whats up everyone? i have a oil pan brace kit from bonzai and was thinking about tackling the job by myself. is there any "how to" thread for step by step removal of the old one and replacing it with the brace? i have helped someone replace my oil pan gasket before i had the bonzai and seemed very complicated, especially with dropping the subframe. any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

I just installed one while the engine was in the car. It wasn't super complicated. Working around the subframe would be a pain. Its only a few bolts to remove it. Disconnecting the lower swaybar will let you pop out the control arms easier. You can support your engine from the tranny with a jackstand and a piece of wood. Also make sure to use zipties or a bungee to support the power steering rack, as it sits on the subframe.

Clean the mating surface of both the pan & engine block (wire wheel). Also clean out the threads in the engine block with a dentist pick. Some of their studs in the rear will thread all the way through the rear iron, just thread them about as far as the others. Once I torqued down the pan nuts, those studs stopped moving around. I have always sealed my pan with Grey RTV. This time I opted for the Grey "Right Stuff". It seemed to be the same end product, however having that pressurized can while underneath the car makes it so much easier to apply a clean and steady bead.

While its not extremely hard, no sense in doing all that work unless your pan is currently leaking. I would wait till the engine is out of the car or you really need to reseal the pan.