suprfast

im about to drop the oil pan because i dinged it awhile ago and its leaking slightly. is there any pointers on dropping it? any input? i dont want to pull the motor so i am thinking about dropping the lower sub frame. its gonna be a bitch but i dont want to have to pull the motor. help me!!!!!!!!!!!
kris

Mercury

Yup your on the right track. Sorry to hear it. But in reality your lucky that you did not break the oil pick up device. If you had you would know it as you would be needing a new motor.

-M

Single7

Just FYI, but when you are putting the oil pan back on, be sure to torque the small oil pan nuts carefully and properly. The ones that go into the exhaust housing (aluminum) tend to strip the housing very easily. Good luck.

Rated R1

Do you mean the rotor housing?

Also I would not use a gasket. Use the "no gaket" option in the shop manual.

Single7

Rated R1,

Yes, I meant the rotor housing. The torque values are not very high on the oil pan bolts and you can easily over torque them.

RonKMiller

Use stainless steel flat (fender) washers under the bolts to help distribute the torque load. Clean the bolt holes and bolts before re-installing and put a drop of motor oil on the bolt threads. Torque down to 1/2 half of the spec using a criss cross pattern. Then torque to final spec. Use gasket sealant only - no gasket. Permatex makes great stuff.

Clean both mating surfaces spotlessly and then wipe with alcohol or acetone right before putting the sealant on. Don't put on too much sealant, a small bead is more than adequate.

Replace with a new oil pan, (duh, obvious.)

duboisr

Drain the oil first ha, ha , Garfinkle makes rails that go around the pan except where the motor mounts are. to reinforce the pan instead of using washers. The rails have groves cut in them where the built up ridges are ,between the bolt holes. Like the the valve cover ring on a Harley panhead. Use Honda bond or Yama bond or Toyota bond and let it cure for 3 days as stated on the tube.

billyrohm

All you need to do is get an engine hoist.

May have trouble getting the drivers side mount to go back in the hole. Just have someone push or pull on the top of the motor and then lower it down.

duboisr

If you have trouble getting the motor mount stud in place and no one to push pull on the top of the motor , there is a slot in the sub frame that you can pry the motor mount over with a screwdriver. One on both sides.

BoostedRex

I have an oil leak coming from my oil pan seal. You are all saying not to use a gasket at all.?.? What kind of sealant would I need to use to do this and how long would my FD be out of commission if I did it that way. Keep in mind that my FD is my daily driver. I would appreciate all help. Thanx in advance.

Zach

RonKMiller

Yep, no gasket. There are tons of good quality sealants that will work well. Some require you to wait 24 hours or so for them to cure. One of my favorites, and used by lots of manufacturers as OEM is called "The Right Stuff". You can put the parts back into service immediately. Permatex makes great products as well.

The important thing, no matter what brand you use, is to make sure the mating surfaces are completely clean before reassembly. I like to rough them up a little with a green Scotchbrite pad to give the sealant something to "bite" on.

Resource

I've got a couple hole that are already stripped for the oil pan.Anyone got any ideas on how to cure this?Maybe use a different bigger bolt and thread it again?

RonKMiller

I would just use a threaded insert like Helicoil, available everywhere. If you carefully follow the instructions they work great. The problem if you drill and tap the hole for a bigger bolt is you might go through the casting and they you are screwed totally. (So to speak....)
Also, there is an epoxy thread compound that you can use which actually works well if the torque is low - which it is on the oil pan bolts. I think it's made by Permatex, I've used it successfully on motorcycle valve covers with 10 mm bolts.

BoostedRex

RonKMiller,

Where could I find "The Right Stuff" or the Permatex sealents?? I'm afraid that around the Charleston area there might not be a source to buy it. Where would you recommend looking??

Zach