engine fitted with Canton sump does not fit!!

[martinlaw]

Picked up my rebuilt engine on Friday and was really looking forward to fitting it on Saturday.

While the engine was being rebuilt I decided to have a Canton sump fitted (this was a used one that was fitted to a Ultima)as it originally had a standard one.

Major problem - there is not enough clearance between the sump and the chassis rail under it, the sump actually sits on the chassis rail.

My car is 1996 Sport and I can only assume that the Ultima in which the sump was originally fitted must have had more clearance (perhaps it was a GTR? - is this part of the chassis different?).

As I see it I have 4 options:

1. Put old sump back on - not ideal since I am going to do several track days next year.

2. Lower the chassis rail approx 20mm - since this rail is an integral part of the main chassis, I do not really want to do this, plus it may make the rail too low on the car (ground clearance)

3. Raise the engine mounts - this is a bigger job than first appears and I have not really got the expertise to do this (anyone know of a supplier of modified mounts?) Also this will raise the centre of gravity of the car - not ideal.

4. Modify the profile of the sump - this really depends on where the baffles ect are located in the sump.

Anyone else had this problem or any other suggestions would be really appreciated.


Thanks,
Martin

[andygtt]

Do not know about the Sports, but the GTR will have a lowered chassis rail below the engine... about 20mm sounds right.
There was a thread about it a while back with pics.

[steve_d]

20mm sounds a lot. Are you sure about that. The sump normally clears the rail by about 3-4mm.

Steve

[peterpsg]

Forget the wetsump. Fit a dry sump.

Your engine will be well happy, and you'll be able to straighten out that pesky bent bar underneath as well as the sump should be a lot shallower.

You'll also not have to worry about oil starvation.

[gdr]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=158246

See link. Is it a 7" deep or 7 1/2" deep sump? I went through this pain with an engine supplied with 7 1/2" sump which should theoretically fit. Possible to raise engine a little bit with spacers under the mounts, but I eventually switched to a 7" deep Canton. That went in fine - when the gearbox was bolted up properly, the gap to the rail is in fact about 1/2".

[martinlaw]

Thanks for the advice.

I cannot afford a dry sump system at the moment as I have just spent a fortune on rebuilding the engine.

Last night I raised the engine mounts by around 10mm by putting spacers under the three bolts that fit into the block. I also raised the gearbox by around 2mm. This has now given me a clearance of 2 - 3mm between the chassis rail and the bottom of the sump pan.

I have been told the engine does not rock much as the mounts are pretty solid - is 2-3mm enough clearance?

Thanks,
Martin.

[steve_d]

martinlaw said:

.......I have been told the engine does not rock much as the mounts are pretty solid - is 2-3mm enough clearance?

Thanks,
Martin.

Would like to see a couple more mm than that but as you say the engine hardly moves. Add some of the factory expanding foam seal to the chassis rail to stop stones getting trapped between rail and sump.

Steve