My oil pan has rusted through and is beginning to leak. Has anyone replaced a 7.3L oil pan without pulling the engine? It looks like if I remove the turbo and fan clutch, I should have enough clearance to lift the engine several inches and get the pan to clear the crossmember. Or would it be easier to just pull the engine?

 

Depends on whether or not you want to actually fix the leak... or just move the leak over to a different spot, like the pan to block junctions at either ends of the engine.

 

I don't understand...care to explain?

 

Prolly - he is saying it likely rusted out everywhere and needs to be removed and replaced

Kyle

 

He's saying when you do it wrong from the beginning, don't expect it to end up right at the end.

 

Removing the pan is one thing. Resealing a new pan is another.

Many before you have tried to install a new pan with the engine in frame. Most have failed.

At some point after their repair, they found that they traded an oil leak through a rust hole, for a different oil leak, at the pan corners, where their gasket or sealant failed.

 

Exactly. Said much better than I did too. Reps sent for coining the quote of the week.

 

Interesting. Why is it difficult to reseal the 7.3l oil pan? I've R&R several oil pans, with the engine still bolted to frame and also with it out. All the the gasket/gasket maker failures I've had were from improperly prepped mating surfaces or a bent pan. When I do it with the engine in the vehicle, I always bolt up a few studs so the pan doesn't slide around while bolting it up.

 

Might as well add a micro write up here to describe the right (Ford / International recommended) way to install an oil pan on a 7.3L:


1. Engine out, drained, and upside down on a stand.

2. Old sealant cut around perimeter with a knife, old pan removed.

3. Surface must be completely cleaned of any and all old sealant material. The stuff is tenaciously tough to remove even with the engine upside down on a stand, nevermind right side up in the truck with a crossmember in the way.

4. Surface must be completely dry of any oil residue. Again, difficult to do when the engine is right side up in frame, with residual oil dripping down from gravity.

5. Only one International/Ford approved RTV sealant is recommended, which is available under the following part numbers:

Wacker T-442
Motorcraft TA-31
Ford F5TZ-19G204-AB
Navistar D15-5012 Type II
International 1830858C1

Note: You may need at least two tubes to complete oil pan seal at recommended bead thicknesses. See Point #6 below.

(Point #5 is the main reason for me posting this micro write up. I've never seen all five of these part numbers listed in a single post anywhere online in 16 years. This was just as good of an excuse as any to make a record linking all these part numbers together, findable in one search hit.)

6. Two different bead profiles are recommended to seal the pan.
- 6A. The long edges of the pan should have a 3mm (1/8") bead.
- 6B. The short edges of the pan should have a 6mm (1/4") bead.

The short ends of the pan (with the half moon cut outs) are far more likely to leak, and have far less mechanical clamping (no bolts) to assist the sealant, compared to the long edges. However, putting too thick of a bead on the long bolted edges might create excessive squeeze out, which could potentially contaminate the sump. Hence the two different bead profiles.

- 6C. Apply beads to PAN, not to block.
- 6D. Apply beads inside of bolt holes on pan, not outside of bolt holes.

7. Oil pan must be installed within 3 minutes of applying the new T-442 sealant. If the pan is not installed within three minutes, then the bead that was applied must be completely removed, and a fresh bead reapplied.

8. It is best to use a few threaded guide studs to install the pan for optimal alignment and the least amount of bead disturbance as pan is lowered onto block.

9. Ensure that all oil pan bolts are installed (and guide studs removed) before tightening. Oil pan bolt torque is 18 foot lbs, (24Nm) Stagger tightening.

10. Allow newly installed pan to sit undisturbed for at least 24 hours in order for the sealant to properly cure and not end up leaking later. Even when the engines were first manufactured at the engine plant, row upon row of them would sit at the plant, curing upside down, after passing through the automated sealant and pan application cell.



People have tried gaskets, but have reported later, sometimes a year or so later, that they wish they did it the right way instead. People have also cut out their crossmembers and rewelded them back together again. When the metal shrank, tweaking their frame, they wondered why they had alignment issues.


For a temporary "just to get by for now" hold over fix until the job can be done right, consider repairing the pan in place, rather than replacing it, with one of the kits sold online. A search will quickly turn up several patch kits. I haven't tried any of them and don't know much about them. Clearly, they are not optimal, but I'd sooner try the patch kit until I could do it right, then expend the effort pulling the turbo, the transmission, the adapter plate, loosening the motor mounts, and jacking around the engine trying to install a new pan. Before exposing the oil to any fiberglass or epoxy, I might apply a stainless steel tape over the holes as a protective liner.


For those with just surface corrosion on the pan, where no perforation has occurred yet, Ford has issued several TSBs recommending Motorcraft High Temp Anti-Corrosion Coating, Part Number PM-13-A, be applied, using the following procedure:

1. Clean the oil pan off with a solvent to remove any dirt and oil.

2. Using a 3" angle grinder with a 36 grit disc, grind off all loose corrosion. Since the word "angle grinder" more typically describes a 4.5" to 7" huge honking electrical tool with a 1/4" thick stone attached, let me suggest that what Ford really means to say here is use a small right angle pneumatic high speed rotary tool with a spindle chuck capable of mounting a 3" 3M Roloc rubberized backing plate that has a 3" 36 grit green Roloc disc for your first cut. For feathering into the non corroded areas, change the Roloc disc to a 60 or 80 grit, but still leave enough tooth in the corroded area so that the brushed product applied can bite into what is left of the "good" steel.

3. Blow off with compressed air.

4. Wash the pan with soap and water.

5. Allow cleaned pan (still mounted under truck) to thoroughly dry.

6. Brush the Motorcraft PM-13-A anti-corrosion coating on the oil pan.

7. Allow coating to dry fully before operating the vehicle. Dry time will vary with temperature and humidity.

 

X-2

So, this is basically not a small deal. Consider taking a good look for all the stuff that are best done with the motor out and add them to the list. Also might want to read through the Failure Prevention Thread (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...on-thread.html) as there are some items which are easier to do when working from inside an empty engine bay and with the cab out of the way.

When shopping around for the pan, IIRC Moroso has a nice looking item.

 

it can be done in truck, but 9 out of 10 times it will leak because of improper sealant preperation.
also, the only way to get the engine high enough to get the old pan out and new pan in is to unbolt and jack up the cab first for clearance room. it is actually easier to remove the engine.

 

They did have a thread on here some time ago and a guy cut the frame/cross member section off under the pan, replaced the pan, and then welded it all back together. If I recall it was a father/son collaboration and it appeared to work out OK. Way out of my league but it can be done.

 

Thanks guys.

I would rather just pull the engine, but I don't have the space. My Excursion takes up the entire length of my garage, so there would be no room to pull the engine out. I can't do it on the driveway because it's on a pretty steep incline.

My plan is to drop the transmission, remove flexplate, remove turbo, radiator fan and shroud, and lift up the engine up several inches. It should give me plenty of room to drop the pan and reinstall it. I'm going to meticulously clean the mating surfaces.

I'm going to begin working on this next weekend and will update with any progress.

 

The late DieselTechRon (RIP) also recommends removing the cast adapter and sliding the oil pan out toward the rear. See his video on YouTube for details.

Like I said from the very beginning (second post in this thread)... you won't have any problem removing the pan the way you propose. The problem will be in the integrity of the seal installing the new pan. I don't know how your are going to fight gravity. The oil clinging to every part in your crankcase will continue to dribble down and wick along your freshly cleaned sealing surface, compromising the adhesion of the RTV in the corners where there are no bolts.

I'm not criticizing your approach... I just want you to be fully informed about what has frustrated others in their past attempts at doing what you propose. Sixteen years of reading forums has jaded my opinion, which is already biased toward following factory recommendations (why reinvent the wheel?). However, that all being said, I'm rooting for your success, and hope you will supplement this thread with pictures of your effort, and then report back in a year on how your pan seal held up. Proving past experience wrong will be of benefit to others, because then an oil pan refit can be combined with a transmission rebuild... both weak points in the powertrain combo of this era.

 

Well, my transmission finally bit the dust and I'll be removing it tomorrow to get it rebuilt. I've been putting off the oil pan replacement because I just didn't have any free time and also, to be honest, I really wasn't looking forward to doing all that work. I guess now is the time to get it done. I'm going to try to see if I can do it with the engine in the truck; otherwise I'll pull the motor.

I'll be sure to snap a few photos.