Drilling out sump plate holes ACCURATELY

Just a thought. I,ve never seen a "guide" as such but..... is it possible to reverse the plate and bolt it to sump via say 2 bolts and drill remaining holes using that as guide?. Swap over to drill remaining two. Used to be able to get oversized studs but not sure if still available. Have a good Christmas John

Hi all,

I have a 1600 with some bad oil leaks around the studs which hold the sump plate to the bottom of the block. Some of them are quite loose and easily come out with only finger pressure, so I'm thinking I may have to drill/tap the holes out and get stepped studs, hopefully tightening everything up and stopping the leaks. While I'm in there I'd lock-tite the studs in as well.

First of all, does that sound like the right way to go?

Second, and more importantly, how do I go about drilling these holes out STRAIGHT?

The engine is in a Kombi so getting under it with a drill is not a problem, but keeping the drill straight so the holes don't end up cockeyed is what concerns me. Is there some kind of jig for a portable drill that could do the trick, or some other magic method that one can use?

Just thought of a third question: Are stepped studs a better way to go than helicoils?

Thanks in advance.

p plate to the bottom of the block. Some of them are quite loose and easily come out with only finger pressure, so I'm thinking I may have to drill/ta p the holes out and get stepped studs, hopefully tightening everything up a nd stopping the leaks. While I'm in there I'd lock-tite the studs in as wel l.

m, but keeping the drill straight so the holes don't end up cockeyed is wha t concerns me. Is there some kind of jig for a portable drill that could do the trick, or some other magic method that one can use?

an helicoils?

Have a look at this product. John at aircooled.net rents the tools to do t he job completely. You have to buy the inserts, and the new 6mm studs if t he old ones are looking a bit ratty.

John, that seems like a really good idea! Just thinking about it, though, since I'm trying to drill the case holes bigger that would mean I'd end up drilling the plate holes bigger too, which maybe isn't what I want.

Rob, I like the look of that tool set. I've heard a lot of talk of Timeserts in the same circles as Helicoils, and people seem to be going more with Timeserts.

Thanks guys, both of you have given me some new ideas and roads to explore.

John, that seems like a really good idea! Thinking about it more, though, if I'm trying to drill the case holes bigger that would mean I'm also drilling the plate holes bigger, which I probably wouldn't want.

Rob, that's an interesting tool set. I've seen a lot of talk about timeserts in the same breath as helicoils, and people seem to lean more towards the timeserts.

Thanks! You've both given me some new ideas and roads to explore, once the Kombi emerges from the snowbank it's currently in.