[Mazda Carnage]

Only 2 things can cause the engine to overheat, the thermostat or the head gasket .
If the tstat doesn't open the temp will just keep climbing above operating temp into the red at idle or when driving under any load within 10 minutes. head gaskets usually fails under heavy engine load. Your description of the N/A engine failing sounds like the head gasket was the cause of the overheating. Coolant has a pressure of 15psi and runs 110degrees, cylinder pressure is in the hundreds of psi and combustion temps get up to 18000 degrees, when the head gasket can no longer seal/separate the two cylinder pressure and heat are pushed into the coolant chambers and the engine overheats.


No I would not assume it's 1 in 1000 and I have seen it happen several times with cheap head gaskets. I have installed hundreds of felpro head gaskets on F2 motors over the years, they don't melt. If you pull a head that has a felpro head gasket, the gasket looks new, like it's good enough to reuse but why risk an engine for a 30$ gasket.
The block in my 626gt came from a friend who bought it for the transmission, he had an FE3 to bolt it to and drop in a Protege but his cancer came back and he sold everything.
When I started tearing down the block I noticed it was fleshly rebuilt, all the seals where new and all the parts where clean, the head gasket was melted to shit, from the look of the seals that where on it I think they used a Mahle gasket kit. Head gasket melted after the rebuild, they scrapped the car and my buddy bought the engine.
My shop partner got us some discount head gaskets from BBW autoparts they also melted.

Why do you say gaskets will cost as much as the car?

My whole point is to save you money, you bought the F2T, you need to buy a clutch and you've already got the car. If the 30 year old head gasket goes than it's all wasted money and time. If you decide to repair it after the fact than it cost a lot more than changing the head gasket at that point.

 

[HL-240]

OK yeah I can see what you mean.
When I pulled the head off the NA engine the gasket was baked onto it really well so I guess that could point to it having failed.
I guess I just (wrongly) assumed that it overheated for whatever reason which then caused the head gasket to fail.

If you've installed hundreds of Felpro gaskets then that's fair enough, I guess my thinking was just that surely any other decent brand at a similar price point should be just as good, but at least you have anecdotes to back up what you're saying unlike some people on car forums!

In terms of costs - I didn't mean just the gaskets, just that they would contribute to the overall cost.
The car cost me $800.
Now I'll be spending around $300 on a clutch, $100 on a head gasket, potentially $100 on a water pump if I want to play it safe, plus probably $300 worth of other parts (seals/filters/plugs/sensors/hoses etc etc) which is adding up to close to the cost of the car!
Not to mention probably another $100 on specialty tools if I can't borrow them (eg ridge reamer etc) but at least I can keep them forever.

I get why that's all important, and if it was my "proper" car I'd do it all without blinking.
I think my plan will be to pull the head off and just see how it looks and then assuming it isn't terrible I'll then feel more confident about spending money on parts.

 

[Mazda Carnage]

I will agree that there must be other brands of head gaskets that don't fail, they can't all be crap but after dealing with some crap gaskets and having great success with felpro I stopped taking any chances.

Water pump, the factory unit is metal and pretty much lasts for ever. I have in the effort of being diligent swapped the water pump for a new aftermarket pump that had a plastic impeller and it failed. No I just reuse the 30 year old factory pumps with a new gasket.

I have only had to use a ridge reamer on two blocks, both had rings seized on every piston.

The important things to do would be the rear main seal, clean the rings and change the head gasket. The cam and oil pump seal, valve stem seals... can all be done at a latter date with the engine in the car without too much work (more that when the engine is out of the car) if they start to fail and they just lead to small oil leaks or some blow by but not catastophic engine failure.

 

[HL-240]

We took the head off today, would be great if you can offer some advice.
Compared to the old NA motor, it looks way better inside.
The only potential issues I can see in the block are that the wear in the bores is uneven (i.e. the cylinder is slightly oval), not sure if this is an issue.
I'm guessing you'd still recommend pulling the pistons out and cleaning the rings etc?

Things also looked pretty clean under the valve cover which I guess is a good sign:

What I'm not sure about is the condition of the head, mainly that there is some corrosion, no doubt from it sitting unused for so long. It might be difficult to tell in the photo but you can see that the holes the coolant runs through are brown. As you can see some of the valves were also a bit oily, not sure if that's an issue...

Finally, these two are taken from the exhaust side, and again one of the valves seems to be a bit oily. Also not sure if the surface of the valves looks OK or not.

Oh and I also managed to break one of the spacers between the valve springs when undoing the head bolt, what should I do about this? (sorry I'm using the wrong terminology no doubt)

 

[Mazda Carnage]

The oval cylinder walls is not a problem but often a sign of seized rings.
I definitely recommend pulling the pistons, cleaning the rings and running a medium grit cylinder hone (16-20$) through each cylinder (I use varsol to lubricate the cylinders during honing).

It looks like that head gasket was blown, so much of it melted to the head. If it wasn't blown it would have blown very soon.
Is the rust sludge on the pistons dry and crusted on them or did that pour out of the head when you removed it?
If it's dry than coolant was getting past the headgasket and into the cylinders.

Based on the amount and color of rusty sludge in the head and block passages I would guess the engine was running only water (coolant and water mix dries white like a corrosion web).

None of this is a problem but it all needs to be cleaned up (out).

A good water soluble degreaser and pressure washer will clean the head up, back off the rocker arms so all the valve shut, put the old spark plugs back in and fill each combustion chamber with degreaser or degreaser/water mix, let it sit for about four hours, take a green or red brilow scrub sponge and clean all the carbon and dirt out of the combustion chambers, do the same for the exhaust ports, let them soak and just pressure wash them out. Don't use any degreaser on the top side of the head (rockers, cam, valve springs...) the oil build up on them will keep them from rusting you can pressure was them last to remove any debris or degreaser, just wipe them down with a soft clean rag and let everything dry in the sun.

There is a single oil supply passage in the block and head, in your first block pick the edge of it's gasket that pressed into the head gasket can be seen in the lower right corner. When cleaning them make sure no headgasket debris gets in those holes, they lead to the cam, rocker, main and rod bearings.

Once you have everything clean check the head surface and block surface and make sure the are true and within factory distortion limits.

For the broken rocker spacer, not a big deal. You have several options.
-Lazy ghetto option (It will work). put a small hose clamp on it to hold it back together and aligned.
-Backyard mechanic option, find a piece of plastic, hard hose, metal pipe... with the same inner diameter as the rocker arm, cut it exactly the same length as the spacer grease it and replace the broken spacer with it.
-Logical option, if you still have the F2 head, pull one off it and install it on the F2T head, everything but the exhaust valves are exactly the same (rocker assembly, cam, springs, intake valves...).
-Resourceful option, search the internet by part number: F20112177 , Partsouq.com has them in stock for $3.54 AUD. They are in dubai but there shipping is a really good price, I had a couple of Lbs of parts shipped to canada, it cost 20$cad and shipping was fast. They only sell dealership parts and usually at a better price than the dealership, so they are a good site to buy from but their site is also a great tool.
There site is really good for finding part numbers, not everything is in stock for F2 engines (very little is) but when it is available you get alternative and revised part numbers, hyundai and kia alternative part numbers...
There part listings seem to be much better than the program used at the dealership for these model cars, I once spent an hour and 30minutes with the parts guy, both of us on his computer looking for a small blue thermo vacuum valve that sits under the intake manifold on F2 aspecs, I checked ever F2/F2T parts page it just wasn't there, finally I found the part number online and the dealership could ordered it... I can find that part # in under a minute with partsouqs parts catalogs.


If you change the valve stem seals, lapping the valves takes about 2 minutes each, you need valve lapping compound (7-10$) a 2" piece of hose (I believe 5/16") two hose clamps, a drill bit or metal rod the size of the hose I.D. cut the butt of the drill bit or rod to 1.5", install the hose on one end and clamp it, Install the other end in a drill.
Put lapping compound on the valve lip and install it in the head, put the other end of the hose on the end of the valve and clamp it.
Take a clean rag and hold it with your thumb or finger against the valve turn the drill slow to medium speed and apply pressure and release with the rag against the valve for a few seconds, reverse the drill direction repeat the steps, then forward again, backwards and finish forwards. (I usually spend 30 seconds lapping the valve this way). remove the valve, wipe it and the valve seat with paper towel, the clean them with alcohol or similar, remove the old valve seal, install the new seal, oil it and install the valve, spring and keeper, then move to the next valve...

 

[HL-240]

Alright so it sounds like at the very least the motor should be ok so I can spend money on parts for it without worrying too much.
I wouldn't necessarily say the rust type stuff on the pistons is dry but it definitely didn't pour out of the head, in fact the head was completely dry - you can sort of see some flakes of corrosion type stuff looking in through one of the holes when I took the intake manifold off:

I know someone who has a workshop so I can probably use the parts washer there to give the head a good clean as you describe.

Would you be worried about the oil around some of the valves as per the photo in my previous post?

With the rocker spacer, I do have the old F2 head so can probably pull one off that, but do I then need to reseat the vales to be able to do that?
(Not going to buy a new one, shipping to Australia is always super expensive so not going to be worth it unless it's from a website I can get other stuff from at the same time)
And would you recommend replacing the valve stem seals?

 

[Mazda Carnage]

The oil around the valves can come from only two places, seized rings or leaking valve stem seals. I am 90% sure it's from seized piston rings because it's on the thrust side of the engine (back side), that is where the cylinders oval out a bit from wear and if the rings are seized oil gets passed them in that spot. However the dripping oil on the intake valves in combustion chamber 3 looks like it could be coming from leaking valve stem seals.
Is there any oil in the intake ports around the valves?

Leaking valve stem seals aren't a huge problem, the engine will burn a bit of oil and some fuel and exhaust will get passed them which shortens the life of engine oil, but as long as you keep enough oil in the engine and change the oil when it gets dark or smells like gas they can't cause any real issues.

But valve seals are cheap and you already have the head off the engine, this would be the perfect time to do them and lap the valves.

Yes I know this sounds like a lot of work and a huge pain in the ass, but these are all things that are easy to do now and don't cost a lot or much harder to do later and cost more. The head gasket and rings will be clear, we can tell that head gasket was at or beyond it's life span, you will now as soon as you pull a piston and spin the rings if they are seized, valve seals aren't so clear, if there is no sign of oil on the valves stems it's hard to tell (they could be leaking but leaving no signs, boost cleans the intake valves, exhaust burns oil off the other 4) and if you change them you will never actually know if they had or where going to fail. Me personally that's a mystery I can live with, I would rather have the satisfaction of knowing gaskets and seals are good than rolling the dice in a break even or loose game. I would rather change every gasket and seal, inspect and renew everything rather than take any chances, knowing everything is in working order is a much bigger win than crossing my fingers that it is.

These gaskets and seals are 34 years old, the F2T runs at about 3000rpm in 5th at 120km/h, that means 2km per minute and each valve moves 1500 times per minute. So lets gearing and speed are linear, this would equate to a valve moving 750 times per kilometer traveled (not accounting the time a car spends idling in traffic, at lights, stop signs...) that's 75 million up and down valve travels per 100 000 km traveled in very hot conditions. Over time they bake and the rubber (or whatever polymer it is) gets rock hard, add to that the time the engine sat.

You should never need to reseat the valves to remove an over head cam rocker assembly whether it has hydraulic or adjustable lash adjusters. With the F2 just torque the rocker bolts back to spec.
If you want to know if you need to lap the valve pour water into the ports and see if any leaks into the combustion chambers.
Your friends part cleaner will clean the head but will not clean the layers of carbon build up and baked oil in the exhaust ports and combustion chambers, they need to soak in really strong degreaser to soften it up so it will come off.

I recommend that when you start the car the first time you run a shitload of coolant system cleaner and water to flush that rust sludge out of the block and any left in the head, turbo or coolant pipes, just connect the coolant hose that leaves the back of the intake to the coolant pipe that wraps around the block (bypass the heater core, don't want sludge in there). Run the engine for 20 to 30 minutes, drop the "coolant" and oil, change the oil filter.

Before buying anything, pull the rod caps and check the bearings, if there is wear around the oil holes that is normal if there is a groove around the bearing that is debris, make sure there are no burrs or ridges along the groove and clean the debris from the block, if they are worn at all the way across and copper colored than the engine spun bearings.

 

[HL-240]

We pulled the rod caps off today to inspect the bearings as you suggested.
I hope I'm actually looking at the right thing - let me know if they look ok (all 4 looked more or less similar to this one)

Regarding the oil and the valves - from memory I don't think there was any oil in the intake ports around the valves, only the exhaust ports.

Also you previously asked about rusty sludge on the pistons - I had another look today and it's not really sludge, more just areas where there isn't any black gunk if that makes sense (ie just the metal of the piston) - see if this photo is more clear

 

[Mazda Carnage]

Well the bearings look okay, the grooves where caused by debris or dirt in the oil.
What cleaned the carbon and oil off the piston surface in that spot is a mystery but it wont matter once everything is cleaned and reassembled with new gaskets and seals.

I say clean it, reassemble it and order yourself a clutch. Also you should run 20w50 oil.

 

[HL-240]

I'm away at the moment so can't do any work on the car for a while but I wanted to order some parts that will arrive by the time I'm back so just wanted to revisit the clutch issue.
You previously said that the 313 Nm option wouldn't be enough, and I think I agree, but the problem seems to be that there are literally no better options.
The only one I've found that may be better is from RockAuto which is rated to a "25-50% torque increase capacity" - the stock NA F2 apparently makes 180 Nm of torque, even the full 50% increase is only 270, and then if you assume the original clutch was rated to a bit above the 180 Nm the engine made then this upgraded one is probably around the 313 Nm mark too.

The only other option I can see is either
a) just run my current old NA stock clutch (give it's free) until it breaks, or
b) find an F2T manual gearbox, but this is going to be literally impossible.

 

[Mazda Carnage]

I'm away at the moment so can't do any work on the car for a while but I wanted to order some parts that will arrive by the time I'm back so just wanted to revisit the clutch issue.
You previously said that the 313 Nm option wouldn't be enough, and I think I agree, but the problem seems to be that there are literally no better options.
The only one I've found that may be better is from RockAuto which is rated to a "25-50% torque increase capacity" - the stock NA F2 apparently makes 180 Nm of torque, even the full 50% increase is only 270, and then if you assume the original clutch was rated to a bit above the 180 Nm the engine made then this upgraded one is probably around the 313 Nm mark too.

The only other option I can see is either
a) just run my current old NA stock clutch (give it's free) until it breaks, or
b) find an F2T manual gearbox, but this is going to be literally impossible.

A) -If you don't mind pulling the transmission and changing the clutch.
B) -You would need, axles, intermediate shaft, hubs, shift assembly, bolts, backing plate, dust shield, flywheel, transmission mounts, block to transmission brackets and clutch slave (possibly forward section of clutch line.
C) -The M-pac kit you looked at at rock auto comes with a factory clam force pressure plate, the 25-50% increase comes from the clutch disk. The disk is also sold separately, notice it's the same 6puck ceramic disk used on the 150-200% increase clutch (probably don't make one for the F2), so that disk needs a stronger pressure plate to increase torque capacity.
The same Clutch kit is used on these vehicles:

FORD	ESCORT	1991-1996
FORD	PROBE	1989-1997
MAZDA	323	1988-1989
MAZDA	626	1984-2002
MAZDA	B2000	1986-1987
MAZDA	B2200	1987-1993
MAZDA	MX-3	1994-1995
MAZDA	MX-6	1993-1997
MAZDA	PROTEGE	1990-1995
MERCURY	CAPRI	1991-1994
MERCURY	TRACER	1991-1996

All these vehicles use a 22 spline, 15/16" shaft, 8 7/8" disk and they all use the same pressure plate.

I can find 2.2L n/a clutch kits:
Mazda Mx6 1988-1992 2.2l Non-Turbo Spec Clutch Kit Stage 5 by Spec Clutches - SZ265

Mazda Mx6 1988-1992 2.2l Non-Turbo Spec Clutch Kit Stage 4 by Spec Clutches - SZ264

ACT MZ017 - ACT P/PL Heavy Duty Mazda MX-6 LX 2.2L

 

[HL-240]

To be honest I'd actually be tempted to just run the old clutch or get the cheap 313 Nm one than any of those, simply because by the time I factor the currency conversion in, we're talking at least 4x the cost.

I guess if I can find any other upgraded pressure plate options then combined with the RockAuto kit there could be a good option there.
eg something like this

Amazon.com: ClutchXperts Stage 1 Clutch KIT Compatible With Mazda B2000 B2200 2.0L 2.2L Pickup Truck : Automotive

Buy ClutchXperts Stage 1 Clutch KIT Compatible With Mazda B2000 B2200 2.0L 2.2L Pickup Truck: Complete Clutch Sets - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

It's only rated to about the same as the other cheaper kit I was looking at but would the 1800lbs clamping load pressure plate combined with the ceramic RockAuto disc give a better result do you think?

 

[HL-240]

Progress has been a bit slow as I was away for a few weeks but we have got a bit done - cleaned the head gasket off the top of the block and made it nice and smooth, and today we pulled the pistons and cleaned the rings up as you suggested.
The rings on #1 and 2 were pretty free, on 3 and 4 I wouldn't say they were seized but definitely not as free as they could be.
It would awesome if you can give advice on a couple of things though.

1. The middle ring on piston #4 snapped as I was removing it. I started pulling the old NA motor apart to pinch a ring off that one (the NA and turbo both use the same rings according to rockauto) but the engine is still in the car and I couldn't get the sump off without hitting the gearbox as it was about 2mm too long.
Any reason why I can't just order a new ring? Or would I then need to replace the whole lot of them?

2. The cylinders still have an intact cross hatching pattern on them and my mechanic suggested not honing them because that is just going to take off more material (even if only a small amount) which would be best to avoid in an ideal world. Will it be fine not to hone them?

3. When I was cleaning the head gasket off I very stupidly didn't block off all the holes in the block and so bits and pieces of gasket fell down into them, and it wasn't until it was too late that I remembered you warning about some of them being oil passages. Is it enough to blow them out with compressed air and do an oil change shortly after first running the engine?

4. After reinstalling the rings I made sure to put the pistons back in the block the same way they came out, but I'm not 100% confident that I got the rod caps on the right way. They are not entirely symmetrical because the bottom of the opening on one end of both the rod and the end cap (see circled bit below) - which orientation are they meant to go in?

5. Any tips on a good resource to get torque specs, for things like the rod caps, head bolts, rocker cover bolts, manifold bolts, etc?

 

[Mazda Carnage]

Clutch. If the 1800 lbs pressure plate is greater than the rock auto performance clutch kits pressure plate clamping force than than yes that would be a better kit.

A friend dropped by may garage yesterday, he drive a BMW, he just upgraded the turbo and is running the maximum boost without adding water meth (no E85 here), he bough the car 7000 miles away sight unseen because he wanted a manual transmission and they are nowhere to be found, when he bought the car he put in a stage 3 clutch (highest stage available without going to dual disk and spending 2000$ + us and shipping), now he wants to add water meth but wants to go with direct port injection so he needs an aftermarket intake manifold, also from the US. To go from 600hp to 800hp will cost him 10 000$ CAD after exchange, shipping, customs and taxes. He spent 1500$ on the stage 3 and had to remove the transmission and install it... He said he wishes he bought and installed a stronger clutch in the first but was trying to save money and avoid the harsh engagement (his words) of the dual disk clutch kit.

My 626GT that I am building has a stage 4/5 clutch kit in it, the pressure plate and disk are rated to hold 700ft/lb something the car will never achieve. So why install the strongest clutch available with out going to a 3puck full race disk and solid spline (very stiff pedal) pressure plate? Because I will never have to worry about the clutch.
Last night when installing crap through the firewall I had to push the clutch pedal down with my hand because it was in the way, it was effortless, only now while writing this am I realizing that's a stage 5 pressure plate I was moving by hand. After walking the crank with a solid spline ACT pressure plate on one of my cars Bulley clutch made me this kit, it will never walk a crank or give me leg cramps.

Sometimes it's okay to roll the dice and run cheap parts if they can be swapped out easily and don't cause other damage to the car, but with stuff like head gaskets, it's a pain to clean and swap, can warp the head and scorch the pistons... Clutches are a pain in the ass to swap, even if you do the job yourself and give it a conservative price tag of 200$ and only pay 200$ for the clutch kit, if you have to do it again you're out 400$.
----------------------------------------------------------

1- Yes the N/A runs the same rings, bearings, rods and crank. Yes you can just replace one ring but it must be gaped enough. My fault, I failed to mention how to clean the pistons and rings, I don't remove them I just spray them with degreaser and move them around while on the piston. Sump?

2- Not honing the cylinders will be fine, I prefer worn cylinder wall and a bit more clearance for running higher boost but in stock form that isn't necessary and you don't have to clean the block as much if you don't hone it. Your goal is to get everything clean so oil can get to the cylinder walls and rings and have no concerns about gaskets.

3- Your fault, three holes are for oil to fall back in the pan, one hole supplies oil to the head (this is the one to worry about). All the other holes are coolant passages air blast everything, you can stuff a hose in the water pump passage and rinse out the water jackets.

4- There is an alignment mark pounded into the rod and rod cap on one side (flat part where the rod and cap meet, outer wall of the rod stud and hole in the cap), each rod assembly has a different pattern/shape pounded into it to prevent mixing up the rods and rod caps, make sure both marks are on the same side and line up and you will have the rod caps on properly. From my recollection the circled end goes toward the firewall but look for the marks and use those.

5- WTF you're just following the word of some crazy person on the internet and doing this without a work shop manual.
Download a copy, THE BIBLE 1st edition:
http://www.pmx626.info/US/Mazda 626 & MX-6/Work Shop Manuals/PDF/1988 US WSM_OCR.pdf

Download them all:
PMX626.info //US/Mazda 626 & MX-6/Work Shop Manuals/PDF/

More stuff to look at:
PMX626.info //

You can follow every step in the engine rebuild chapter and measure all your clearances or decide it was a working block and by cleaning everything and giving it new gaskets it will work even better and last even longer and just follow the reassembly instructions, besides visual inspection tells you if a bearing was spun, the crank is worn, cylinder walls are scorn, wrist pins are seized... Checking the head and block surfaces to make sure they are true (flat) is strongly recommended.

Some pics of what mine look like after cleaning :

 

[HL-240]

Thanks for the reply. With the clutch - yes I see your point, I'm not really concerned about how heavy the clutch is, more that I don't want the "on/off" harsh engagement of a 6-puck design.

Regarding the other points -
Rings - I decided to remove the rings to clean as that's what some other guides online suggested, I mentioned the sump because I obviously had to remove the sump to be able to remove a piston from the old NA motor to try and get a ring off there but as I said it wasn't possible with the engine in the car.
Can you clarify what you mean about ensuring the replaced ring is gapped enough?

Debris in oil passages - Yes agreed, definitely my fault, just not sure how to fix it - I'm sure it's not good for debris to get into the oil to head supply hole; it sounds like the way it runs I can't clean it out with compressed air?

That link to the workshop manual is exactly what I've been looking for, thanks!

The only other concern I had is that there was obvious wear on the side of the piston (can't picture it without it in front of my but I think thrust side). However the cylinder walls were in good shape so I'm not going to worry about it.

Your pics look great, mine isn't quite that clean!

 

[Mazda Carnage]

The 6puck clutch just has a smaller pedal travel window than a regular disk, once you get used to it, it's as smooth as any other clutch.

As you can see you can get the rings and pistons as clean as they where when they where new without removing them or risking breaking them.
Nope, still don't know what you mean by "sump" you have the oil pan, the oil pipe (pickup) and the oil splash tray. Once all the bolts are removed the oil pan must be turned 90 degrees to clear the pickup and remove it.

Ring gap, chapter 1 page 51 and 52.

Oil passage. Chapter 2.
Look at the pictures of the blocks I posted.
On the block with the head gasket it's the copper loop. On the next block it's next to (above) the rear middle stud.
Remove the oil pressure switch, put an oil filter on the block, if the oil pump is off stuff a wet rag in the block supply hole (the pump o ring sits against it) if the pump is on, block the pickup tube hole. Block the turbo supply pipe. Blast air in the oil pressure switch hole, it should come out and clear out the oil supply passage to the head.

There is always wear on the thrust side of the piston, cold starts, engine hesitation, misfires... cause pistons to rattle like bells and rub the cylinder walls, nothing to worry about, has no effects on function or performance.

 

[Mazda Carnage]

Reassembly tip. Instal the oil pickup gasket between the pump and pickup and torque it to spec, let it sit for a day and retorque it, let it sit some more. Then disassemble it and put the gasket back with the others until final assembly. This allows the gasket to "crush" in advance eliminating any chances of it crushing after final assembly and leaving a gap causing oil pressure problems. During final assembly use high temp thread lock on the pick up tube and splash tray bolts to assure they never get loose.

 

[HL-240]

The sump and oil pan are the same thing, is 'sump' just an Australian word or something?
Either way, there was absolutely no way I could rotate it 90 degrees with the engine still in the car.

Thanks for the oil passage tips and also the oil pickup gasket tip.

 

[gbilski]

Sump is we in the English world call the oil pan. You can get the sump off with the engine in place, no need to rotate it 90 degrees. You do need to drop the oil pickup once you lower the sump down a bit.

 

[HL-240]

Do you mean, remove the oil pickup with the sump dropped down a bit, before actually removing it from the car?