installing a new oil pan

higher the better.....easiest to remove the engine but it can be done with the motor raised in the bay.

if you still have the stock fan and shroud on there, make sure you take 1 or the other off if you lift it in the car. learned that the hard way lol, bent the crap out of the metal peice on the fan blade itself.

yes you will be lifting the engine. probably wish to remove the front accesory's and undo the exhaust.

mustanghunter50 said:

so there's absolutely no way i can replace the oil pan without lifting/removing the engines?

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not unless you like fishing around in the oil pan for the main seals from a 2 peice gasket set

pulling the motor or lifting it is your only choice unless you get a brace up top to support the engine and just drop the front crossmember. easiest way is to pull the motor or lift it from the bottom.

The first and only time I did that crap, the bellhousing was butted up against the tranny tunnel...and it still sucked to remove the pan. Not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what a PITA you're in for.

...oh yeah, I'd recommend you "isolate" the engine from the bay. In other words disconnect everything from it to make sure none of your ancillary stuff like wiring, fuel lines, connectors, etc get crushed, pinched, mangled, or mutilated due to the engine coming up farther than intended

I would definitely remove the engine. A couple years ago this came up in here.

It can be done in the car, but, imho, it is much easier to just pull it. Trying to clean the pan rails, and get the gasket and seals to stay in place while you try to fish it back in place will be a major pain.

I did the engine removal two weeks before I was going to change engines, because I dropped the car on a jack and put a hole in the pan.... I can't imagine doing it in the car.

Some helpful hints...

Been there, done that - You can do it in the car, but it is hard to do. The best way is to pull the engine.

Disconnect the battery at the battery ground terminal, remove the fan and fan shroud. Both motor mounts will need to have the large nuts that secure them to the frame removed. The trans mount will also have to be loosened, and it is a good idea to remove the drive shaft.

I also had to disconnect the cat pipes at the headers to get the engine high enough to remove the oil pan. Be prepared to have to drop the steering rack and disconnect the steering shaft.

Jack up the engine with a wood block under the oil pan and watch for things that bind or hoses/electrical wiring that may need to be disconnected. I put a couple of wood blocks between the headers and the frame to support the engine.

You will likely need to jack up the rear of the transmission as well to get the required clearance.

Scrape the pan mating surfaces clean as possible - old gasket stuck to the surfaces are a source of leaks.

There is a one piece oil pan gasket which will help re-assembly if you can find it. If you can't get this gasket, use weather strip adhesive to secure the cork gasket to the pan rails and the rubber strips to the bearing caps. Use lots of MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) available from Ace Hardware, Home Deport or Lowes to clean the gasket surfaces. Read the instructions on the adhesive carefully to make sure the gaskets are permanently stuck in place and won't move when you slide the pan in place. Use lots of blue silicone sealer on top of the front and rear rubber seals where they mate with the pan.

Fill with oil, replace the filter. Reconnect the battery, switch the ignition on to enable the gages, but DON'T crank the car. Remove the distributor and use a 1/4" hex socket to turn the pump counter clock wise (same direction as distributor rotation) until you see oil pressure (an external gage is a great help long about now). And keep turning for about 30 sec after you see the pressure come up. A reversible drill is the best tool to use to turn the 1/4" socket. The pressure should come up to about 50-80psi with cold oil. Once you see good pressure, check for obvious leaks, and then and only then, lower everything back into place and bolt down the mounts and anything else you had to take loose.

Re-install the distributor and set the timing with the engine running using timing light (don't forget to disconnect the SPOUT plug and reconnect it when finished) 12-14 degrees BDC is good. Start up and check for leaks, let it warm up and look again for leaks. It took me 2 days plus, but I am old and slow, maybe your granny is faster.

You could always drop the front K member while suspending the engine from above.

thehueypilot said:

You could always drop the front K member while suspending the engine from above.

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The local shop I called said the same thing. The only way they'll change my oil pan gasket is by removing the K-member. They're quote was 5-6hrs of labor at $100. Now I'm torn to pay the money since the motor has 81k miles on it.

Thanks for this thread Mustanghunter50. I was wondering the same thing.

thehueypilot
You could always drop the front K member while suspending the engine from above

Click to expand...

You took my idea. This would be a good time to install a aftermarket k-member if you desire one in the future.

If not I would just take your time and pull the engine to do it right. Also address anything else that is needed at the time. maybe motor mounts.

WARNING: this is ghetto, and not recommended but I've seen it work in a pinch...

Find where your leak is most prevalent, clean that area meticulously, loosen all your pan bolts about three or four full turns, and "inject" your favorite color of RTV (I usually use ultra black for oil) all the way around paying particular attention to corners around the front and rear pan seal. If you glob it up, just smooth it down, let it tack for the recommended 15-20 minutes, then torq it back up.

This is by no means a permanent fix, and I'd only say to do it if:

1)you're so broke you can only afford RTV, and it's leaking like a sieve

or...

2)you're on the road and the gasket came out, and you just happen to have tools and RTV in your roadside emergency kit (which begs the question, where's your AAA card?)

Otherwise, I'd probably just keep an eye on it until I had time to pull the engine out. The way I figure, unless you had something happen like rd (hole in the pan), if the oil pan gasket is bad, chances are good that other gaskets and seals are bad-or going bad. And if I'm going to the trouble of replacing the pan gasket, I might as well buy a new gasket set, give the engine a "krylon" rebuild.

I like how your so cavalier about "just remove the k-member.." that's no walk in the park

Drop the K member - let's think about that for a moment... I haven’t actually done this, so I will likely miss some details. But here’s the rough outline. Input from anyone who has actually changed a K member is welcome...

Disconnect the battery at the battery ground terminal, remove the fan and fan shroud.
Jack up car using floor jack under the K member
Remove the front wheels.
Remove the front brake calipers from their mounts.
Put jackstands under the A arm close to the ball joint.
Disconnect the roll bar links.
Chain the front springs so that they don't go flying out when you release pressure on them. Flying springs can kill you, so this is crucial.
Remove the top nut from each shock strut or remove the bottom shock strut mount bolts.
Put floor jack under the A arm, put pressure on the A arm so that you can remove the jackstand.
Move the jackstand to the K member to A arm pivot point. Place it so that it des not inhibit the A arm movement.
Slowly release the pressure on the jack while watching the spring. Once the tension is off the spring, remove the chain and the spring.
Repeat the process for the other side.
The flex coupling for the steering shaft needs to be disconnected before you can remove the K member. You should disassemble the coupling by undoing the 2 bolts that hold it together.
Both motor mounts will need to have the large nuts that secure them to the K member removed.
The trans mount will also have to be loosened and the bolts removed.
Use a chain host or engine lift to support the engine.
Put the floor jack back under the center of the K member and relocate the jackstands to support the car.
Remove the bolts on each side that secure the K member to the body.
Disconnect the hydraulic lines from the steering rack.
Lower the floor jack with the K member on it and remove it from under the car. You will need a helper on each spindle to keep the K member from falling off the floor jack. Your helpers may need to turn the K member so that it lays flat to have enough clearance to get it out from under the car.

Reverse the process to re-assemble. The springs will probably need a spring compressor to re-install them. Again, caution is the main thing, since a flying spring is very dangerous.

Some alternative possibilities are to leave the springs and struts alone and remove the bolts that mount the A arms to the K member. Again, I haven’t tried this, so I don’t know if it can be done sucessfully.

After looking at all the work, I think that I would rather pull the engine or do it with the engine jacked up to clear everything.

For some reason I thought the K member was just a straight bar going across that had a few bolts to remove. I guess what you've said means the entire front end. YIKES! I better get familiar with my fox body. I need to get under it soon.

jrichker said:

Drop the K member - let's think about that for a moment... I haven’t actually done this, so I will likely miss some details. But here’s the rough outline. Input from anyone who has actually changed a K member is welcome...

Disconnect the battery at the battery ground terminal, remove the fan and fan shroud.
Jack up car using floor jack under the K member
Remove the front wheels.
Remove the front brake calipers from their mounts.
Put jackstands under the A arm close to the ball joint.
Disconnect the roll bar links.
Chain the front springs so that they don't go flying out when you release pressure on them. Flying springs can kill you, so this is crucial.
Remove the top nut from each shock strut or remove the bottom shock strut mount bolts.
Put floor jack under the A arm, put pressure on the A arm so that you can remove the jackstand.
Move the jackstand to the K member to A arm pivot point. Place it so that it des not inhibit the A arm movement.
Slowly release the pressure on the jack while watching the spring. Once the tension is off the spring, remove the chain and the spring.
Repeat the process for the other side.
The flex coupling for the steering shaft needs to be disconnected before you can remove the K member. You should disassemble the coupling by undoing the 2 bolts that hold it together.
Both motor mounts will need to have the large nuts that secure them to the K member removed.
The trans mount will also have to be loosened and the bolts removed.
Use a chain host or engine lift to support the engine.
Put the floor jack back under the center of the K member and relocate the jackstands to support the car.
Remove the bolts on each side that secure the K member to the body.
Disconnect the hydraulic lines from the steering rack.
Lower the floor jack with the K member on it and remove it from under the car. You will need a helper on each spindle to keep the K member from falling off the floor jack. Your helpers may need to turn the K member so that it lays flat to have enough clearance to get it out from under the car.

Reverse the process to re-assemble. The springs will probably need a spring compressor to re-install them. Again, caution is the main thing, since a flying spring is very dangerous.

Some alternative possibilities are to leave the springs and struts alone and remove the bolts that mount the A arms to the K member. Again, I haven’t tried this, so I don’t know if it can be done sucessfully.

After looking at all the work, I think that I would rather pull the engine or do it with the engine jacked up to clear everything.

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That's pretty close......I did not remove the fan or shroud or the trans bolts. I used a cherry picker to hold the engine in place. The k member is held on by eight bolts (four on each side) I left the spindles in place still attached to the struts but removed the rotors to get better access to the lower ball joint.

+1 for pull the motor!!!!!

Also been there and done that.

Had a coolant leak and during the teardown I decided it would be a good idea to replace all the parts that I could ( I was working for FORD at the time ) since the car had 230 000kms on it. Got to the oilpan and didn't realise how brutal that gasket was... OUT CAME THE MOTOR! and in went lots of new parts and goodies.

She is a very happy stang now.


GOOD LUCK with it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I guess I will repeat my earlier post71swing

Quote:
thehueypilot
You could always drop the front K member while suspending the engine from above
You took my idea. This would be a good time to install a aftermarket k-member if you desire one in the future.

If not I would just take your time and pull the engine to do it right. Also address anything else that is needed at the time. maybe motor mounts.

Click to expand...