I need to change my oil pan gasket, It is one of the many spots leaking oil. I have done a search and I got mixed answers. Do I need to drop the trans or jack up the engine at all to change it? I have heard that Felpro is the way to go for a new gasket.

Any tips or tricks???

Thank you!

M

 

also curious since mine needs to be changed. Ive heard that you can just undo the motor mounts and jack the motor up a little bit and do it, but im not 100% sure on that

 

i just replaced mine this winter. i didn't jack up the motor at all. i just dropped the pan as far as it would go against the k member and slid it in between the pan and block. just make sure you clean up everything as good as you can and to cut the inner part of the gasket where the oil dipstick goes in or you can pull the dipstick all the way out.

 

To raise the motor you just remove 2 bolts, jack it up and place a wooden block under the pass side and slide the bolt back in the mount in the other side and that will give you and extra 1.5-2". You can also back out the 6 bolts holding the K-member in by about 3/4-1" and that will give you that much more...plenty of room to work with, here's pics when I did mine

 

Just unbolt the pan, take the old one out, and slide the new one around the outside of the pan.

 

exactly what i did, but i didnt clean mine well enough so it leaks like a siv, and i have low oil pressure

 

Nice trick! I had to change out my oil pump and had to support the engine with a hoist and drop the cross member. Wonder if this would have given me enough space.

 

There is absolutely no need to jack the motor up. Drop the starter and Y pipe. You can easily get to all of the pan bolts which will allow it to drop about an inch and a half. Enough to clean both surfaces with brake cleaner. Take out old gasket and slip new one around the outsides of the pan. make sure the curve for the oil dipstick is on the passenger side of the car before putting it over the pan. Put a dab of RTV in each corner. 1/2" on the corners and 3/8' for the rest of them except the tranny line bracket which I dont remember.

 

Yep, with the motor raised 2" it gives you enough room to get the pan completely off, you have to rotate the crank until the front rod and counter weight are swung half way up on each side to give you enough clearance. Dropping the K-member that extra 3/4" just gives you added room to get it back on easier without the gasket touching any oily surfaces...I always tie the gasket to the pan in a couple of places with string to put it back on until I get a few bolts started then cut and remove the string.
I takes all of 10-15 minutes to remove the 2 motor mount bolts and jack the motor up so I don't know what the big deal is about that, it makes the job much easier when the pan can come all the way off to get all the surfaces clean....any bit of oil on the surfaces is going to cause another leak.
If you also loosen the K-member, then put the entire front of the car on jack stands at the lift points under the front of the doors...loosen the 6 K-member bolts which will drop the engine and K-member about 3/4-1", then remove the motor mount bolts and now you can jack the motor up an extra 3/4-1" that way.
BTW, the oil pump is at the back towards the flywheel right beside the rear main cap, so with the pan off, its easy to get to.