Oil pan Question
 

Ok, I am really fed up and annoyed right now, I'm sure you feel my pain after all yo are also FD owners. I am on the final leg of gettng my car started after a rebuild and single conversion. I filled it with fluids last week and left it because i became busy with work and such. When i went back to it, i noticed a puddle of oil under the car. Upon further inspection, the pan is leaking pretty bad. I thought i smeared enough sealant on there to seal it off pretty well but i guess not. I am going to order the ground zero sump from pineapple racing. My real question is, can you REALLY pull the pan without pulling the motor??

yes just loosen the motor mount bolts jack up the motor enough to pull it out.

probley want to lay down a bead of gasket sealer on it instead of smearing.
bout 1/16th

thanks for the advise, i'll give it a go this weekend

Not to displace or put stress on any thing ,I susport the motor and lower the subframe about 4 to 6 inches .Then the pan will clear for removal .You must unbolt the steering rack ,four bolts from the sub frame .I seal the pan and then let them sit for three days before filling with oil .

I guess the question is, will the ground zero pan clear for the install? Isn't it a deeper pan that stock? Good luck, this area of my rebuild was one of the most focused. I dimpled the block and used honda bond sealent. Torqued the pan and mounted the motor mounts. I then let it set a couple of days too. Which I feel is one of the most important steps, people get in a hurry to get that engine in and started so they can go zooming around with there new rebuild, not good. Almost forgot, most important step clean gasket areas extreamly well! Use asetone or another famible solvent! Do this several times as cast iron seems to absorb oil. All surfaces most be completely oil free for the sealent to stick. Our rotary engines flex unlike piston engine blocks and the oil pan gives no structural integrity at all. Over time this is what really causes the pan to leak and of course the motor mounts are torqued way more that the simple pan bolts which in my mind squeases most of the sealent out in that area. I will bet this is where most of the leaking ocurrs. Hense the reason to mount pan and motor mounts, torque and let it stay on the stand or hoist till the sealent drys.

Terry7

Is the car on a rack? If it is, just get an engine brace and pull the subframe. It only takes like 15 min.

^^ its up on jackstands, but i cant see how to pull the subframe without pulling the front suspension, any ideas?

If you're going to keep the stock oil pan, this is a good idea to prevent leaks:

http://www.gothamracing.com/catalog/...oducts_id=1076

You can just unbolt the subframe from the car and let it hang. You'll have to support the engine from up above, though. IMHO, unbolting the subframe is the way to go - you have more room to work in, and you really need it to spend the proper time cleaning the surfaces, scraping old RTV off, etc.

I'm not a fan of the Ground Zero oilpan. The design is nice, but it hangs down below the subframe - if you hit a rock or something, you can break the oilpan, it won't just dent like the stock pan. One person has already had this happen. Also, it doesn't have a provision for an oil level sender, something which is VERY necessary, IMHO. It's a really good concept (cast aluminum, o-ring sealing) but too many compromises for my tastes.

Dale

I might be having some cast that will address all of those issues...

I've read posts on this forum where supporting the engine was done with
a jack under the tranny. Any thoughts on that?

I have the GZ oilpan.

Forget about the O-ring, you still need sealant. I have a leaking
pan right now - it has sealant on it. The O-ring does not work well.

As for the level sender - why do you consider that necessary?
My perspective is for a car that sees mostly autox and track days, so the oil is checked pretty frequently. Oil pressure and temp should be sufficient monitors on the oil.

The added oil capacity can't hurt however. (about 1 quart additional)

I do not suport the engine with the tranny,BUT that is a very good way to do the job . You do not need to pull the front sus but do unbolt the steering rack so the subframe will come down easy .The lower sus armes will move with the subframe, no proplem .

Additional sub-frame and oil-pan-sealing info
 

Check out this thread:

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-archives-73/easier-oil-pan-removal-305386/

Dave

so i can just unbolt the rack and subframe and thats it?

be careful
 

Be VERY careful if you do it WITHOUT lowering/unbolting the subframe. It's a very tight squeeze/close quarters with the oil pan, engine block, oil pickup tube, and engine mounts. Ask me how I know :wallbash:

Oil pan removal clearance
 

Note that in that thread I stated that I unbolted the two rear subframe bolts and pried the rear of the frame down about 1/4" to give enough clearance to remove the pan. :D

Dave

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...8&postcount=26
another good write up

Gotcha Dave :) I knew that, I just didn't do it when I did the oil pan R/R :shrugs: That's what I get for being lazy.

Sorry to bring this one back up , but I was wandering if the GZ oil pan can work with the Gotham oil brace ??

no need for it...and you would need some extra long bolts

I know I wouldnt NEED "Need it" , but I did not like the condition of my oil pan , and the fact that a simple dent in it could cause soo many problems . I am just thinking of another way I can prevent the problem reoccuring , and since I already have the brace I was thinking of using it too for EXTRA support . The studs I bought are about an inch long , would the work ? I read the thread about the broken pan , but if I decide to go wit the GZ pan Ill weld some angle iron around the opening in the crossmember for protection.

Marcel, how did you get such a large dent in your oil pan? I've never seen one dented so badly that the pickup tube was being compromised.....

Cant remember , but it seems like it happens quite regularly , the replacement one I got had the same imprint of the strainer on the inside too !

He's not saying you don't need the GZ oil pan, but you don't need the brace with the GZ oil pan. GZ oil pan isn't made from the thin metal like the stock one so there is nothing for the brace to do with it.