Help! Questions on oil pan

[jake93lx]

I recently found out that my oil pan was dented and after an oil change it leaks from the gasket. I looked up prices of oil pans and they seem to go for $60 and i also was planning on getting a new exhaust system. I heard you need to move the exhaust out of the way in order to change the oil pan and was wondering how much expertise was involved in order to do this as i haven't really done too much. Can someone tell me if i could manage doing this on my own and whats involved. If anyone could give me some insight and a scale of what would need to be done that'd be great.
1(easy anyone can do it) - 3(an experienced person should only) - 5 (only mechanic)

[SEXXIILADY712]

1

hardest part is to take out the exhaust (if rusted)

everything else is easy, use silicone on corners, not on the whole thing, and u should be good

[Grounded]

i just replaced mine last week. 14mm and 10mm is all you need. took me about an hour.

[batever]

I recently found out that my oil pan was dented and after an oil change it leaks from the gasket. I looked up prices of oil pans and they seem to go for $60 and i also was planning on getting a new exhaust system. I heard you need to move the exhaust out of the way in order to change the oil pan and was wondering how much expertise was involved in order to do this as i haven't really done too much. Can someone tell me if i could manage doing this on my own and whats involved. If anyone could give me some insight and a scale of what would need to be done that'd be great.
1(easy anyone can do it) - 3(an experienced person should only) - 5 (only mechanic)

It's a 2. any determined relatively competent person can do it. Emphasis on determined.

As to the exhaust issue, the easiest thing from my point of view is to take some silicone spray lube and spray it on all the exhaust hangers. Unbolt the exhaust at the front (the 14mm bolts mentioned--pb blast them first) and then pull the whole exhaust down and put it to the side of the car so it's out of your way (the silicone lube helps you slide the exhaust hooks off the hangars).

When you put the exhaust back up, use a jack to press each hanger up up into position for you to attach it. Make sure to guide the downpipe flange mounting surface into place before the rest of the exhaust is up, or you'll have trouble getting it in to the space it goes into and you'll have to backtrack and relower the exhaust a little to get it in.

Before you start this job, get some extra 6mm diameter bolts (in 20 or 25 mm length) in case you lose some. These are the ones that put the oil pan back on. If you're like me you'll lose a few during the job, having some spares will save your butt and save a trip down to the hardware store.

This job, like all others, is a pain in the ass the first time. But I just saved you from the hell of trying to unbolt the downpipe from the catalytic converter if you take my advice. I used 4 jackstands and put the whole car up when I did this job but you can get by on 2--and it's arguably safer with 2.

[jake93lx]

thanks for the detailed response... so if i order the oil pan and it comes in I'm basically draining oil, unbolting, cleaning up a bit, and then re bolting with new bolts? Just trying to be as clear as possible with the expectation of a few minor headaches.

[cb9wagon]

yeah the pan gaskets sometimes are rock hard. have a sharp scraper to clean the mating surfaces. and clean , clean , clean thats your inernal organs there!

[batever]

thanks for the detailed response... so if i order the oil pan and it comes in I'm basically draining oil, unbolting, cleaning up a bit, and then re bolting with new bolts? Just trying to be as clear as possible with the expectation of a few minor headaches.

Yes, exactly. You need to buy a new gasket. The Felpro ones work. Clean the gasket mating surfaces with solvent to get all the oil off (I used brake cleaner spray) But you don't need new bolts. Just get maybe 5 new onews new ones in case you lose a few of the old ones. As long as the threads are clean and the bolts are in decent shape (you will of course clean them up any really dirty ones with a brass (not steel) brush in solvent) you can just reuse the bolts. Also, get a few of either nuts and washers or (preferably) the cap head nuts that are already on your oil pan that have a wider base that fit in a 10mm socket. This is in case the nuts for your studs get lost or are in bad shape.

Once all the bolts are off, knock the pan a bit with a 2x4 or a rubber mallet to break it free as the gasket will have sealed to the engine block mating surface. I used a length of 2x4 against the pan, then banged the 2x4 with a hammer.

Don't try to pry the pan off as that risks messing up the gasket mating surface, guaranteeing a leak.

Once your pan is ready to reinstall, put a *thin* bead of RTV sealant like Permatex Red on the corners of the gasket mating surfaces so the bead runs just inside the bolt holes, and also down the middle of the semicircular part of the gasket sealing area (you'll see what I mean when the pan is off) where the gasket has little ridges on it. Don't put more than a thin ,even 1/8" bead of the stuff on there as it spreads out thin when you compress it with the bolts. Let it sit for 5 minutes to firm up a bit before installing the pan so it doesn't completely goop out all over the place. You don't want a lot of the stuff protruding into the oil pan interior area because it can eventually break off and get in the engine oil passages if you put way too much on. Although if you're like me it takes about 5 mintues to get under the car with the pan after you've put the RTV on!

I let the oil pan with the RTV cure for overnight before I filled it with oil but that's just me. Probably a few hours would be ok but I wanted the RTV to completely cure before I added the oil.

Speaking of the pan, you might not even need a new pan. If your existing one doesn't have a hole in it and is not severely corroded but has a dent in the bottomost part (or anywhere else), just hammer it out. The bottommost part actually is the only really important part, as the oil pickup tubes are like 1/4 inch or so above the bottom there and you want that whole surface to be flat or you risk starving the engine of oil when it is running.

What I did was order a new pan and gasket then when it came in took the old one off and evaluated it. It was in ok shape so I put it back on and returned the new pan. Have the new pan there for backup if the old one is beyond rehabilitation.

Take the whole pan and turn it over onto a flat surface to make sure the gasket seating area is flat. Here again, you can do judicious hammering if it's slightly bent (I didn't have to do that on mine).

What I did with mine is I cleaned it completely to get the oil off (scraping the oil sludge off of it, then cleanedit with solvent then cleaned off the rust with a wire brush and then Naval Jellied it. to get rid of all the rust, then painted it with Rustoleum primer and the gloss black.

Basically I'm cheap by nature. I considered painting it blue because that's what I had on hand but I splurged and bought some black.

If your pan doesn't have a hole in it and doesn't have massively deep corrosion spots, yeah you can reuse it, just make sure to hammer out that bottom area flat or you're at risk of starving the engine of oil (because that's where the oil pickup tubes are).


FYI, there are two or three studs in the oil pan mating area instead of bolts, which makes it much easier to line up the oil pan when putting it back up.--fit it over the studs, then spin a couple of nuts on and the pan is up there ready for retorquing.

When you retorque the bolts, your final torque reading will be 9 ft lbs. (according to the manual) Actually I think a little less, maybe 8 ft lbs, is better. Basically you want to compress the gasket a decent amount that's it.

I torqued mine on in three stages; about 2 ft lbs, about 5 ft lbs, and 9 ft lbs, with my inch-pound torque wrench (0-250 inch pound wrench). Work outward from the center of the pan in a criss cross patters as you tighten each stage.

If you don't have a torque wrench it's not the end of the world but I would advise using a nutdriver style tool instead of a ratchet, that way there's no way you can overtorque anything as you have next to no mechanical advantage using a nutdriver handle. Either that or choke way up on your ratchet so you don't have a lot of leverage.

You'll need a six or eight inch long extension to reach all the bolts by the way.

Also, besides what has already been mentioned you'll need to remove the clutch flywheel cover plate (to the right of the oil pan as you're lying on your back underneath it with your feet out in front) before you can drop the pan, which is on with only 6mm diameter bolts (metric 10 socket) and is very easy to remove.


One more final thing (in the potential "inevitable headache category"): you probably won't need it but you may run across a bolt hole in the bottom of the block that's crudded up and the way around that is to have a 6mm tap around to clean up the threads. This helps make sure that when you retorque the bolts, the torque you are applying is going towards compressing the gasket, not just overcoming the crudded up threads.

If you end up doing this, be very judicious and careful with it as you don't want to overdo it. I chased the threads on two or three the holes in my oil pan mating when I did mine. because when I tested the bolts in them they wouldn't turn easily with finger pressure (test all the bolt holes to make sure they turn easily once everything's cleaned up). The holes turned out to be a little looser-threaded than the other holes when I was done because the tap I used must have been slightly on the larger size (even though it was a 6mm tap, there are 6mm taps and there are 6mm taps--who knew?) Maybe you don't need to have a tap nearby, but I'm just telling you what I ran across and how I handled it. It's probably not strictly necessary but I did it.

(And you thought my earlier post was long!)

good luck and have fun with it!

[jake93lx]

Well i went about doing this finally and got the cross member off and all the bolts and such. Then i try to separate the exhaust to bring it down and the things rusted tight and i stripped one off and now i can't get the pan out had to stop pissed me off. I have a hole in my exhaust anyway so i guess I'm replacing the whole exhaust (header back), both out of need and want. Pain in the ass is I don't have that stuff yet and can't get the pan changed till then.

-does anyone know of a full exhaust kit together or a good street legal/good sounding setup with different parts that all fit together for under $500? (just wondering to make sure i have proper lengths and its just bolt on)

[Leung]

i was going to say if the dent isn't seriously bad, then you could beat it back out with a block of wood and a rubber mallet. save that 60+ bucks for the exhaust.

[batever]

Then i try to separate the exhaust to bring it down and the things rusted tight and i stripped one off and now i can't get the pan out had to stop pissed me off.)

What did you strip? the A pipe exhaust header nuts?
you should be able to get that off using an Irwin Sure-Grip socket if it's stripped.

or a nut/bolt attaching the A pipe to the catalytic converter?

[konig]

is there a aftermarket oilpan?
i dont know that doesnt go so low somehow cut shorter?
my oil pan is crushed in to low around where i live
getting a lil woried might get a hole

[batever]

is there a aftermarket oilpan?
i dont know that doesnt go so low somehow cut shorter?
my oil pan is crushed in to low around where i live
getting a lil woried might get a hole

yes autozone sells an aftermarket one or you can go jy.

[jake93lx]

I got the new oil pan and gaskets as well as oil n filter. The bolt was actually ripped in half so i can't get it off cuz it rusted through so i might have to cut it when i replace the whole thing. It's one of the three bolts connecting the down pipe to the exhaust manifold like in front of the engine but you gotta go under to get it.

my only other question was has anyone ever ran into problem connecting the different parts of the exhaust system like because of length and size differences? I plan on getting a header and down pipe i assume stock replacement would be the same length so that everything fits to a new cat and cat back. even tho its performance

[batever]

I got the new oil pan and gaskets as well as oil n filter. The bolt was actually ripped in half so i can't get it off cuz it rusted through so i might have to cut it when i replace the whole thing. It's one of the three bolts connecting the down pipe to the exhaust manifold like in front of the engine but you gotta go under to get it.

You'll want/ need to get that bolt out, not just cut it in half, because without it out of the exhaust manifold you won't be able to remount the exhaust with all three mounting bolts. Your existing exhaust is probably "stuck" on to some extent, but when you put a new one on threading one of the holes over that broken bolt stud, then tightening the other 2 bolts on--well actaully it might work ok, as the leftover stud is there to provide positioning reinforcement and the 2 other bolts are applying clamping force over 2/3 of the joint. Who knows. If it doesn't you can always pay a shop to re-drop the exhaust and take that renegade broken bolt out.

Personally at this point I would consider just having a shop do the oil pan job, or do the oil pan job yourself, reattach the downpipe as well as possible, then bring it to them to re-drop it and remove and replace the renegade bolt-- because they have a lot more ways of getting that bolt out in the shop than the average joe.

For example, (just one example) they probably have a welding torch and can heat that bolt up red hot, then apply wax to it and turn it out with vise grips.

However if you have (or buy) a Mapp gas torch and welding goggles at home depot for like $50 I guess you could do that yourself of course.

Keep in mind there's not a lot of room to get at or even grab those bolts if the head broke off one. Someone with a welding kit could conceivably weld a nut or more likely a short length of pipe steel pipe or rod onto the end of that broken stud and use the rod or the nut to turn the broken off stud out.

You don't want to get to the point where the only option is drilling the bolt out because in that case you might end up removing the entire exhaust manifold first.

[jake93lx]

Yea thanks batever. what I'm trying to do is replace the oil pan obviously but i had planned on doing that before replacing my full exhaust but but everything was rusted together so i have to get the exhaust off then the pan the new exhaust. so luckily when i tried the first time i only ripped off one bolt so now I'm waiting till i get all my parts then just not sure what approach I'm going with. Keep in mind once i get rid of the old exhaust i don't plan on keeping any of it so you think with force and a sawzall to get EVERY part of the exhaust off and then get the pan then reattach all new exhaust it will be doable by me or what? that's all I'm asking as of now.