i have a little leak in the rear pan gasket seal. i was wondering if there is a way to remove the pan w/out pulling the motor? or if i could just lay a thick bead of silicone(sp?) over the rear of the seal to help out.

what about if i pulled the motor and removed the motor mounts and tried to angle it out of there? i don't know if that would work, its just an idea.

thanks!

 

It can be done with motor in the car, you'll have to lift the engine a bit and might want to take out one of the long engine mount bolts to do it. It's more difficault if you have an engine oil cooler and A4 coolent lines that will obstruct some bolts.

 

what he said^^ It is a big pain in the ***, i'll tell you that. Use some black silicon on the corners where the pan makes a 90* turn at the back

 

It was such a pain to do but doable. You have to get the front of the motor HIGH to even have a chance. The front main caps really get in the way. I got the front of the motor up and jacked the trans up a as far as it will go before lifting the car too and the pan wiggled out with a little persuasion. Take out the low oil level sensor first...I didnt and I broke mine. Oh well.

 

Like they said, it a pita to do, but I did it. Make sure you clean the whole area real well so you don't knock dirt into the pan as you are stretching it over the pan, Also, make sure you put the metal braces back in!!! It sounds obvious, but I forgot, that sucked the fat one.

 

There is another easier way. I took the pan bolts out and let the pan fall as far as it would. I cut pulled the old gasket out and cleaned all surfaces. On one side I did a long bevel cut in the gasket between two bolts and assembled with sealant on both sides of the cut. That was in 2002 and it hasn't leaked a drop yet.
Sure was a lot less work.

 

i heard about droppin the back of the pan and puttin a thick bead of sylicone on top of the gasket and waiting a little bit and then put it together...idk if i'd work or not. thanks for the info guys

 

ttt...

 

To drop the rear of the pan a distance that allows you to work on it comfortably (about 1") you'll have to remove all the pan bolts anyway. At the end it may work and may not. I'd do it right the first time and change the seal while I'm there.

 

I've developed a leak on the back side of the pan after switching to synthetic and have been reading a few threads here. I looked underneath today, and I think one of the pan bolt washers has cut into the side of the pan where it was pushed out as time has gone by. I ground a new washer flat on one side & it has better clearance.

Since I have the PA Racing K member, I'm thinking it would be possible to support the motor on a cherry picker and drop the K-member & pan from underneath.

I'm also considering a Canton setup (heard they have fixed their quality issues) since my engine builder clearanced my pan & this is where it is leaking now.

If not, I can take care of the leak w/ my Mig welder if I pull the pan.

I've had great results with the stock pan & Melling pump/pickup, so if I can fix this leak w/o major work/expense, I'll be .

 

Took the plunge & bought a Canton 242T w/ a new pump & pickup. Still have to install the drain fitting for my turbo, so I'm not sure about fitment issues yet (will update).

This is a tough removal/install! Here is what I did (maybe this will help others, my car has the PA Racing K-member) :
Rasided front of car, put on jackstands.
Supported front of T56 w/ a floor jack.
Hooked cherry picker to front of motor.
Pulled the motor mount bolts (horizontal ones through mounts).
Lifted front of motor. Not enough room to pull pan!
Supported front suspension w/ floor jack.
Removed 6 K-member to frame bolts on each side.
Removed 4 swaybar to frame bolts.
Removed driver side strut bolts/nuts (under hood).
Lowered suspension 1" or so.
Pan comes & goes easily now.

BTW, the stock pan had a crack where it had been clearanced & brazed & this allowed oil to weep out the driver side rear of the pan.

UPDATE
This job was a major league PITA!!!

Ended up raising the front of the motor w/ an engine hoist, had to drop the k-member after pulling motor mount bolts.

I had to add in a turbo drain fitting like I had on the stock pan.

If you install a Canton 242T, make sure you have some 1/4 drive extensions & a variety of tools to tighen the bolts. I used allen head bolts so it was not as bad as it could have been.

Still have a few odds & ends to do, but it should be back together this week. The good news is that there is no interference w/ the steering rack.

UPDATE #2
Found out the hard way that the plug for the oil temp fitting is not sealed when it is delivered (it is installed, though). Had to tighten a few bolts after the first test drive, but on the second one so far so good. I suspect they will have to be heat cycled a few times as well (saw this in another thread).

Only other issue was the dipstick fitting really tight. I flattened the end & bent it slightly & it goes all the way in w/o any interference w/ the rotating assembly (still tight the last few inches).