Oil Sump and Seals
I mentioned a few things about oil in my Spin-on adapter post. Here’s the rest of that little job.
After I drained the old oil from the car I also removed the sump so that I could install a new gasket. Here’s the bottom end of the engine with the sump removed (sorry for the blurriness, this wasn’t an easy angle):
Upon examining the inside of the sump, I was pleased to find nothing but dirty oil and sludge. There were no noticable metal shavings, and even better, no thrust washers or set screws (problems I have heard are not uncommon).
Here’s the sump removed and laregly wiped down:
After cleaning as much tar out of the bottom of the sump as possible, i left the inside of it alone. It was just going to be filled with oil again, so there was no point in degreasing it entirely. I decided that I might as well paint the outside while it was off the car though. I took a cup brush to it to remove as much grease, dirt, rust, and old paint as possible, then washed it down with degreaser and let it dry.
I plugged up the drain hole and masked off the bottom to keep paint from getting inside the sump or in the area where the new gasket would sit.
Finally, I hit it with a couple coats of black engine paint rated for 500°F. I wanted to use a primer, but the store didn’t sell high temp primer. It still looks like I got good adhesion though.
I wiped down the underside of the engine, put on a new gasket, and bolted the sump back on to a torque of about 18 ft-lbs.
Those are fingerprints from installing it in that last shot, not smudged paint. It looks great now and will make it much easier to tell if I’m leaking oil (none yet!).
I also cleaned up the valve cover and replaced its seal, cap, and mounting hardware (except the threaded rods). I had an extra bit of fuel line that was painted red, so I stuck that on too. Here’s the cleaner and more colorful engine:
I put 5 quarts of Valvoline VR1 20W50 racing oil in it, but after a short period of running the engine it looks like I’m still a bit low on the dipstick. It’s not leaking, so I guess the aftermarket filter adds a bit of capacity.