Sumps Leaking Again. Aghhhh. What Can I do ?

C J R · May 25, 2008, 05:17:50 PM

As some will have seen from my previous threads, I had an oil leak from the sump around the engine mounting bracket under the turbo.

Sump dropped, cleaned etc and new Loctitle 5920 high temp RTV silicone gasket goo used and applied around the engine mounting bolt holes as recommended on this forum. Re assembled, new oil etc all was well for a couple of short local runs.

Just been to York Dragway for a few runs down the strip, returned home and oil leak again from same place !!!

What else can I do to stop this leak ? I know I have to drop the sub frame again and drop the sump etc. but I do not want to waste my time again.

What do you recommend ? I thought about a cast aluminium sump but I guess this will raise the engine by the thickness of the mounting flange and I already suffer from the GReddy inlet elbow rubbing on the strut brace.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Chris

SmbFD3S · May 25, 2008, 06:14:18 PM

Thats a bit of a bugger mate, after all that work !!!

Having not done it i dont know what to recommend to be honest, did you put enough sealant on? tighten the bolts up too much?

It\'s a shame there isn\'t a nice thick cork gasket out there for the FD (that i know of) cos i used to use this on other cars and cos it\'s cork it flexes with the engine better but still seals....

Ed_RX7 · May 25, 2008, 06:33:35 PM

One of these would solve your problem easily....getting mine fitted in a week or so.

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44124

C J R · May 25, 2008, 07:18:49 PM

Hi Ed,
Thanks for the thread. Did yours come from Gotham Racing ? How thick is the brace ?
Thanks
Chris

C J R · May 25, 2008, 07:23:07 PM

Smb,
Yes I did put plenty of sealant on. The M6 bolts are okay but you get the feeling that a little too much torque will strip the threads in the block.

I agree a cork gasket would be ideal. Not sure whether to approach a gasket manufacturer for some 5mm thick gasket material and cut one out myself.

Chris

DRAGON · May 25, 2008, 07:24:17 PM

Not necessarily. We found leaks with the oring style, and had to modify to solve it.

C J R · May 25, 2008, 07:25:53 PM

Dragon,
How did you modify ?

Thanks
Chris

shaunwil · May 25, 2008, 07:28:20 PM

I used bog standard orange gasket goo on the 1st gen sump. Torqued the sump using the workshop manual following the diagram. Hasn\'t leaked from there at all.

Did you scrape all the surfaces clean of old goo ?

Shame nobody makes a copper gasket for it.

Although how much power are you making through the engine ?

Shaun

C J R · May 25, 2008, 07:36:26 PM

Hi Shaun,
I\'m not an expert, but have worked on cars for years, so yes like you I torqued up the sump bolts in a sequence to ensure an even spread of load on the sump sealing flange.

I was running the car on the 450bhp map at 0.9 bar today as I wanted to get a better understanding of the cars characteristics before using the 540bhp map settings.

I suppose the good news from today was out of my four runs, I had good launches off the line with no wheel sping or clutch slip. Main problem was two high rev launches which lightened the front end and it felt like the car was getting away from me, but in true fasion I kept my foot in and grabbed second gear.

Chris

shaunwil · May 25, 2008, 07:55:57 PM

Don\'t worry I\'m not either :Giggle Sometimes its the simplest thing that causes the most headache. Usually the most complex stuff slaps us in the face !

That sounds like some really nice bhp. Is the block stock on the dowls ?

What kind of times where you running today ?? Sounds like a lot of fun

Shaun

shaunwil · May 25, 2008, 08:02:01 PM

Just a quicky thought. If the leak has been caused by a twist of the engine then would it naturally settle back to a flat position against the sump ? If its twisted you may have created a gap that won\'t seat properly regardless. Surely you would need to loosen off the main block bolts then bolt up the sump and then re-tighten the main bolts back up. If that is possible

Where\'s the pro\'s when you need them :Giggle

Shaun

Ed_RX7 · May 25, 2008, 08:19:33 PM

Quote from: C J R;502215Hi Ed,
Thanks for the thread. Did yours come from Gotham Racing ? How thick is the brace ?
Thanks
Chris

Nah mate, not from Gotham..... oh and its 4.5 mm thick.

chris · May 26, 2008, 11:10:13 AM

I have fitted 100\'s of fd sumps, through trial and error, the only sealant that does the trick is the mazda sealant, it is about Â£12.00 A tube and sticks like \'shiy to a blanket\' you also need to make sure that the sump is very very flat before you start, torque up the engine mounts (I think they are about 80NM) and do not fill with oil until the sealer has had a good 12 hrs to dry

shaunwil · May 26, 2008, 12:10:55 PM

Ah, I never even thought about the cure time. My engine was still on the stand and wasn\'t filled with oil for about a month !

Shaun

C J R · May 26, 2008, 06:44:30 PM

Chris,
Thanks for your reply. Just like you I thought about cure time of the Loctite sealant I used.
After refitting the sump and engine mounts I left the car until the following evening, then wrestled with the sub frame, left it for another evening, then re attach the suspension and steering rack bolts etc so didn\'t fill with oil until at least 48 hours later.

Interestingly the sump already had the grey mazda sealant applied, but that was leaking.

I have found the Dragon cast sump with an Oil seal incorporated which seems like a good idea as it should compensate for minor movement of the block/sump joint.

Has anyone any experience of the Dragon sump ?

Thanks
Chris