Oil change frustration

Hi all, I know this has been discussed before but I can’t find definitive answers for my model, so apologies for the repetition?

When attempting to change the oil today on my 56 plate td4, I was frustrated by the sump guard. No matter what I tried I just couldn’t get any of the bolts to move. Two of them are actually rounded off. I have read on here that some people have modified the guard with a hole to expose the sump plug. This seems perfectly logical to me, but where exactly is the sump plug? How do you know where to cut the hole without taking the guard off?

Having bought all the parts, and even the super-sized socket for the oil filter, to do the service myself, I’m determined to avoid taking it to a garage to get the guard off.

Thanks in advance.

Jonertd4 said:

How do you know where to cut the hole without taking the guard off?

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Jack the car up and look towards the sump, from where the IRD is (looking forwards). You can see the drain plug from that location, so you can then take a guessestimate of which part of the plastic to remove.

Nodge68 said:

Jack the car up and look towards the sump, from where the IRD is. You can see the drain plug from that location, so you can then take a guessestimate of which part of the plastic to remove.

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A guessestimate is as good as it gets!!

Nodge68 said:

Jack the car up and look towards the sump, from where the IRD is (looking forwards). You can see the drain plug from that location, so you can then take a guessestimate of which part of the plastic to remove.

Click to expand...

Thank you Nodge68, I’ll give that a go tomorrow.

Hi Jonertd4.
Personally I would persevere, and continue in a course of action of removing the undertray and its alloy frame even in the face of difficulty, the rounded bolts can be removed with Irwins bolt grips.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Irwin-10...304728&hash=item2ae1d28260:g:3oAAAOSwpj1dxoXQ

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11pc-Twi...824328?hash=item3d21029c88:g:iIEAAOSwUMxZ6a5k

Once removed you can then modify the whole frame and undertray so the next time only the undertray is removed and not the large frame, with the undertray removed you can look over the underside of the engine for any leaks and give it a good inspection.