Thread: Is oil pump bolt failure an issue with facelift models?

Originally Posted by fellipe

Thanks a lot for the encouragement guys!

My disco has a 2" lift, I read that I don't need to raise it to get the sump off. Is this true?

Also, just got a genuine new bolt. It came with the yellow locktite. Been reading that's not good. Better to clean and apply new locktite?

I've done 3 separate oil pump bolt checks - 1 on a TD5 Defender and the other 2 on my 2002 & 2004 D2's.

The Defender had a tight bolt but no thread lock, the 2002 D2 was OK and surprisingly, the 2004 'Town & Country' D2 which was after all of the previous models problems had a bolt that I nearly wound off by hand it was so loose!

All were corrected using the same bolt but adding lock-tite and correct torque.

If like my 02 D2 you have a 2" lift, you won't have to jack the car off its wheels to get the sump off but you will have to lift the body/chassis. I did this using a block of wood and a jack underneath the bullbar to lift the body up. You don't have to lift it far and you can adjust the height up further if need be once you start lowering the sump. Removing the exhaust down pipe and centre muffler if you still have it on will give you much appreciated additional room!

The main issue with removing the sump is getting enough room to clear the oil pick-up and slide the sump to the rear. It's fiddly but will come out without much hassle.

You'll be surprised how much residual oil remains in the sump that can't be drained! There will be at least a litre left over which always concerned me as it is a source of contamination when you do a fresh oil change......

Oh 1 last tip.......Raid your better half's sewing box and pinch some cotton thread. Use the cotton thread to tie the sump gasket through the bolt holes to the actual sump. It's fine cotton so won't cause any oil leaks around the gasket and will eventually rot and fall off. It will save you a lot of frustration as the gasket always gets caught on something while you are replacing the sump and either moves into the sump space or gets out of alignment to the bolt holes. Don't forget that the tightening sequence of the securing bolts is different to loosening and taking them out

Cheers!

Hey Catmatt,


Is it fine to use the new bolt with its factory thread locker (yellow mark) or clean it and apply loctite 243?

Also, can I reuse the centrifuge drain pipe gasket?

thanks