.

I returned home in the Chummy this early evening after a pleasant day at Streatley and Goring Regatta, a round trip of about eighty miles. When only a couple of hundred yards from home the sump plug dropped out, with the inevitable loss of lubricant. The engine appears and sounds undamaged – lucky or what?

Fifteen minutes earlier I was toiling up Hurstbourne Hill in first!

I last changed the oil about five hundred miles ago, and refitted the sump plug with a new fibre washer. There had been no sign of a leak prior to the event.

Mike

Happened to me once so drilled an oblique hole in plug and hole insump bolt and wired it on

.

David

Yes, I was contemplating going down that path myself. Meanwhile I have spent the morning manufacturing a new brass plug since I was unable to find the old one along the sides of the road.

In order to have a pattern I took out the gearbox filler plug which is the same item. In doing so I believe I discovered the root of the problem. It was barely finger tight! It also had been fitted by me with a new fibre washer at the same time as the sump plug. This led me to try the gearbox drain plug, and that was found a flat loose as well. I had purchased half a dozen washers in one hit as I like to fit new each time, to try and obviate the very problem which I seem to have caused!

It is my belief that the fibre washers currently on sale are made of a fibre material which is too hard, and does not have the resiliance of the more conventional reddy brown fibre which we know and love.
The current ones are dark brown, and my recommendation would be to leave them alone.

Meanwhile the engine has now been started with new oil and, gratefully, all is well.

Mike

Just arrived home from a lovely run around South East Cornwall with some members of the Cornwall club. The dear old Colander did what its best at and sprung a leak from the oil pressure gauge on the way home! You have my sympathies Mike! Afraid to say that the oil leak sprayed oil all over Anna's legs, fortunately my oily rag seemed to get most of it off. At least her legs won't go rusty.

I too am having problems with fibre washers, I cant seem to get any to fit the Carb banjo? the ones I have are too hard and I think have the same problem Mike refers to?

Any one else managed to boil the fuel in the rear petrol tank today? I did, and a most concerning experience it was too! My tank is "uncovered" and hung right at the back in full veiw of the sun were it was pretty much to hot to touch. It is rather hot today mind you.

Steve.

p.s Mike... As I have the Colander name may I suggest "Torrey Canyon" for yours!
p.p.s I hate to think what happened to the oil on the road!

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Steve

ref your pps - don't ask!

I went the long way round to fetch the papers this morning!

On the topic of your tank, is it well vented? I have had problems with my wing tank (no - its not an aircraft :) )and have drilled a concealed sixty-forth hole in the cap to let it breath. It gets very hot in the sun. It seems to have helped.


Mike

Mike

Brave(?) thing that admitting such a deed on an internet forum using your own name.

Hopefully the local motorcyclists did not come a cropper on your spillage. Perhaps we will be seeing a posting titled 'Unlucky or what'.

More responsilble motoring from the rest of you please!

Just out off intensive care, my brothers showed me this posting.

WHERE did you say this Oil slick was on the Hant's border, just so I can let my insurance company know...

Unlucky Aiden

Oh, I knew it would come to this..

.

Pity you don't use Your own names. Why don't you have the courage of your convictions and tell us who you are? Or go and hide in a ditch.

I posted after trying to find out why it had happened in order that it might save someone else having (and causing) the same problem.



Mike

The size of the slick is dependent on the car's velocity or lack of it when the b plug fell out. From half a gallon in one pool to a 75 yard slick at 30mph, assuming the sump was full-miniscule compared with some of the spillages on the Queen's highway. Also I've no doubt some of it will be on the underside of his car. Mike was very lucky, but he doen't say if he heard the plug depart his vehicle or if he drives with one eye on the oil pressure gauge/button.
I'll heed the warning about brown fibre washers, although I can't remember when I fitted a new one, if ever. Dave

Thanks for the warning Mike it is appreciated. It reminded me to check my Chummy and the plug tightened half a flat. Maybe we should be using copper washers as supplied for the Austin Heavy 12/4s? I have had no problem with those over the years. Another of those at Goring on Sunday had a similar problem a few years back and ran the big ends.
Gordon.

Reference copper washers...

Some of my oil gallerys/plugs are sealed with copper washers which I annealed first before fitting. I tried this method on the carb banjo but couldnt acheive a fuel tight seal.
I would recomend rubbing on some wet and dry to make sure they are flat and then heating to red and dunking in water to anneal. This also works for copper pipe like say the fuel line for instance. when I fitted the NEW copper pipe from the tank to pump I made some slight errors on some curves/bends, the above annealing method works well and allows you to keep altering a bend until its right ( oil pipes as well).

Steve.

p.s at the MOT the "man" didnt seem interested in oil leaks, only fuel leaks were important to him?

Your ps is interestng because a lot of fires are caused by lubricating and hydraulic (as in power steering) oil, as well as fuel, spraying onto hot exhaust manifolds. I know we've all seen petrol drips onto Austin 7 hot exhaust pipes vapourise, but get enough and you will have a fire.Then there are those fires caused by electrical faults with very few caused by accidents despite Hollywood. I was recently surveying a brand new Mondeo with a burnt out engine bay and no crash damage behind the local Ford dealers, whilst waiting to pick up a hire van. I was politly asked to wait somewhere else before I could work out the cause. I see the thread is meandering.

.

Ah, Dave, yes.

A meandering thread - often the cause of a leak!

Mike

Gordon gives the answer. I did use fibre washers at one time but found that they would constantly tighten up a flat.

Have used copper washers for some years now and the problem seems to have gone away (I hope!!).

STEVE

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........and the favoured supplier is ?

Mike

And there was me thinking leaks came from pillow talk, I must change my news paper.

Algie

My local car spares shop who sell them in blister packs.

If you are ever in France, all the Supermarkets sell copper washers in various diameters - metric of course but they fit.

French supermarkets also sell tyre tube repair patches that are of a decent size rather than the tiny ones sold by Halfords. I always stock up when I get the chance.

STEVE