Hi all!

I bought a 1997 XJ6 a couple of months ago and I'm loving working through the list of jobs and learning new skills. I had thought that I'd need to put the car into a garage at some point for professionals to do some of the work, but I'm beginning to think that I'd like to try and do everything myself - investing in tools, rather than paying someone else's labour rate.

My sump is cracked and needs replacing. I have acquired a used replacement and I understand that, to fit it, I have to drop the sub frame? My questions are:

- Is that correct?
- I've had a look for existing threads on this subject but came up short. If anyone can point me in the direction of an existing thread it'd be much appreciated.
- Are there any other jobs that I should be considering whilst the sub frame is dropped?

Thanks in advance for any support/advice. This is a learning curve for me so please be gentle!

Thanks,

Steve

 

Correct, you'll need to drop the subframe to replace oil sump, its major job, I'm sure its technically possible to do without a lift but you're going to at least need a second pair of hands to do it. As a minimum you'll want to replace vee mounts and big rear bushes at the same time. Make sure not to undo the ABS sensors at the wheels, simply unplug them under bonnet as they can break easily. Rest is generally simple, its just a lot of spannering, took my garage two days to replace it when they overtightend sump bolt during oil change.

You'll find all the info here:

https://www.xj40.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=998249

 

Thanks katar83, that's useful!

 

Katar is entirely correct, and you might want to add engine mounts to your list of parts to replace. You will need a support to hold the weight of the engine as you remove the subframe, and the subframe itself is not light.

 

Thanks countyjag. Just to be clear, do I need to support the weight of the engine anyway, even if I just drop the subframe? Or is that the case if I decide to replace the engine mounts whilst I'm at it? I had figured I'd use a couple of jacks to support the subframe whilst I lowered it clear of the car - hadn't factored the engine into my thinking.....

Thanks!

 

The engine is mounted on the subframe, so you will need to undo the mountings to remove the subframe. There are various relatively inexpensive engine supports on ebay, which sit on the inner wing edges in the engine bay, and allow you to support the weight of the engine, which as you can imagine, is substantial.

 

Many thanks!

 

A great engine support is this one from Harbor Freight. I have several of these in my shop
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-l...ne+support+bar

Here is a coupon code for 20% off valid until Dec 6th 2020, 13996264

 

UPDATE: Use coupon 23765527 instead for 25% off, valid until Dec 6, 2020