Dropping the Oil pan..

[Splitpi]

So I'm trying to remove the oil pan to inspect my bearings and what not. I'm seeing a little metal sparkle in the oil when I change the oil filter... the pan oil looked fine, just the oil that was still in the filter. Plus I have never done this, so I'm mainly curious.

Anways, I removed all the bolts, dropped the down pipe and un bolted the dump tube. Now the RTV is holding the pan on, and I cannot get it off. Any suggestions on what to use to pry it off? I don't want to bend or disfigure the rim of the pan.

If I cannot get it off, I'll just rebolt it and ignore it.

 

[badboyr6]

Try either a putty knife or a razor blade and slowly go around in between the oil pan and the block. Just take ## time and be gently

 

[dimon2000]

try to use a screw driver and slowly pry it all the way around. if that still doesnt work get a rubber hammer and give it a slight hit all the way around and than try the screw driver again. it will come off, the old gasket is holding it. good luck

 

[99gst_racer]

Pry with a flathead screw driver. Just be careful, and work your way around the edges. If it's been on there for a while, it's removal will be stubborn. Just keep working at it - it'll come off.

 

[324vr4]

Yeah the flat head screwdriver method is good...its made of steel too so after the flange piece is all bent up just lie it down on a flat surface with cardboard underneath and bang it flat with a rubber mallet...have done it several time with no failures....good luck...good seals should be hard to pop....

 

[romeen]

I think the putty knife is safer and this has always worked for me. If you get the knife in at the driver's side front corner there is room to hammer on the end of the handle to work it along the entire front side towards the tranny. In my experience, once you seperate a certain amount you will hear the rest start to seperate on it's own and then the whole thing suddenly starts to come off.

You can also insert two putty knives one on top of the other and then put a flat head screwdriver in between the putty knives. This will give some protection to the pan flange as well as preventing gouges on the sealing surface of the block.

 

[Splitpi]

I think the putty knife is safer and this has always worked for me. If you get the knife in at the driver's side front corner there is room to hammer on the end of the handle to work it along the entire front side towards the tranny. In my experience, once you seperate a certain amount you will hear the rest start to seperate on it's own and then the whole thing suddenly starts to come off.

You can also insert two putty knives one on top of the other and then put a flat head screwdriver in between the putty knives. This will give some protection to the pan flange as well as preventing gouges on the sealing surface of the block.

Thanks everyone for reply... good advice romeen. I'll give it a shot. I thought about getting the special tool... but decided agagainst it.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Just don't forget about the 2 short bolts when you put the pan back on. Its very sad to find out that you used the long ones on the timing side.

 

[romeen]

Good point.^^^

I know this isn't addressing your question but here is another tip. To make installing the pan easier you can replace a couple of the bolts with studs. It can be hard to get the pan to line up perfectly and it tends to slide around and smear the RTV until you get a couple bolts in. Putting in 2 or 3 studs allows you to line it up and get it seated right where it needs to be. If you decide you want to do this you need M6 x 1.00 studs that are 30mm long. Use loctite on the block side if you do this.

 

[Splitpi]

Good point.^^^

I know this isn't addressing your question but here is another tip. To make installing the pan easier you can replace a couple of the bolts with studs. It can be hard to get the pan to line up perfectly and it tends to slide around and smear the RTV until you get a couple bolts in. Putting in 2 or 3 studs allows you to line it up and get it seated right where it needs to be. If you decide you want to do this you need M6 x 1.00 studs that are 30mm long. Use loctite on the block side if you do this.

Great suggestion!!!

 

[Splitpi]

So I got the Pan Off.

Please look at these photos and let me know if you see anything odd or weird. I looked at the pan and didn't see any metallic sparkle.

Just a little bit of gunk on the pickup and that is all that I saw. Anyone have any comments of things that I should do before I hoist it back up?

Oh I bought a "Water Pump Stud Kit for Imports" Kit from NAPA had 4 studs that were M6x1.00 x 24mm with lock washers and nut. Should work pretty good, otherwise NAPA was going to charge $14 for just the studs as they would only let me purchase in packages of 10 at the depot [only place in town that had them in stock]. Incase anyone wants the studs, just buy the kit for ~$4 ....

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[DSMunknown]

As far as I can tell, everything looks fine.

I would use the same process when cleaning the intake ports on the head - get some Gunk Engine Brite, a new razor, and some very fine steel wool and to work on the edges of the pan and block. Clean it really well before applying the Ultra Black RTV. (Anyone use anything else?)

Any signs of thick gunk buildup in the corners or pan?

 

[Splitpi]

As far as I can tell, everything looks fine.

I would use the same process when cleaning the intake ports on the head - get some Gunk Engine Brite, a new razor, and some very fine steel wool and to work on the edges of the pan and block. Clean it really well before applying the Ultra Black RTV. (Anyone use anything else?)

Any signs of thick gunk buildup in the corners or pan?

Nope

I did however notice a decent chunk size chuck of non-ferrous metal in the pan... looks a piece of aluminum metal casting excess and a couple of small peices of wire looking ferrous metal. I ran a magnet over the oil that is at the bottom of the pan that never gets changed. Otherwise nothing else could be found. I am not worried about these few peices... I suspect they have been in there since engine assembly.

Thanks for the cleaning tip. I'm also putting some grease [purple power... then a shot pre-paint cleaner] cutting along the edge clean it up nice so the RTV can seal.

 

[romeen]

Avoid the finer grades of steel wool (esp. on the block) because little strands break off and stick to things. Don't want that in ending up in your motor. The coarser steel wool is fine. For the oil pan flange use a razor first to get the bulk of the RTV off then follow up with the steel wool. But the quickest way to clean the RTV out of the grooves in the oil pan flange is with a Dremel and small wire brush attachment (stainless steel or carbon steel). It cleans the grooves out so fast it's silly.

 

[DSMunknown]

I agree the fine wool leaves small burrs or strands, and it can be a little bit of a hassle getting it off. However, I'm not sure if I would use corse steel wool on the flange. The pieces of fine wool comes off pretty easily. If it gets stuck in the oil all it takes is some wiping. Your decision.

 

[romeen]

The coarser stuff breaks off too (not as much) but when it does it's alot easier to see and remove.

Splitpi, one other tip. When you're ready to reinstall, don't torque the bolts down all the way right away. I usually finger tighten them just to allow the RTV to stick to both surfaces and compress it a bit. I like to wait about 15 minutes or so then torque the bolts down part way with a socket. Wait another hour or so then torque to spec. If you torque them to soon all the RTV will just squeeze out and the stuff inside the pan can come loose and partially obstruct the oil pickup screen. Also, after applying the RTV to the oil pan, give the block one last wipe down with brake cleaner right before putting the pan on since as you have probably noticed the oil keeps dripping down, esp. on the drivers side front corner near the filter assembly.