My friend has a 95 e-350 with a 5.8l motor. The oil pan has a hole in it caused by rust. I'm looking for help with instructions or videos on how to replace the pan. Thanks guys.

 

 

Is there no way to do it without pulling the motor

 

I think you have to remove the upper intake and lift the motor. Easier than pulling the motor but not pleasant.

 

Transmission and exhaust Y pipe are in the way and have to be removed so drop the driveshaft and pull those. Then the motor has to be raised as much as possible so the upper intake must come off. There isn't much room to work in the engine bay but rear engine access is very good with the doghouse removed. Once the engine is lifted the oil pan can be unbolted but it won't come out until the oil pump has been disconnected, you have to reach into the pan to do this so estimate how much room is required to do that and try to envision the contortions required. At this point the only things left connected to the engine are the wiring harness and fuel and coolant lines so technically you're that close to pulling it anyway, only problem is the rad support is welded to the fenders so removing them will mean installing a new rad support unless you remove the whole front clip, and that means stripping the front of the truck down.
Now that sounds like a lot of work but if you chose to go this route the trans, driveshaft, and exhaust can stay in place so you're saving there and the pan job will be dumb easy to do with the engine hanging on a hoist and you won't have to disturb the oil pump.
Being an experienced DIY mechanic and having worked on my own van I'd opt to pull the engine... unless your van is like mine with terminal rust problem in which case I'd just junk it.

 

I had to replace the pan gasket on my 5.0 as it was leaking. This was a long time ago. The 5.0 and 5.8 are pretty much the same job. The service manual says to pull the intake and raise the motor. I really didn't want to pull the intake so I tried it without.

I raised the motor until the intake was against the top of the engine bay. Removed the pan bolts and dropped the pan. I still couldn't get it past the pump but I could reach in far enough to get to the nuts that hold the pump and dropped the pump into the pan and removed the pan.

Re-installation was basically the same. I used some RTV to hold the pan gasket to the block and worked the pan with the pump in it into place. Before putting the pan in place re-install the pump and make sure you have the pump shaft in place.

 

The problem is the 5.8L is a taller deck height block then the 5.0L. So if it was that tight with the 5.0L it is going to be worse with the 5.8L. Which means pulling the upper intake is pretty much mandatory.

If the van isn't a really nice van or you don't want to pull the engine. How about draining any remaining oil, cleaning the exterior of the pan thoroughly. Then treat it with some kind of rust treatment ( rust convertor, Ospho, POR15, etc. ) and then use some kind of epoxy or panel bonding adhesive to fill the hole & adhere a piece of sheetmetal over the rust hole? If you could find something that would hold in a oily, high heat situation, it might save a whole lot of work. It might be a little redneck of a solution but that might get a few more years out of the vans life without the nightmare of the pan replacement or engine removal. Not the best option, but it is a much simpler one.

 

Yea, sell the van and buy another with a good oil pan.