What magical chemical fixes for small hole in aluminium sump

[warninglight]

Hi all!

 

This is definitely* a hypothetical question.

 

Say you take a punt on a non running Discovery 4.0 V8, so the Rover engine. It's a non runner because driving through a hedge has pulled the 12V feed off the starter solenoid. Easy repair, fire it up, and there's oil splashing out of the sump.

 

After a crawl about to find the cause (not even that obvious with a pool of oil on the ground!) you spot a tiny hole in the side of the sump, well above the oil level, too small to get your pinky finger through.

 

Given you've taken a punt on it, and until you've had it up to temperature, driven it round a bit etc. you don't know if it's a breaker, seller or keeper, so don't want to spend any money, how would you fix it?

[chaseracer]

Gaffer tape.

 

HTH.

[conkerman]

Epoxy putty.

 

You will probably need to remove the sump to do it properly.

 

Or if the hole is on a flat surface you may be able to glue a patch over with a some Epoxy. Cleaning the area may be the biggest challenge.

[Bren]

If you need to remove the sump you may as well buy a replacement - better than fouling your undercrackers waiting for the low oil light to come on.

 

Then again its a disco, so the low oil light probably is'nt working.

[hairnet]

Done this on a bike till I could buy another

 

Buy another - it will fail again using putty jb weld etc

[DSdriver]

I'd epoxy a patch of ali or gasket seal a patch with a blind pop rivet in each corner.

[Bear]

Carefully clean area as much as possible, then JB Weld, then shopping for a replacement sump once certain the head gaskets were behaving.

[Des]

Non chemical route, little toggle cavity wall fixing, big penny washer and some bicycle inner tube.

There's a dodgy guy in the Wishing Well pub most Fridays who'll sort you a chemical, doesn't fix anything but you won't care.

[Bear]

Actually if the hole is too small to get a pinky through, maybe a tapered short self-tapping screw (a chunky one, obviously) and some mastic.

[explosive-cabbage]

Shove the handle end of a toothbrush in it. I can confirm from experience that this works*

[beko1987]

You could spend £50 on a Nissan Almera and find out?

[jonny69]

Chemical Metal should do it. Clean it up with thinners to take all the grease off, scuff it up with emery paper, clean again, pog it on, wait ten minutes, fix fixed.

[DaveDorson]

No matter how much you clean it, you'll get nowhere with chemical metal..

 

I had a v6 audi with a sump pin hole in, and I kept trying and trying, but the seep through you get will always stop it bonding right,

 

So I used this method, that actually worked .

 

Clean it, thinnners and rags, get it as clean as you can then dab a blob of silicone glue on there, that'll stop the dribbles but it won't hold it.

Then take a penny or small disc, put a generous bead of araldite or silicone around the edge and bond it over the bleb of silicone that's temp plugging the hole, it should bond OK and go off to the clean area as it's not getting oil all over it.. once it's cured, then use chem metal around that to hold it all in place for a semi-perm repair.

If you do it that way, any leak through pools on the penny but that's now sealed in with your epoxy bond and should also keep that bond isolated from the oil.

 

Hope that helps. 

[tooSavvy]

^^^ ah! The automotive equivalent of 'no sink' umbrella* repair for navy warships.

 

*stopping seawater getting in, rather than oil out.

 

 

TS

[omegod]

Drill it a bit wider ,run a  tap through it gently and screw a fat bolt or spark plug in it. Mechanical fix  is infinitely better than chemical/snake oil

[dave21478]

Put a rubber glove on, pump a big dollop of tigerseal or sikaflex or something into your palm and smear it over the entire area.

 

This worked fine for whoever put a Mondeo I bought into the auction and it stayed like that till I scrapped it.

[M'coli]

If you've got blutac, clean the outside, apply blutac to hole, remove, whittle a piece of wood to taper to the size of the hole, hammer it in.

 

Or just do the same by eye, it'll do.

[sierraman]

I think in a situation such as this preparation of the surface is paramount to whether it will work. Not sure about tiger seal that could melt. Second for JB Weld.

 

I'm saying all this but a friend of my fathers superglued the oven door hinge on. I was Adam Ant that it would melt and fall off giving a load of fumes out in the process. Several months down the line it's still holding so...

[New POD]

How about finding someone with experience of aluminium welding.  I used to know a place in Redditch back in 1986. Bloody good they were. I was always taking aluminium heater plates off an automated battery box welding machine to them.

[Forty-two]

I was about to suggest a short bolt, but then thought, why does it have a pin hole? If its corrosion could drilling it out make a small problem bigger?

 

That small detail aside and the thoughts of using a penny and some sealant, could a bolt and some sealant combined be a winner?

[Parky]

Drill it a bit wider ,run a  tap through it gently and screw a fat bolt or spark plug in it. Mechanical fix  is infinitely better than chemical/snake oil

And if it is above the normal oil level, you would have created a handy "gearbox filler" solution for the times you can't be arsed to refill the oil from the top.

 

What about a plastic bag in the sump? Engine pressure will force it over the hole creating an impermeable barrier which in no way will wreak havoc with the bottom end

[Bear]

Only reason I didn't suggest tapping/bolt was swarf getting into the sump, but I guess the oil strainer would help avoid that.

[red5]

Vauxhall grey sealer* after thorough brake cleaner application. Let it go off overnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Just ask at parts counter for it.

[Parky]

Kevin the Peacocks magical shit?

 

(Sorry, in a silly mood tonight)

[twosmoke300]

If go with jb weld . Just get it well keyed up and spotlessly clean first . Brake cleaner is your friend here

[Lankytim]

Pour lots of Radweld in with the oil then run at full throttle for 20mjns.

[warninglight]

Thanks for all the advice (serious or not!)

 

I don't have any JB weld but I do have copious amounts of Loctite 'Super Clean', Oil proof silicone, araldite and chemical metal, and that suggestion from DaveDorson sounds like the most solid option.

 

I did consider screwing something in but there isn't the access to get a screwdriver or ratchet in. If the car is going to return to the road I'll take it off and have it TIG welded or find a good second hand sump pan. It's not corrosion that's caused it, it's been an impact of some sort, presumably when it skidded off the road and the starter solenoid wire in that area was pulled off its lucar connector.

[lesapandre]

I find LSD helps myself.

[DSdriver]

I find LSD helps myself.

I don't think fitting a limited slip diff is going to help in this situation.

[warninglight]

The method I planned didn't work, silicone was too runny to skim over the hole and set, so I just wobbed a load of chemical metal on and an electric heater somewhere nearby as it isn't designed to set in 10 mins in freezing temps...

 

Fired it up after an hour, it held for long enough for me to figure out that there's something seriously wrong in the bottom of that engine, hence the hole in the sump I suppose. Running on 7 and sounding like it's on its last legs. Now breaking for spares if anyone needs any nice Disco 2 bits, or Rover V8 top end bits.

 

Cheers for the advice!