40 replies to this topic

[1984mini25]

I'm following this thread as I recently bought a sumpguard like the one mini25 mentions but it's not yet fitted...

i have one of those guards pictured if anyones interested in it? think its an original innocenti one.

I was thinking on making one for the scraps I have left over (but only about £30 new) as airflow on mine is already compromised by the splitter.

But then I’ve also had the loss of oil pressure on the motorway in a completely standard mini with no sumpguard fitted, BUT that was due to the oil pump eating itself.

[bmcecosse]

Hahahahah - I wouldn't call that a sump guard ! Maybe a sump shield..... The 'Scottish' guard was so called for a very good reason. I'm envious of your alloy guard Cooperman - mine was home made and so heavy it took two to lift it! Run without a cooler if you dare - overcooled oil is better than overheated oil - which will ruin the bearings in no time at all............

[Cooperman]

What's wrong with fitting a more open style of sump guard? Best of both worlds, protects the sump, but still allows some degree of cooling.

That would certainly be better in overall cooling terms, but if you had, say, 4 spotlights the oil could still get a bit hot.

[minispaniard]

Hahahahah - I wouldn't call that a sump guard ! Maybe a sump shield.....

shall I take it as an "enough said"?

I'm not talking as a serious gravel rally stage driver but as a bumpy country lane tourer... surely it's better than nothing(??)!!

[1984mini25]

Hahahahah - I wouldn't call that a sump guard ! Maybe a sump shield.....

shall I take it as an "enough said"?

I'm not talking as a serious gravel rally stage driver but as a bumpy country lane tourer... surely it's better than nothing(??)!!

Surely some steel bar would be stronger than a thick sheet of alloy bolted to the bottom of the engine?

[1984mini25]

That would certainly be better in overall cooling terms, but if you had, say, 4 spotlights the oil could still get a bit hot.

And how does blocking off the grill raise the oil temperature? So that would mean running a weather shield, you’d need an oil cooler as well.

Edited by 1984mini25, 24 January 2011 - 11:21 PM.

[Cooperman]

Hahahahah - I wouldn't call that a sump guard ! Maybe a sump shield..... The 'Scottish' guard was so called for a very good reason. I'm envious of your alloy guard Cooperman - mine was home made and so heavy it took two to lift it! Run without a cooler if you dare - overcooled oil is better than overheated oil - which will ruin the bearings in no time at all............

I've done 32 historic rallies with my special alloy guard and won 5 of them outright. This does inclued a lot of forest miles as well. It's a bit scored now, but still very useable. I did have a genuine "Scottish" guard once and, boy, was it heavy - but very effective especially when the 1/8" steel extension was fitted. For mainly tarmac events like the Circuit of Ireland, Tulip, Alpine, Swedish, etc, the 'works' seemed to use the magnesium ones and private owners alloy ones.
I think you and I have both seen Minis with engine failure on rallies due to overheated oil which has overheated even on cars with 13-row coolers due to mud clogging the oil cooler gills and getting under and onto the sump. Those bearings are not pretty. If it is 'arctic' conditions it used to be the practice to cover part of the grill and the cooler, but it had to be 'minus gawdknowswhat' for that to be necessary.

[carts60]

Well this all seems to be getting pretty heated! lol

Basically, my sump guard is >> This <<

And it is ONLY for looks. Clearly, i'm not one of the old guard who only do things for mechanical purposes. It has even been painted a fetching shade of fluorescent orange

The mini is definitely not being rallied, and the engine is not what you would describe as 'hot'. - bog standard 1275 cooper with a stage 1 kit...

Apart from also needing to fit an oil cooler - the process, is just drill the subframe, attach, and away you go?

[Ben10Raw]

I have a mini 1000 on 10's and i scrape my sump on basically the smallest of speed bumps, so i was after a sump guard just to protect my sump on the bumps around town. I wont need an oil cooler, i hope as its not being rallied, or do i need one :S? confused.

[yeti21586]

I'm going to be fitting an innocenti style sump guard and because I'm going to be having some spot and fog lights I'm going to be fitting An oil cooler and an oil cooler thermostat as well so the cooler is only used when it gets hot enough to need it

YetI

[carts60]

I'm going to be fitting an innocenti style sump guard and because I'm going to be having some spot and fog lights I'm going to be fitting An oil cooler and an oil cooler thermostat as well so the cooler is only used when it gets hot enough to need it

YetI

Any chance you could explain how that would work? Im a engine novice thats why im asking. Is an oil cooler difficult to attach and use??

[SolarB]

Any chance you could explain how that would work? Im a engine novice thats why im asking. Is an oil cooler difficult to attach and use??

Very easy to plumb in and with a thermostat they work well. An oil cooler with a thermostat only allows the oil to flow through the cooler when the oil reaches a specific temperature. If the oil is below this set temperature the oil flows around the engine as normal. Cold oil isn't good for an engine either.

The radiator is the primary cooling system for the engine and with a water system that is working properly and has some excess cooling capacity the need for an oil cooler on a road car is probably negligible. It could also be argued that a more efficient radiator would be a cheaper alternative to an oil cooler and keep the temperatures down equally well.

My project car has a sump guard and a decent radiator. When it's on the road I'll tell you if it needs an oil cooler as well.

[bmcecosse]

If you are only going to pootle about town with a bright orange sumpguard (God help us!) on your car - then no - you won't need an oil cooler....... As for the ribs of steel 'shield' - I suppose it might be ok for the odd speed bump - but take it on a gravel track - or even a bit of 3 ply - and it will scoop up gravel/stones/dirt until something jams/breaks/overheats.......
As for oilcooler - the original 1275 Cooper S was slated in all the original road tests because the oil pressure would sag dangerously when they were driven 'hard'. BMC were also plagued with warranty claims for run crank bearings. They soon fitted a 13 row oil cooler to the S as standard - solved both problems.

[carts60]

I was waiting for that reply bmcecosse lol I don't think my colour choice will be to everyones taste (probably not to anyones taste to be honest), but who cares eh?
Well, iv got an oil pressure guage fitted, so if i notice it being affected I will definitely fit an oil cooler (or just take off the guard which will most probably be simpler).
Until then. Garish colours will be the chosen colour scheme.
I was thinking about painting my roof rack a glow-in-the-dark yellow (white in the daytime) but maybe thats a bit too far lol Opinions? lol

[Cooperman]

I have a mini 1000 on 10's and i scrape my sump on basically the smallest of speed bumps, so i was after a sump guard just to protect my sump on the bumps around town. I wont need an oil cooler, i hope as its not being rallied, or do i need one :S? confused.

If the sump hits the ground on ordinary roads, fitting any sot of sump guard will further reduce the ground clearance by between 3/4" to 1", so you will need to raise the ride height by around 1". But if you raise it by 1", you probably won't need the guard for road use. Just raise it and save the money!