Oil pan installation

TITAN STANG

New Member
Apr 15, 2004
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I will be installing a new oil pan to rescucitate my Stang this weekend. Any other steps other than Unbolting it, install the gasket and put it back in? I just needed to know if anything needs to be moved out of the way or any other parts need to be included. :shrug:
 
Is the engine still in the car? If so you will most likely have to unbolt the 2 motor mount bolts and jackup the engine. And if you still are running the stock fan then you will have to loosen up the fan shroud as well. Not a very fun job when the engine is in the car.

It sounds like you have what you need. Just remember to follow the torque sequence and torque specs.

Good Luck
 
I'd add - safety is a HUGE issue if you're doing a pan install with the engine in the car. Most people like to pull from above with a cherry picker to give themselves as much working room underneath as possible. However, you don't want to be working under an engine that's being held only by a hydraulic jack from above -- so look for ways to safely support it once you get it up there. Hands don't like to be caught between 'an engine and hard place' -- just ask that Aaron guy out in Utah that had to cut his own arm off. Changing the gasket is one thing. Gaining enough clearance to completely remove the pan and replace it -- you're gonna have to get the engine really up there to do that. It's possible other parts may have to come off/loose to get that much clearance. Think about hoses, tranny mount, exhaust head pipes, etc. Anything that can limit upward movement. Good luck with it.
 
TITAN STANG said:
Yes, the engine is stil in the car.Is there any other way like removing the sway bar? Also what would be the torque sequence if anybody knows
No. You have to jack up the engine enough to clear the K-Member. That is the culprit not the sway bar.

110-144 inch lbs. or 6-9 ft. lbs.

Trying to find the sequence now....
 
Thank for the replies. Maybe I'm on crack, but looked at it and thought it could just unbolt easy if I removed the Swaybar and loosened that up a bit. IT is true about the Safety concern. I like my hands were they at. I will use a hydraulic lift to hold the whole car up. Would that mean that the engine still has to be unbolted to get it out? I am just trying to get all the info before I do my install.

Damn Michael, you may catch the Google man in post count one day
:D
 
Sounds like you plan on having the whole car up on a lift like at a garage, right? Great for access - but the engine still has to be lifted quite a bit to get clearance over the cross member to get the pan out. Take a look at it - it's a double sump pan - and the cross member sits up inbetween the sumps. There's even less clearance in my application than in the Stang. But I've not heard of anyone that doesn't have to at least disconnect motor mounts and raise the engine to get the pan out of the way enough to change a gasket. And if you're changing the whole pan (your original post says that) it may have to come up even higher. If you want to do it with the car on a lift - another approach is to drop the K-member -- don't forget to support the engine! I believe you're gonna find it's a big job - more involved than just moving the sway bar.
 
The following tech note is for an oil pump change, but the steps are the same.

Been there, done that - You can do it in the car, but it is hard to do that way. Disconnect the battery at the battery ground terminal. Then 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.

Get a high volume/heavy duty pump, and a replacement HD pump shaft. FMS makes one, and ARP does too. When you install the pump, the funny looking washer thingy goes on the part of the shaft that fits into the hex socket in the distributor shaft. It keeps the shaft in place when you remove the distributor, which you will have to do to prime the pump. Forget to put it on, and the pump shaft can come loose and fall down in the bottom of the oil pan.

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. 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.
 
GREAT jrichker - nice post. The only thing I'd add is to think twice about the high volume or high pressure pump. The stock pump is more than sufficient, doesn't seem to be much upside for the extra HP it'll take to pump the extra volume/pressure. But it's a minor difference in any event.
 
The folks that engineered it probably thought if it lasted for a good 10-15 years, the chances were good it would outlast the rest of the car. So no need to make it too easy to get to. This is one of those jobs that the 'book' probably gets 5-6 hours for, and good mechanic that's used to working on these cars can do it in about half that - with lifts, jacks, air tools of course. Me - probably take me 5 or 6 hours each on a Fri, a Sat. and a Sunday!