Okay. I'm trying to remove my oil pan on my 93, but the cross member is in the way of the whole front row of bolts. do i have to unbolt the engine and jack it up or what? Thanks.

 

I had this problem a couple months ago...
What i did and the only way i could figure out how to take out the pan was to jack up the engine with a hoist and unbolt the cross member and pull it down as far as it could go bc you could unbolt the screw but you need alot of room to take the pan out.

For me pulling the oil pan was the hardest thing to do.

 

You'll have to undo the engine mounts anyway to remove the oil pan. You'll need to support the motor somehow whether that's a jack from the bottom (without interfering with your oil pan work) or an engine hoist. Also, you'll find it easier to drop the subframe to have enough room to work on the oil pan while it's in the car.

 

I had my car on a lift when i did this so i got to use a long 2 by 4 to hold up the engine while the frame was off

 

Oil pan removal CAN be done with the subframe still in place. I did mine as described in the link below:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...easier+oil+pan

 

No one said it couldn't.

 

----------> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=96524

 

I would like to thank everyone for all of the advice. I shall read over all of it several times before proceeding over thanksgiving break. (i'm in college)
Sheldon

Oh, i'm also working in the yard with a couple of jacks. ...this might prove to be interesting.

 

don't remove the sub-frame but leave at least two of the bolts in (one on the driver side, one on the passenger side). Go get a tap 12mmX1.5 and retap the threads for the subframe bolts.

I used an engine hoist as it was easier to reposition the engine up and down.

 

I did my pan replacement with the engine still in along with the subframe. Here's how I made it work.

1. I took off the exhaust manifold/turbo/downpipe (my car is single turbo).
2. Put the front of the car up on jack stands.
3. Placed a floor jack with a block of wood just behind the crossmember on a solid piece of the transmission.
4. Jacked it up til it was snug.
5. Removed the motor mount nuts (which have to be removed anyways)
6. Jacked it up until the engine/transmission hit the transmission tunnel.
7. Remove the pan bolts.
8. Slide pan out exhaust manifold side.
9. Install was a repeat of the process.

* I did have to unbolt the oil sending arm within the oil pan with the pan dropped. It's not a lot of clearance but if you're patient you'll get the arm off.


All in all, it's a process I hope to never do again with the engine in the car. Can be done but is one of the biggest PITAs.

EDIT :::

If you drop the subframe DO NOT PLACE YOURSELF UNDER IT WHEN YOU ARE DROPPING IT. Be sure that you have something in place to catch it. IT is heavy. Don't injure yourself... stay clear of it.

 

oh and I installed the Banzai Oil Pan brace w/ studs on the re-install. Much better than OEM.

 

Thanks grimple. That sounds like what i originaly had in mind for trying. I really don't want to mess with the subframe.

 

You don't have to remove the subframe. Partially unbolting it will allow you to get you several inches for clearance (i.e. leave the suspension connected).

 

This is the exact same horizontal engine brace I bought and used. I got it when it was on sale ($10 cheaper) and I think it was $50 well spent. It works great.

When I recently re-sealed my oil pan, I just took the whole front subframe off while the engine was held up with the horizontal engine brace mentioned above. Honestly, it's not as bad as it looks, it's not something that takes 30 minutes to complete, but it's not all that hard to do either. Unbolt the power steering rack from the subframe, mark the position of the alignment bolts that go through the lower control arms and then remove the bolts, and then remove the bolts that secure the subframe to the frame rails. The lower control arms will come out of their place in the subframe as you lower the subframe down. That's it. As much room as you would ever want to deal with the oil pan. (Note: I used my air impact wrench which probably made removal easier/quicker)

I reinstalled with a new oil pan, "The Right Stuff" gasket maker, Garfinkle oil pan brace, and the moroso stud kit.