Well it's time to man up and tackle the rear main on my truck. It used to be a slow leak but it's gotten worse and I'm now adding a half quart every two or three days. It's also covering the bottom of the transmission and transfer case pretty good and has started getting on the exhaust, not good.

Any tips for this procedure? I did a search and the only thing I'm not entirely sure about is how to raise the engine enough to get the oil pan off. Looking underneath there, it appears there is hardly any room between the oil pan and crossmember-- I think once I get in there I'll figure it out, but removing the oil pan looks like it's going to be a real chore.

Any tips / suggestions / info would be much appreciated.

 

I did mine in the truck and NEVER AGAIN will I do that! With all the stuff you have to take loose and off, take out a few more bolts and the engine is out on the stand. You will be able to do a better job of putting on the pan gasket and not having a seep. That's my 2 cents worth, anyway.

 

Can you elaborate and tell me what things you had to take loose, what hiccups you had to work through along the way, etc.? Hearing from someone who has first hand experience is a bigger help than reading instructions in a Chilton's book.

Truck is my daily driver, so it can not be down for more than a day or two. I don't have an engine hoist / stand, so pulling the motor is not an option for me.

I started tearing into it today, got as far as disconnecting the exhaust @ the manifolds, taking the engine mount nuts off, fan shroud is out of the way. So if the Chilton's manual is correct, I should be able to start jacking up the front of the motor, and getting to work pulling the oil pan off.

All in all, getting the exhaust off I thought would be my biggest challenge. The rusted on nuts came off pretty easy, all things considered. There seems to be plenty of room around and underneath the oil pan to work there, assuming the engine will jack high enough.

I've got the nuts off the studs at the exhaust manifolds, is this all that comes off? Or do I need to remove that whole section of exhaust that runs under the oil pan?

Any other help, info, etc. would be much appreciated. I need to get this done and put back together by the end of the day tomorrow! Wish me luck

 

Sorry, man. I've been away all day. We had to pull the plenum off the intake, manifolds, exhaust pipes, and transmission mount in addition to all the stuff you did and even then it was a bear! My truck is a rust-free one from New Mexico so rusty bolts wasn't a problem. Space was the main problem. Even with all that removed and jacked up tight against the firewall, there was just barely enough room to get to the oil pump pickup bolts.
I know you said you were doing this today so I hope everything went OK.

 

Well I ended up catching pneumonia and spent Christmas in the ER and at home recuperating, so the project has been put on a brief hiatus. I'm about to go outside and give it another go.

I've got the engine jacked up, but not nearly far enough. I got all the pan bolts off and the pan is loose-- But not enough room to fanangle the front of the pan past the crossmember. So the pickup tube in the deep part of the pan is what has to come off, correct? Is there anything on the otherside (shallow end) that has to come loose, or does it simply have to clear the crank and main caps?

I don't think I need to do anything with the intake plenum, manifold, etc. as my truck is carb'd. Once I remove the air cleaner housing the engine is free to raise all the way to the firewall. I'll keep you posted, hopefully I won't have to give my vocabulary of cuss words too big of a workout... I need to save that for the Broncos game this weekend!

 

Only remove what ever is nessesary to get the pan off the rear main bearing. If you can jack up engine until trans hits tunnel and drop pan far enough thats good. Remove pan, remove rear main cap. look at condition of bearing. Is it showing lots of copper? Pull top half seal out with needle nose plyers. slip new seal in coated with oil. offset seal as indicated in instructions with seal. Torque main cap to spec. Install oil pan. Drop engine and reinstall the rest. Reason I asked about condition of bearing is loose bearings can contribute to seal failure. Hi blow by pressure can contribute to oil leaks like that too from high crankcase pressure. I would just change seal quickest way possible with an examination of bearings to plan on future repair / rebuild when you get the money and time and have a suitable place to do the work. Is it not cold as a witches titty in irons there now?

 

Well the seal replacement came and went but I was never able to get the upper seal out.. I left it in. Chilton's book and others said to loosen all the bearing caps to drop the crank 1/32" inch to get the upper seal out. I loosened bearing caps, undid accessory drive belts, everything I possibly could and that crank would not budge.

Truck still leaks but it's very mild. I lose about 1/2 quart in 500 miles. I will continue driving it this way, and since I'm buying another vehicle in the spring, I'll have time to pull the motor and do it right then.

The bearings I examined were mostly a light dull silver color, but there was slight copper color showing through some places, but nothing I considered to be excessive.

It's generally mild in the winter here; weather has been in the 50's and 60's here for the last 2-3 weeks, so it was comfortable working outside until the sun went down, then it gets cold quick. Took a turn for the worse this weekend, snow and below 0 temps at night. But in a couple days it should pop right back into highs of 40's and 50's.

 

Glad you got job done. I have pulled top half out with needle nose plyers before without loosening the other caps but every situation is different. In future the is a tool specifically made for that. I have never used it but I have seen it. It is called "monkey handcuffs " or something like that and is a sort of needle and cable intended help fish seal around somehow. Good Luck.