'87 325i small crack in sump pan.

[mcbonio]

Hey fellas,
Have a small crack in the sump pan of my M20, about 6mm long, oil is seeping out and dropping on floor at a pace of 3 drops on hour tops.

Looks like the previous owner has scraped it as the edge is all scuffed.

Whats the best fix for this as replacing the oil pan is a pain in the arse.! Anyone know of a quality fix for it?

[jimbob29]

I kept cracking mine so used liquid metal from halfords to repair it and no matter how many times I repaired the crack it still leaked in the end.i bought a new one and it was really easy to remove just 12 or so little bolts.

[mcbonio]

Didn't you have to drop some suspension and steering components to get it out? I'm almost certain it wont just come out without getting other bits out of the way.

Can anyone verify?

[e30topless]

your sump is fooked, replace it with one that isn't ?

[Grrrmachine]

There's a method in the Wiki for replacing the sump:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/M20#Sump

[E30S]

I had a new one and the garage dropped the front subframe - they had lots of fun with one of the bolts which broke and ended up drilling out and tap n die a new one in.....

Sump from BMW was around £200+ incl the VAT - other labour and machining around £200 so £400 odd lighter in the pocket!

I think there is a way to jack the engine a little to just get the pan off but I'm kinda glad the work was done as the bolts should be good for a while now (common E30 fault fixed at least)

[jimbob29]

if its just the pan thats cracked thats the only thing that needs to come off.the only thing that got in my way was the plastic guard under the bumper that was slightly in the way of the front pan bolts but managed to squeeze a thin extension behind the plastic guard.this was on a 316i by the way but i think the only difference between the 2 sump pans is that the m20s are a bit bigger.the only way to stop it leaking is to get a new one or a good second hand one.i purchased a brand new one of ebay with gasket for 80 pounds.

[mcbonio]

Looks like I either have to drop the subframe or raise the engine to get it out. What a ball ache. Good job the cold weather has passed.!

I think i'll take it out and have a buddy of mine TIG weld it as it's aluminium I believe.

I may get him to fabricate and weld on an integral sump guard to the actual sump pan, using some large aluminium L bar, making the sump edge thicker.

[aimlessrock]

when doing the engine strip down on my M20 cabby i had to remove the sump as it was also cracked.

I ended up having to remove a cover (bolted on) and a good dozen 10mm bolts, i then undid the bolts on the mounts and with an engine crame lifted the engine a couple of inches (watch your brake lines on the bulk head when tipping the engine).

Soon as i lifted the engine the sump slid out nice and easy, refiting was the reverse.

[kilrone]

the welding is a good fix but do yourself a favour and get a genuine sump guard making the pan stronger will not help prevent breakage if you hit something

[kam-325i]

I may get him to fabricate and weld on an integral sump guard to the actual sump pan, using some large aluminium L bar, making the sump edge thicker.

DONT........

this will still transfer the energy of the collision to the sump....

A sump guard needs to be fixed to somthing other than the sump itself....

[mcbonio]

Yeah I already thought of this after writing it, The sump pan is probably designed to receive impact, the energy may transfer to the engine itself, breaking off nut or even worse cracking the engine.

I had a moment of madness!