After disconnecting all the lines, having looked at it briefly in the garage...it's not that obvious how i'm going to extract it out of the car as it's wedged between the chassis frame above and below.
any tips?
looking at the diagram of how it's mounted, it looks like i do have to just use some force and lever it out?
(also any tips on how you guys would best flush out the tank to clean it from any potential swarf/metal shavings would be handy)
After disconnecting all the lines, having looked at it briefly in the garage...it's not that obvious how i'm going to extract it out of the car as it's wedged between the chassis frame above and below.
On my car, the oil coolers are mounted to an aluminum sheet bracket, which is secured to the side pod with M6 screws and three peel rivets up front. I think the best strategy after draining fluids and removing hoses is to remove the entire side pod so you can get access to all of the M6 bolts that mount the oil coolers to the metal bracket. I am replacing a side pod so I am also removing the bracket, but I would leave the bracket in place if I were just removing the coolers.
I'll give this another shot.
I have not taken the dry sump tank out, but it looks like it will drop out of the bottom of the chassis with plenty of clearance, however that means you must lift and support your chassis about 2 feet high. Alternatively, wait until you need to remove the engine, and then I think there will be plenty of space to pull it from the top.
I would not remove the oil tank unless you dropped something into it or the engine failed and there is metal everywhere. Changing the oil and filter should be all that is necessary.
@davidf thanks David, yeh i'm trying to avoid taking out the tank as much as possible.
basically (and i posted this on the facebook group), a routine oil change has turned into a bit of a nightmare because i unscrewed a sump plug on the oil tank. Whoever had tightened it previously had overdone it, so out came a load of swarf coiled around the thread. I didn't realise until i screwed it back on and found it was just turning round...
Inspecting it revealed about half the thread damaged, and the other half still good. The suggested solution by numerous folk was to simply get a longer bolt to reach the good thread.
I then went on a 2 day journey trying to figure out what bolt it was. It appears to be a BSP standard, BSPT to be precise, and these types of fixtures are not readily available, and certainly not at the length i needed, ~15mm.
Also took me further googling to realise that the thread dimension for BSP doesn't actually correspond to it's actual diameter in mm.....the diameter of the original plug at it's smallest point (due to the taper) is around 3/8", but you have to subtract a 1/4 for the correct thread! So i actually need a 1/8" BSP. Luckily i found this:
it's coming tomorrow, and hopefully i can screw it in and all will be well in the world.
If not, i've got a helicoil kit to tap in a new thread. The reason why i wanted to take the tank out (a suggestion from the group) was because if neither of the above solutions work then i can take the tank to a few local welders who are happy to weld over the hole for cheap.
Lessons learnt: Don't unscrew anything you don't need to as it could lead to more problems 😪
As for the tank removal itself, there's apparently an M6 bolt at the top sat underneath the breather hose which needs to be removed, then it can be pushed up from underneath to clear the 2 mounting rubber grommet things and then slide out from underneath. I hope it doesn't come to this.
That is unfortunate. I looked at my car a little closer with the side pod off; it looks like a tricky task. You will need to lift the car sufficiently so that the tank can be brought down through the chassis. There is a socket head cap screw behind the side pod at top that holds it in place, and two posts on shock mounts on the bottom:
At the very top is a breather tube that may give you fits trying to remove the hose clamp:
And then replacing that breather hose and clamp later?
There is a sensor which is stuck onto the side of the tank, concealed by the side pod. It looks like you can cut the zip ties which secures the wire harness for this sensor, and unclip it.
I would seek an alternative to removing the tank if possible. For example, flush the tank (with oil?) without removing it if that will get the job done.
well i solved the mystery in the end, and didn't need to take out the tank. (but yes my tank is in place exactly as you've described above, thanks for those pics)
The plug itself is a 27TPI NPT 1/8" which i was able to verify with a gauge + comprehensive charts i found here which matches what i'd been measuring (very useful pdf) https://d2t1xqejof9utc.cloudfront.net/files/136605/Thread%20Data%20Chart.pdf?1528751554
Prior to knowing this.....(as my gauge arrived later today), the closest match i could find was a 1/8" BSP, for which there were 'banjo bolts' available that i could source quickly.
It still didn't screw in properly, so i used the equivalent tap, covered it in multi-purpose grease to pick up any metal shavings along the way, and carefully tapped all the way through, checking as i went how the banjo screwed in. Eventually it tapped through and the bolt screwed right in without having to force it.
I wouldn't have been able to source an equivalent 'Banjo' 1/8" TPT anyway.....not stocked in UK at all.
i've applied some thread locker, torqued it to 15NM with a new sealing washer, and job done. I'm never touching that bolt again.
If i ever need to remove the tank, it looks pretty straightforward tbh... i have the rollbar cover rivnutted in place, so once removed its easy to access all 3 pipes that connect at the top of the tank and remove. Then as you saw removing that nut holding it in place at the top mount, and i'm sure pushing up from the bottom to unmount it from the bottom mounds first, then slide and down...and it should slide out if the car can be placed high enough.
