Rich very kindly guided me through the removal and replacement of my sump yesterday!
I did some of the donkey work - loosening and removing the 20 or so bolts, cleaning the sump pan and replacing most of the bolts again but I certainly wouldn't have done it without Rich's reassurance and total confidence. Big thank you!
Kind of annoyingly (but fortunately), the sump was surprisingly crud free and the pick up pipe or suction pipe as VW likes to call it, was almost totally clean save for a few bits of muck at the very edges.
Having done it now I think trial fitting the sump without any sealant is a very good idea. We had a problem with one or two bolts that wouldn't bite cleanly which added time and a little frustration to what had been a pretty seamless operation. 3 of the sump bolts are quite awkwardly placed and only accessible using the long allen key with a ball head so any misalignment is especially frustrating. A trial fit may have prevented this. A bungee is useful too; keeps the turbo oil return from fouling as the sump pan is removed and re-attached.
We lucked out with the weather, the 5mm ball headed long reach Allen key bit being available at Rich's local parts shop(a must have) and I especially lucked out having a patient pal like Rich to direct sump removal operations and the kind use of his driveway, ramps and tools.
I think we'll be doing Rich's sump and pick up next!
