Hawk40

i'm going to change my oil pan gasket this weekend...i have a horrible leak up front where i took the timing cover off to change the front main.

the plan is to unbolt the pan, motor mounts, and headers and jack up the motor as far as the tranny will let me. hopefully i'll have enough room to get the old gasket out...wipe down the pan and get the new one in...which i'm betting will be a hassle to clear the oil pickup.

who has changed their gasket and how did they do it? tips/tricks?? i dont have a cherry picker, obviously...

thanks

BLK,97,T/A,M-6

Im interested myself, as i will be doing the same in the next week or two

Hawk40

well, if we dont get any replies...i'll be happy to let you know what kinda headaches i had..come mon morning..hahha

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

I've never done it in the Car, but it's an interesting procedure from what I hear.

I had the Blue Felpro one in mine and it was perfect..didn't leak at all.

speed_demon24

iTrader: (6)

Slide the gasket over the outside of the pan.

1badzee

iTrader: (12)

Or do it right. Drop the k-member an inch or so (it won't fall out but keep a jack underneath it to be safe), jack the motor up and remove the oil pan completely. Clean it thoroughly and install new gasket on it with a bead of RTV. I did it that way and it doesn't drip one bit.

BOLO

iTrader: (40)

I did exactly as mentioned by speed demon24. Very easy, so you don't tear the one piece gasket.

collier341

iTrader: (5)

https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...-oil-leak.html there's a few pics in there that should help, other than that..

i removed the starter, y-pipe, coolant lines running to the top of the oil filter to reach all the bolts. a swivel socket with long extensions is key to reaching all the bolts easily.

make sure you remove the oil level sensor on the side of the pan. you have to actually remove the whole thing not just the electrical connector.

the engine mount bolts (2) need to be removed and i had to lift the engine as high as i could without hitting under the wiper cowl. i believe the drivers side bolt came out first then the passenger.

put the gasket on the bottom of the block first, then put the pan on under that. it'll be WAY easier that way. i siliconed the four corner bolts and the top and bottom of the front and back of the gasket with some rtv copper. i heard rtv gray works good for this too.

loc-tite all your oil pan bolts with the blue medium strength loc tite. i tourqed mine to 9 ft/lbs. it calls for 106in/lbs which is about 9 ft.lbs. the four corner bolts are a different tourqe spec though. if you need me to find it let me know.

other than that be patient, as you will most likely run into one issue after another. a buddy is also a good thing to have. especially with lining up the motor mount holes. don't hesitate to ask for any more help/questions. take pics!

Andrew

I8ASaleen

iTrader: (9)

Is the car an A4 or an M6? This makes a HUGE difference when removing the pan. I did it in an M6 car and let me tell ya, it wasn't a cakewalk.

Also Hawk if you want any help let me know b/c I did mine not too long ago and it's all fresh in my mind.

BALLSS

it helps to remove dip stick tube and have # 6 cyl TDC (rods/crank will clear easier). RTV corner front & rear where the pan has a curve in it. as mentioned remove oil level sensor

METALBEAST

iTrader: (1)

And waste a lot of time & effort to achieve exactly the same results. Good call.

I've done it JUST like Speeddemon suggested with no leaks or problems. A little more info.

1. Remove your dipstick tube. Its held on with one bolt. You may have to get a small piece of wood & a rubber mallet & tap out the tube gently from the bottom.

2. Remove the starter.

3. Remove oil level sensor.

4. Remove all the bolts & the 4 nuts from the oil pan.

5. Remove the two front oil pan studs for the two nuts. Use a reverse Torx head (E4 I believe I can't remember exactly) to remove the two studs. This will allow you to drop the front of the oil pan down enough to slide the new gasket on.
7. Clean your gasket surfaces to remove all oil & old RTV. Apply new RTV sealant around the pan.

5. Slip the new gasket over the bottom of the pan then up to the top. Replace the studs on the front of the block.
6.Replace all bolts & nuts & torque to proper specifications.
7. Replace the starter.

I think that is about it. You can get it done in a couple of hours. Take your time though.

I8ASaleen

iTrader: (9)

Well if you don't want to drop the pan completely out and clean all the surfaces then that's up to you. If you can get off all the surface gunk and gasket material while the pan is still under the car then you're a genius in my book. I, however, had to take the pan out of the car to get all the surfaces clean and get everything to seal correctly.

There is an added plus to taking the pan out, you can clean the whole thing off - since I'm sure if you have a leak it is disgusting by now.

1badzee

iTrader: (12)

x2 Thank you

METALBEAST

iTrader: (1)

I don't see whats so difficult about that. We're talking OLD RTV not some super adhesive glue that requires anything special to remove it. You can get to all the surfaces pretty easy with your fingers & if need be a putty knife or other device to scrape the old RTV off the pan & block surfaces. Only slightly difficult part was getting the RTV on correctly at the back of the pan but it can be done with a little patience. Only thing you can't do is really clean the pan.

I8ASaleen

iTrader: (9)

I certainly couldn't reach everything. And even when I did it was inevitable that pieces of old crappy gasket fell inside the pan never to be retrieved again.

METALBEAST

iTrader: (1)

I'm sorry to hear that but I did not have that problem.

1badzee

iTrader: (12)

K. The point we were trying to make is that there is way less room for error by removing it completely. That way you get to thoroughly clean the pan inside/out. Plus, I had no choice because I was changing the pan itself

Hawk40

hey everyone, thanks for all the replies and advice. I put the new gasket in today. Here's how I did it:

1) Remove y-pipe and tranny dust cover, drain oil, and remove filter
2) Loosen K-member bolts to lower k-member about an inch or two
3) Remove motor mount bolts
4) jack up engine as high as headers would allow before hitting the floor
5) remove starter, oil adapter coolant lines, oil level sensor, and oil dipstick
6) remove all bolts/nuts and drop oil pan...i had plenty of room between the raised engine and lowered k-member...didnt have to fight the pan at all to get it out.
7) clean all surfaces, put new gasket on block and reverse everything.

took about 3 hours...could prob do it in less than 2 now knowing what i'm doing.


all in all pretty easy...thanks for the suggestions.

marc1130

iTrader: (20)

My y-pipe bolts are rusted too hell, already sheared on of em, any suggestions?