My Oil Pan Replacement Experience
 

After reading many great threads about the proper way to stop oil pan leaks I decided to do mine. No pix (I was so greasy) but here it goes:

Purchased:
new oil pan
right stuff gray
IRP motor mount pucks
One steel motor mount
Garfinkle brace
New oil pan sensor O-ring

1. Removed shift knob, pop up shift surround.
2. Remove both intercooler rubber pipes, disconnected air intake box pipes at the top. Stuff some rags in there.
3. Removed strut brace. Replace nuts. 2 each side
4. Jack front of car as high as possible, put on jack stands.
5. Remove under engine plastic tray and metal trans tray. lots of 10mm bolts.
6. Remove 4 steering rack bolts. 2 each side.
7. Remove motor mount nuts under subframe. 1 each side.
8. Jack under trans place on jack stand. Make sure to keep space between subframe and trans jack as the pan will be coming out and going back in that way.
9. Remove subframe bolts and nuts - 3 each side. Now this was a pain for me. I dont have a air gun and I had to go get a 1/2" two foot breaker bar, deep 17mm socket, 3" extention and 2' cheater pipe. I could only find a 12 point socket and it cracked, lucky it happened on the last bolt. I would recommend getting a 6 point socket.
10. Pull down the sub frame and put wedges on both sides to hold it down while you work (did this by myself).
11. Remove turbo control actuator. Two bolts and one retaining spring c clip.
12. Drain oil remove filter.
13. Remove motor mount bolts along oil pan. 3 each side. Remove motor mount arms. My drivers side was aluminum so I got a used steel one for $33.
14. Remove oil level sensor electrical connector.
15. Remove oil pan bolts. Remove oil pan. Mine had no gasket. I just pulled it down.
16. Clean engine mounting surface of all old gasket material, I used green scotch pads. Let as much oil drain out as possible. I cleaned out all bolt holes and test fitted the pan.
17. I had a new pan so I mounted the oil level sensor with the new O-ring and took out the drain plug.
18. Apply right stuff on pan.
19. Install pan and brace, hand tighten 10mm bolts. I put some wood dowel pins in a couple of bolts holes to help line things up. It was a pain to do this alone.
20. Tighten bolts to 72"/lb in a star pattern.
21. Install motor mount arms.
22. Let cure. I left if for 1 week.
23. Check torque again.
24. Reinstall everything. I had a bit of a problem when droping the engine down. It didnt align with the bolt holes in the sub frame. Guess it shifs when you jack it up. I took the oem jack and wedged it between the trans and the trans tunnel. A couple of cranks and it fit fine.

Again thanks to the board, I would never have done this myself otherwise....

Why do people advocate for the "steel motor mount" over the aluminum one?

I don't see the advantage in this scenario of the cast unit over the aluminum?

To use the aluminum one you would need to machine it down so it sits flat with aftermarket motor mounts. It was easier just to get a steel one. My aluminum one was in good condition but the passenger side was ripped.

I had a mechanic do this last year for me. He lifted the engine from up above, but then he has a full shop. I'm even mors satisfied now that I got my $$$ worth. And, no leaks!

after doing once and having all the right tools it would propably take 2-3 hours. My subframe was caked with crud and I also found a small oil leak by my oil filter pedistal.

I did an aluminum mount once with hand tools. I used a large wood drill bit to open a pocket in the mount material, and a hacksaw to cut the bump off of the aluminum mount. The two fit together well.

Bill, I'm due to get this done soon. Want to visit Harrisburg? :)

I hope it doesn't leak!! :)

:icon_tup:
Nice attention to detail, right down to the new sensor 'O' ring which I intially forgot. Only time will tell if it stays dry but I can't think of anything else you could've done to increase the odds. Mine's been dry for 3.5 yrs (~20k miles).

If gas was $2 a gallon I'd make the trip, if you have any questions just pm me.

I've lost count of the number of times I have attempted to re-seal mine. I've been successful a couple times now. (rebuilding required me to "break the seal") My suggestion is to put a thin coating of silicone on both the block and oil pan. Make sure the surfaces are as clean as possible. I prefer acetone to clean and re-clean the surfaces.

O GOD this sounds like a nightmare just to rea seal a oil pan. I have to do the same thing, thanks for the write up!

I'd add this comment to line 18:
spread the sealant out evenly across the entire mating surface of the oil pan flange with your finger.

No leaks so far..

I just bought an Xcessive deep sump kit. Will I need to do anything other than what's stated here to clear the strut tower brace? Thanks for the write-up, I'll be using it for sure.

When I ordered the IRP mounts they compensated for my Garfinkle oil pan brace so there were no clearance issues.

That's what I need to order then. Thanks.