Track day sump - possible DIY job ???

[jl34]

Hi All. Hoping to purchase a Noble in the very near future. Im looking at a couple of cars that dont have Track day sumps. This is a big issue as i do want to do some track days.

Im trying to work out the cost of having it done. So far Noble Motorsport have quoted nearly £1500 which consists of £800 in parts (Sump,Gasket/Oil ) and the rest in Labour due to having to cut the chassis. I aware at the moment this seems to be the only source for a TDS at the moment. My main question is , if you had access to a ramp, is it a job that could be done by a home mechanic? Apart from the cutting of the frame im struggling to see how the job could take hours and hours of Labour. But then having never looked at it, you guys might know different !

It may make the difference between going for a car and no being able to afford it so if any way has any suggestions i'd love to hear them. Also any other sources for a cheaper TDS would be welcome

thanks in advance

[Lakelord]

You're probably right that if you can get the car in the air, it shouldn't be that difficult. Wrt sourcing a TDS, have you contacted Hoover in the States as I think he sells/exports them? http://www.turbohoses.com/index.html

[TuxMan]

taking into acount you have £1500 inc vat , take the vat out and you are down to £1250 ish , less £800 in parts leaves you £450 ish labour does not sound too far out to me .

better value if you do it when it needs a full service , ive seen Dave (at Jetstream) check the big end bearings at the same time as it easy to change them with the sump of and it can give you some indication of the condition of the engine .

Tux

[Metalman]

Yes it can be done and I've done two of them now. I put one ramp under each wheel but if you can get it higher it will certainly make it easier! Both sumps took a full day to do including fitting the dual oil gauge which I would really recommend you do while your at it. It's a lot of work, the worst part for me was removing the exhaust that goes under the engine because the u-clamp squashes the pipes together and can be a right pita to get off. There's lots of bolts that are hard to get at and making the chassis bar removable also takes time to get right. If you can get the car on a lift then do it, as spending a day under a noble on your back really isn't much fun.

[jl34]

that sounds a pretty nasty job to me. thanks for the input guys,