1 reply to this topic

[chlblnz]

Austin Mini 998 1981

Hi

I have just taken the grill off of the car and have noticed a fairly substantial oil mark where the sump and block meet. She has been drinking from max on the dipstick to min every 250 miles or so.

Is it worth changing? How big a job?
I've changed a few sump gaskets on ford crossflows but I think the sump pan on the mini comes off after the gearbox. Can anyone confirm this?

cheers

[dklawson]

I don't know if this is available to you in the U.K. but if it is I encourage you to pursue testing with dye before you focus on the joint between the gearbox and block.

To use the U.V. dye, you degrease the engine completely, then you add the dye to the engine oil and wait for dark. Once the sun is down you turn off all surrounding lights and run the engine while illuminating the engine bay using a "black light". The dye will phosphor and show the actual leak path. It's a highly effective method to locate leaks and eliminate fixing something that may not be broken.

The justification for this test in the case of the Mini is that replacing the gasket(s) you are talking about requires pulling the engine and separating the gearbox from the engine block.