Club 80-90 Forums

Hiya folks, idiot award goes to me, topping up the oil & coolant, but, both tubs are the same colour, I accidentally poured less than 50ml of water into the Oil funnel!!! A coke can is 330ml, I reenacted the event in my Kitchen and poured water from a vase into a measuring jug (to try and replicate the actions) and figured I'd spilled roughly that much water (timed it to near as damn it) which worked out to roughly but probably not more than 50ml, I've also got a knackered sump plug, its rounded, ordered 2, (1 m14 & 1 m16 oversized) is it safe to drive with this small amount of water? Gonna change it out once the new sump plugs arrive.

Once the engine is up to temperature the water will eventually boil off, but it's not really good as the oil it mixes with will form an emulsion with little lubricrating properties.

I'd change the oil rather than drive it to be honest, but if you must maybe run it a while at tickover to get temperature up and not load the engine too much while the waters present.

No. The water will boil under bearing loads if the pump draws it up and could damage the bearings. Drain it out. A tiny amount would evaporate (all engines make condensation inside during warm up) but I bet there is more in there than you realize.

It ought to find it's way to the lowest point of the engine given 'enough' time. You'll see it run out of the sump plug before being followed by the oil. May as well change the oil anyway.

To the OP, I am guessing from this post that buying a second, oversize, sump plug might have been a tad over optomistic skills-wise? You need a fair bit of experience to re-tap any thread oversize, not to mention the correct tools and a fair dose of luck!

I have a Tap & Die set, used it when my Exhuast studs on the Water pump side snapped, il buy a bolt removing socket bc the Oil drain plug is rounded, new plug should arrive next week sometime. Il play it safe, haven't started the van since I poured the water in. Thanks for the advice guys

If you are desperate you could pick one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-Oil-Fluid ... 5b0d6df351" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; pump the oil out of the dipstick hole and replace the oil.

Get that sump plug sorted as you need it undone on a regular basis. Helicoiling is a simple job even for a novice, can't go wrong in an alloy sump as it's so soft. You hear of so many knackered sump plugs, why? Do people think they need to be 'Herculean' strong when doing them up? Certainly a regular comment on here and facebook.

You can go wrong on a wbx! If it's not dead square to the recessed face the seal will weep, also you have to shorten the helicoil (tricky for a novice) otherwise, even with a 1D coil, you end up with several turns sticking up inside the sump and no means to remove the tang.
Its easy to make a really bad job of it.

silverbullet wrote:You can go wrong on a wbx! If it's not dead square to the recessed face the seal will weep, also you have to shorten the helicoil (tricky for a novice) otherwise, even with a 1D coil, you end up with several turns sticking up inside the sump and no means to remove the tang.
Its easy to make a really bad job of it.

Really?? It's a doddle because the 'tap' starts super easy due to the sump being ally. I honestly can't think of a more simple engineering task than doing these sumps. You're right about the extra threads protruding into the sump, I wouldn't have thought this a problem though, just means that a little more oil clings to the bottom of the sump when draining it. Not a problem in itself as the magnetic plug will collect the metallic debris regardless. I remember my apprehension when I first did mine, it was the support rather than cautionary advice that gave me the brave pill to do it. Now I agree with those that instructed me - simples.