Oil pan gasket change

I noticed a leak with my oil pan (96 3.8L V6) and had a few questions. I know that to remove the oil pan you have to raise the engine. However if your just changing the gasket can you get away without raising the engine? The pan looks like it will drop about 1 inch before it hits the cross member, is that enough to get the gasket in and out? Has anyone tried this? Any other short cuts to get it changed?

Second question is the my engine is leaking from the bellhousing as well I know how to change the rear main seal but also know that it has a second seal with the factory manual says you have to lower the oil pan for. I don't plan on changing it until it either gets real bad or the next time I pull the tranny (clutch change). Which real main seal is most likly leaking. If it is the one which you have to lower the oil pan for do you have to once again raise the engine? Or just drop it like I stated before. If I put a new oil pan gasket now and change drop the pan again for the rear main seal would the oil pan seal up or would I have to change the gasket again?

Last question is that if i bring the car to the shop how much is typically charged to change the gasket and which shop such as midas ect. Thanks ~ Erik

well I will try to hepl you a little bit cause I had the same problem with my oil leaking. I changed out my oil pan gasket yesterday and got it back on. I was a pain in the you know what to get it off. I found the best way to get it off is to raise the engine in the front with an engine hoist and then get a jack and rase the tranny up to give you more room to clear the oil pump. I am not sure if this fixed my problem but I do also beleive my rear main seal is leaking a little also but for all the problems it would take for me to fix it, I will just leak a little oil every once and a while instead of wasting all that time for little to no gain.

Yeah my oil pan was leaking real bad.... Everyday in the garage there was a good sized puddle on the floor. It seemed to happen all of a sudden although it always leaked. I did get it off using the method you decribed (found a 2 ton engine hoist with load leverler on clearence at kragen (advanced auto) and I would say this is the best way. However I did have to remove the AC compressor to get the engine mount bolt out, then remove the starter and the brace next to the starter (connecting the engine to tranny) to get the front bellhousing cover (on a standard tranny)off. Only then could I get the oil pan off. You have to rotate it 90 degrees once its loose to get it off and then its still tight getting it on and off 9had to use a little force. It definatly needed it though. I could see the leak paths and they had road grit almost all the way into the oil pan.

Thanks for the help!