This years summer solstice was not spent outdoors cycling or walking or even a drive in the Jeep after I got home from work, but under the Jeep as I needed to do a job I have been putting off, and that is replacing the sump gasket on the engine, I have had the gasket and new oil filter sitting a while now and I was waiting for the service time coming around, now with 87,000 Km on the clock it was ideal to combine both and start with fresh oil so with the Jeep up on axle stands with the wheels about 6 inches of the garage floor to allow more room I dropped the oil out the engine having ran the motor to warm it up for a good 5 minutes, in that time you can see how much oil had dripped onto the floor, so it was needing fixed...
While I waited for the engine to drain I got everything ready, the more that drains into the bucket the less will drain onto the floor once the sump is removed...
The sump drain bolt copper washer looked ok condition to reuse so it got a clean ready to apply a smear of Permatex to ensure it stays tight when refitted...
Back in the engine bay I loosened and removed the oil filter letting it empty into the filter bowl before holding a rag under it to stop it dripping everywhere...
The remaining oil in the filter bowl I syringed out then wiped the bowl clean...
And removed the rubber washer of the top cap of the bowl, the new one was fitted after coating it in oil...
I knew it would be ok but quickly checked the new Baldwin filter was the same as the removed filter and it was....
I then loosened the bolts around the sump pan while the oil was as good as drained to get things ready...
I removed the bolts and with the old gasket and sealer holding the sump on slid an old ammo box under neath to reduce the height I had to lower the sump, after an easy pull released its grip on the old sealer...
With the sump off you can see the crank shaft etc and I would need to remove the old gasket and sealer from both surfaces, this proved easy enough with a paint scraper, then some wire wool...
Outside in the sunlight you can see the oil sludge built up over the years, I have read this is common on old Jeep engines and your best removing the sump and checking for this. Some petrol soon had it washed out using an old paintbrush and it was soon clean and ready...
Numbers on the sump pan... H probably for Hotchkiss... not sure the motif on the right?...
And the Willys number...
Like the transfer case I prepared a leak on, this too is far from a flat and level surface!...
This High Temperature Silicone I got from an engineer friend would again prove ideal to use, but this time I was going to do a neater job than I had previously done on the transfer case as I was going to seal the gasket on one side until dry before refitting, this and use a technique I read on a Jeep forum page doing an online recce...
Once I put a thin line of silicone around the sump I used a dry clean paintbrush and dabbed the silicone to level it across the joining face...
Then offered up and gently pushed on the gasket...
Using some bolts I inserted them just to keep the gasket in place while the silicone started to set...
Returning to the Jeep I cleaned off the remaining gasket and sealer on the engine block and wiped it clean and dry ready for refitting, after a half hour the silicone was starting to set so I removed the bolts sitting in the gasket and turned the sump over onto a slab warmed with the evening sun and let it sit another half hour...
The bolts were in the order removed on the floor under the jeep and they were also wiped clean and then some Loctite was added - 2 drops on top of the bolt is enough...
A cup of tea later it was time to refit the sump, lifting it off the ammo box I used again made it easier and I soon had two bolts in opposite ends and added the rest in the order that came out so all in the same threads again, I tightened them across from each other until all were hand tight on a short ratchet then gave them one small nick each, like you do with a spark plug...
I left the Jeep until after work the next day to allow the silicone to fully set, then added some fresh oil to the oil filter bowl to about 1 third full, then fitting the new oil filter topped up the bowl then added the top cap tightening the bolt - I read it does not need to be crazy tight, spark plug tight -ie hand tight and a nick is enough - same as I did last night with the sump bolts...
Time to top up the engine then running it a few minutes until the temperature was up and oil pressure was ok etc, and no leaks!...
A couple short drives up the street and parking up there was no leaks from the sump -result!, after a long evening run to NB I would the next day re check the sump pan bolts but not over tighten them, they should be solid with Loctite on the threads...
We drove to pick up Friends Phil and Anne at the camper park and driving down to NB enjoyed fish and chips in the warm evening sunshine at the west beach, then along at the east beach we had an ice cream,
An evening late but happy summer solstice!...
More soon...
