material and expects to ground every now and again. It can't handle big impacts or encounters with catseyes though. If you run a sump guard, it is inevitably going to remove even more ground clearance, but will be less costly. Several people have fabricated sump guards. FWIW, I haven't had many problems since changing to 250lb/in front springs, but also I am very aware of avoiding the crown of a cambered road and I always watch out for crossing lines of cats eyes when making overtakes etc. It helps to have the throttle set to LOUD to get the nose to climb a bit and clear the catseyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prs Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I've just finished fabricating a sump guard for my 1.6SS. I used 3mm chequered alloy plate which overall has a thickness of 4mm with the pattern. It runs from the front rail where the nosecone meets the chassis and ends half way along the sump, I've bolted this to the chassis at the front and fabricated some brackets and attached the rear to the engine mounting bolts. This protects the vunerable area of the sump and also covers the oil filter and front pulley, alternator etc. OK so it weighs a bit although not excessive but I would rather have piece of mind. I lined the underside against the sump with thin rubber from an old mudflap so the overall thickness, ie height reduction is 7mm. The plate cost me £25 for a square metre and I had access to a metal folder and alloy welder TIG, after working out the shape using card the actual making took me about 2hours.........ish. Phil AV02NJO 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil.cavanagh Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 As I plan on taking my Caterham on bumpy scottish roads where my BMW 5series scraps its nose fairly regularly I would like to fit a sump guard. Does anyone know where I could buy one (for 1.8K SV) or do you have to DIY? I found a previous posting about some French kevlar versions but no conclusion seemed to be come to about availability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 you could raise the front ride height... HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevSull Too Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 To expand on Peters comment: Good practice however after a 'serious' grounding incident would be to remove the sump and check for any internal damage. I hit a cats eye when 2 up. On removal of the sump later I found that the ally inside had fractured (best description I can give for the damage) and there were some small fragments sitting in the bottom of the pan. 😬You laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at you because you're all the same. 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I'll know mine's gone when oil leaks out of it. Fitting a sump guard will only make the ground clearance more of an issue. If your sump guard rests against your sump pan you'll increase the risk of breaking an engine mount. Mine's taken a fair bit of abuse but I reckon it has now achieved a level of wear where it is 98% clear of the road. Worcs L7 club joint AO.//Membership No. 4379//Azure Blue SLR No. 0077//Se7ens List Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Rothwell Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Seymour - I've an S/L myself - How much do Caterham charge for the sump pan - may change mine over the winter ? Cheers, Dave. Who needs a Helmet - Get an Affro ! Clickhere to see Car and AFFRO ! Member 6790 Superlight 0075 - K7 LYT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 i think its 220 plus vat.... HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Blinkin flip.........220 sheets plus the "dreaded" *mad* I'd be getting it repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Edited by - Davesport on 15 Aug 2003 20:14:39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 hence we're all so keen to raise the ride height, ignore a few dents and weld up if it starts leaking... look on the bright side - at least you can reuise the gasket... HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Edited by - hoopy on 15 Aug 2003 20:32:18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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