oops, i have just tried fitting the elise-shop sump plug and it sheared off surprisingly easily , fortunately i easily removed the threaded shaft from the sump.
has anyone fitted this part and experienced problems with the stength of the part? just wondering if i over tightened it… with sealant on the sealing washer and on the threads it could be a bugger to get out if it broke off at the next oil change after bonding in there after a while…
Mitch,
I had exactly the same problem. Adaptor sheared off in the sump - remember sticking my thumb in the hole to stop my brand new mobile 1 spilling out everywhere whilst scrabling for a bucket with the other hand
I think the part is badly designed, however, i got a replacement and was a lot more careful fitting it, i.e. didnt tighten it up so much.
A few years ago I was competing at Harewood house hillclimb, and a Westfield lost its sump plug. It vibrated loose. Oil on most of the track, all on the racing line, oh and he wrecked the motor too. I guess he’d not tightened it up enough. I also remember an oil filter coming loose at Mallory with pretty much the same effect.
if you use a sealing washer, then you don’t need much torque on the sump plug (25Nm from memory).
Yeah with a sealing washer it doesn’t need to be that tight and you don’t need sealent. I use the elise parts sump plug and it is a really chunky bit of kit.
Sean…
Yeah with a sealing washer it doesn’t need to be that tight and you don’t need sealent. I use the elise parts sump plug and it is a really chunky bit of kit.
Sean…
looking at the parts the website they look the same, chunky hex head indeed but the wall thickness between the threaded outer shaft and the drilled and tapped inner shaft surface is not much. I wonder why this part has not been made in steel, as is orgional and much more stable given the wall thickness…?
anyway i shall try again with another when it arrives , bit scary if it is not really tight, maybe drill and lockwire it to be sure.
You really need to find out the correct torque setting for the sump plug (there should be one in the workshop manuals), as it is very easy to overtighten sensitive parts when fitting just with a spanner.
edited to say that they could be made that way to eliminate the possiblity of damaging the thread in the sump (I know which one I would prefer to be replacing from over tightening)
Correct torque is 25Nm…
Which is not a lot for that size ( 15/16 inch AF from memory ) hex - you will use a big ring spanner and easy get 50nm without trying … - so stay off the Weetabix …