Found a tiny pin hole leak in my oil pan while changing my oil yesterday

I slapped some JB weld on for now, but ordered a new pan and 1-piece gasket this afternoon.

Has anyone done this job with the engine in the truck? I heard you have to lift it to get the pan off. I've got a cherry picker, and I see theres a hook point in the front. I was thinking about lifting by the hook point only and putting a floor jack under the trans.

Anyone have any tips before I get dirty? Fedex says the parts should be here tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

Yours is a newer model than mine, but your book will tell you how. It is a bit of a job. With mine I have to undo the m.mounts and jack up engine 1", and drop in wooden shims. Yours, depending on year, 4X, etc, will be diff.

 

On my '93 I loosened the trans mount, maybe completely removed the hardware, it's been a while. Same with the motor mounts. IIRC, I think I used the front pick point. The object is to get it lifted as much as possible. Mine is EFI so the back of the upper mani hit the firewall limiting the lift but it gave me enough to "curse" the pan out and back in. Take your time cause you will get frustrated! A trick I used was a light dab of Permetex between the pan and gasket. I probable used the red spray stuff back then. The key is use it sparingly, it causes less mess, just to help hold the gasket in place while you lightly and gently tie the gasket to each bolt hole with the thinest sewing thread you can find so as not to compromise the seal, the Permetex helps here don't deform the gasket then let it sit and tack up. I probable used cotton thread so it would soak up the Permetex and help it seal. The thread and Permetex are probable not totally necessary but will help keep it located if you happen to bump it as you weasel it back in. As you remove it note the angles/orientation as you do it will aid in getting it back in without to much bumpin'.

BTW mine is 2wd, M5OD, reg. cab, 8' box and red like the one in your avatar. Must be a Mitchican thang. Good luck.

HTH
Jim

 

You may need to move some of the intake assembly on a 92 - 96 truck, since it's kinda tall. When jacking the engine up, I know my valve cover came very close (if not touching) the firewall.

I've done it on two engines without removing them. It's a pain, it's irritating, it's dirty, but it's doable.

Definitely unbolt the transmission from crossmember, as well as the engine mounts. I'd also recommend unbolting the exhaust from the manifolds. It'll make the engine a LOT easier to keep straight, as well as line back up when you're putting it back in place.

I was able to jack the engine high enough to get the oil pan off without removing the oil pump, but it definitely requires you to get the engine as high as you can. If not, you'll need to reach between the pan and the block to unbolt the oil pump before removing the pan.

The newer gaskets come with alignment pegs that make them really easy to put in. Screw the alignment pegs into the four corners of the block, slide the gasket up over the pegs, and then slide the pan over the pegs. Work the remaining bolts in, and then remove the alignment pegs, and you're done.
Torque from the center out, and then torque the bolts that go into the timing cover (the ones in the front).

Whatever you do, don't overtorque the bolts or you'll split the gasket and be doing the whole job over again.

 

well, i've gotta say I'm a little more intimidated than I was last night, after hearing your stories. School and work really have me in a pinch for time, so I think I'm gonna hold off on this project until I have at least a day or two in a row off.

I think I'll wait to do this project for when I have my M5OD out and I'm putting my ZF in

stay tuned, I'm about to start a thread on ZF clutches. I appreciate the info.

 

I wouldn't necessarily say it's intimidating, just a long, dirty job with a lot of steps. But, I would agree that waiting until you have the time is a good idea.

If you wait until you remove your transmission from the engine, you'd have a really easy time doing it. Remove the two motor mounts, and you could pretty much lift the engine straight up. It wouldn't tilt back like it would when a transmission is attached to it, giving you plenty of room.

 

That's the plan! When removing the motor mounts, can I just remove the single nut on each side, or am I going to have to get the entire bracket off?

 

With the motor mounts, there's two ways you can go about it.

You can either remove the one BIG nut on each side that holds the mounts to the frame, and lift it out. Or, you can remove the 3 smaller ones on each side that bolt the mounts onto the engine block and lift.

Both have their benefits and drawbacks.
With the single on each side, it's less work to unbolt them and easy to lift the engine, but sometimes it can be a real bear to get the mounts to go back into the holes. But, once they go in, the engine just plops back into place. However, I've found it really difficult to get a torque wrench up inside the axle to torque the big nut back down. It may be much easier on your 2WD front end, though.

With the 3 on each side, they're very easily accessed and out in the open (aside from moving a few small things out of the way), and the engine easily lifts up out of them. They also do a good job of guiding the engine back to where it was originally (which also helps line the manifolds up with the exhaust). The frustrating part is trying to get the engine perfectly lined up with 6 holes while it's dangling from a hoist.

 

Hello AbandonedBronco,

I just tried to "rep" you, but was told to "spread the love"...

You really have a willingness to help your fellow forum members and that is an attitude all appreciate!

 

Heya 1986, thanks for the compliment! I know how many times my frustration was helped by someone else, so I'm just glad to pass the savings along.