The cork gaskets for the sump are wider than the ones taken off. I know I have to cut them to length but do I need to cut them to the correct width as well (surely not) or has the original one compressed with time (but they seem so much thinner).
I’ve cleaned up the surface of the sump with a red pad but it’s still not great and in one part it looks like someone has filed it (see photo) - is it likely to leak?
The oil filter came with two rubber seals - should I use the thick one. Why are there two?
The sump cork seals only have to be trimmed to length as per the BMC wksp manual.
There are two seals because there were two oil filter heads each having a different seal.
Grease the corks and gaskets before fitting. You can soak the corks in engine oil overnight to make them more supple.
The greased gaskets will take car of filing marks. It will not leak.
philthehill wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 11:31 am
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Once you have trimmed to length there is nothing else to do except grease and fit.
Sorry Phil, my mistake - I meant before or after soaking in oil!
Davecopp Which oil filter head seal to use?
Remove the old seal and replace like for like. If you do not have the old seal fit the one which sits in the groove best.
Thank you Phil for your answer regarding the oil filter seal. Can I be a pain and ask for further reassurance regarding the cork seal. As shown in the photos the cork seal protrudes so much more than the original one and I’m afraid it will bend over rather than compress when I bolt it up to the sump. Could it be the wrong cork seal or am I being over cautious? (I know I need to cut it to length).
I suspect that you have the cork seal that is used both on the small bore block (948cc) and the large bore block (1275cc) and is trimmed to length to suit.
The 1275cc sump has larger radius cut outs to fit around and over the main bearing caps.
The cork seal will bend and form correctly when fitted to the engine provided you cut the seal to the length specified in the manual link below.
