AStra 1.4 Sump

If the sump is not dented through I would pick up a cork gasket at the local jobbers. Otherwise a used sump from a junkyard is fairly inexpensive. You would need to clean and remove the old gasket material before installing. The labor should not be more than an hour.to install it.

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They sometimes rust through. Amazing...but true.

True, I've had pinhole perforations on a diff inspection cover on a Ford back axle - surprisingly difficult to diagnose ( for me ) - I replaced the gasket twice before I realised what was going on :-( Fixed it with fibre glass resin - super job - saw the car through rest of its life :-)

Steve

A fiberglass patch certainly could save some time and trouble as long as the sump has not been crushed too far out of shape. That idea sounds a lot better for an older car.

On a FWD Rover the downpipe is likely to be in the way and can be a bugger to remove if the studs are rusty. A shop in a hurry might end up charging an extra hour labor to replace the studs..

Yes - it had rusted in several places! I blame used car dealers for using a steam cleaner. The inside of the bonnet is also quite rusty.

Don't feel inclined to DIY - lying under a car is no longer how I want to spend a day. It needs to go up on a 4 poster lift.

You'd think this near impossible with something coated in oil. Perhaps it's only on poorly maintained vehicles where the oil is floating on water?

The message from Dave Plowman contains these words:

I reckon they rust through from the outside. Once the paint's flaking a bit it'll trap salty water and the sump on short journeys gets nicely warm enough to make it corrode like made but not hot enough to dry it out.

Definitely, my experience was that it rusted through from outside - the inside was very nearly perfect - had to hold it up to strong light to see the tiny pinholes. And that was years before my eyesight got to its current state......

Steve

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I saw a bloke filling up his car the other day making a pinhole with his fingers to read the display. I hope I don't meet him coming the other way.