Can the oil pan be removed from my '94 Z28 without lifting the engine?

Maybe I need to, maybe I don't.

My Z (an A4 car) has about 130,000 miles on it. It needs a tune-up. As you guys know, doing a tune-up on one of these cars is fairly involved. I'm thinking that while I'm all the way down to the timing chain cover, that I may as well go ahead and put a new timing chain in it. Then I'm thinking, well, maybe I should go ahead and put in a new oil pump.

It seems like one thing leads to another on this car. I love it. It's fun to drive and all, but I want reliability and longevity first and foremost.

Your opinions? Thanks in advance!

 

Yeah its pretty easy actually. I had to jack up the motor, loosen the front k-member bolts, and take out the back 2. Then I just tilted the k-member down in the back and the pan slid right out. To get the canton pan in I had to lower the shock towers, but I didn't have to do that with the stock pan.

 

Hmmm. Sounds doable. So, ya think putting in a new oil pump might be a good idea?

 

I wouldn't go through that to replace the oil pump if it wasn't bad. it took me about 2 hours start to finish to remove and reinstall the oil pan. I just was doing it to replace the gasket cause my motor was leaking so much oil I changed everything I could. The oil pump/pick is cheap enough to replace it if you don't have to, so its up to you.

I intially jacked it up by the transmission, but then the jack got in the way of the pan when I was pulling it, so I switched to a hoist. And no matter what, I always forget to put the dam braces back up before i start bolting the pan up.

 

Well, I don't have any puddles under the car, so maybe I don't need to replace the oil pump. So, I don't THINK I have any oil leaks.

I have a cousin that has a repair shop. I can use his lift over a weekend to do whatever. That would help. So far, getting the car off the ground far enough to check it out thoroughly has been an issue. LOL I need to get another set of ramps that I can actually use!

Like I say. With this car, it seems like one mod leads to another, etc., etc. LOL It's funny that I started off trying to plan out doing a tune-up and ran into the "while I'm there" thing.

 

i think every one understands the "one thing leads to another" issue, we have all been there at one time or another. it is no nececery to change the timing cover gasket/ seals if they are not leaking. unless there is a problem with the chain i would not bother with it. save the timing chain / oil pump for when you really have to get in there like a future cam swap. if you decide that you want to go ahead with the chain i would go ahead and do the pan gasket and oil pump because you will probanly tear the front part of the pan gasket taking the timing cover off. its almost imposible not to. also its a one pice gasket so you cant replace just the front lip on the older style sb engine. good luck!

 

I pasted this response from SweetZRAG from a similiar question some time ago. I used this when I had to take my oil pan off because I poked a hole in it with an exhaust clamp. It worked well and is for an A4.
__________________________________________________ ___________
You can also read some more about it where I added some notes for the M6 removal, and some guys chimed in about the k-member.

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=466968
__________________________________________________ ___________

post from SweetZRAG:

I pulled the oil pan last night It took me about 2 hours going very slowly and carefully. Here is what I did:

1) Disconnect the driver side O2 sensor.
2) Drop Y pipe (15mm deep socket)
3) Remove Torque converter cover (10 mm socket)
4) Remove oil filter.
5) Remove oil level sensor (it can get hung up on the baffle inside the oil pan and break).
6) Remove engine mount nut and bolt on both sides (18mm on bolt head, 15mm on nut) I used a punch to lightly tap the bolts through.
7) I removed starter bolts and moved starter to the side but this probably wasn't necessary.
8) Remove dipstick (10mm bolt). It comes out easier after you raise the engine. It hits the passenger side wheel well if you try before raising.
9) I raised the motor using a floor jack and a 2 X 4 on the bottom of the timing cover (my balancer bub was off). Be very careful as this could slip. I did one side at a time and slid small 2 X 4 blocks in between the 2 halves of each mount as I raised. BE CAREFUL!!!!!
10) Remove 2 corner bolts or nuts using 13mm socket (I found 1/4 drive sockets work best in the tight space).
11) Remove all pan bolts using 10mm socket except stud holding A4 cooling lines. For this one, use an 11 mm deep socket to take off nut, remove line bracket and then 10mm deep socket to remove stud.
12) Remove pan. It was a little difficult because it hit the crank weights but I managed to get it out.

I wouldn't do bearings this way but this is how to drop the pan.

Good Luck,

Jeff
__________________
94 Z28 Ragtop, A4, CAI, Taylor wires, Racetronix fp, MSD Opti, Edelbrock Heads, Intake, 52mm TB & Shorty Headers, Stage 8 header bolts, 272/286, Lift .479/.518, Comp 1.6RR, Bored +0.030 over, Balanced, Bilstein shocks, NGK FR5 Plugs

__________________________________________________ _________

Good Luck

 

The answer is no, you have to jack up the motor to get it out. Why would you want to? To change a pump that's working? It's really not needed. Just drop the front of the pan and do what ever you need to do with the front of the motor and move on.

 

if it ain't broke don't fix it

 

Thats pretty much my take on it. Drop the front of the pan if you need and leave the rest alone if it's not giving you any problems.

 

Thanks all. It's just that I've read where it's a good idea to change out the oil pump drive when doing any work on the engine. I just figured that while I was close... Again, thanks!

 

I thought my oil pump was fine when I decided to change it out and put in a new pan and I was wrong. Chances are yours is fine, but I'm glad I changed mine.

 

Ouch! Was there a hole in the screen?

 

Nope, but there was a bunch of junk clogging half of it up. I have no idea what caused that, the motor still ran fine though.

 

/\ good catch