Why is the oil pan so hard?

Slowly bolting everything back on my '65 273 and finally got to the oil pan. Is it just me, or will it be this hard to remove in the future?

I had to unbolt the exhaust everywhere and slide it back, plus disconnect the left torsion bar to drop the exhaust. My second pass on the torsion - exhaust deal. Also had to jack up the engine, even though I put in new thick '65 motor mounts. The oil pan then cleared the tranny w/ nothing to spare while pressed against the K-frame. This was after I pushed the engine as far back the mounts allow. Of course, I scratched the new paint on multiple parts and must go back w/ a tiny brush to make purty.

My problems may be because my exhaust isn't ideal - single exhaust and right side crosses over in front of the tranny. I don't see how else one would plumb it, nor any way a combined exhaust could drop out past the torsion bars. This argues for a dual exhaust in the future, except only 1 notch in my transmission support and don't want to lose power steering.

I am used to an easily removed oil pan. That was true in my '69 Slant 6, '65 Newport 383, and my newer cars which don't even require pulling the steering link. It is nice to be able to inspect bearings, recover wedding rings, or even for an in-car re-ring job. It looks like my Dart is so packed most engine jobs are "first remove engine" aka the Haynes manuals.

How far should the factory distributor sit from the firewall. I guess ~1/2" since they made a recess for it. I don't think my tranny mount locates it since I feel broken rubber in there.

If you read my rant this far, a useful hint. An easy way to jack up the engine, is to place a 1/2" solid rod (2' long I recall) in the hole in the bottom of the block on the front left. This hole is outside the oil pan. Place a floor jack under the rod. The rod passes thru a triangular opening in the K-frame, which helps secure it. I wonder if Chrysler put the hole there for this purpose (not mentioned in FSM, nor how to get oil pan out). It jacks up the left side more, but that works to get the oil pan in. I bought the steel rod at a hardware store to load my garage door torsion springs. Rebar would also work. To jack the right side, I cut 3/4" EMT (metal conduit) to length, but it sits on the oil pan lip so do this only for motor mount replacement.

They are hard cause they are made outta metal.

BillGrissom said:

It is nice to be able to...recover wedding rings....

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Now this just begs to have the whole story told. C'mon, once upon a time...

The idea is to build the engine so you don't have to pull the pan in it's lifetime. Usually if there is something wrong in the bottom end, you'll need to pull the engine anyway. With the engine out and on a stand, repairs are so much easier. Not worth doing them in the chassis with oil dripping down your arm and/or into your face and hair, then finding out you need to pull the engine anyway.

The trans support can be cut to make a matching exhaust cutout. Its EZ to do with a bandsaw, not so easy with a cutting disk, that'll get rid of the exhaust crossover piece, but youl still have to disconnect the centerlink to get the pan out as well as maybe jack the motor up with your ingenious "rod through the access hole" method, although rebar seems a little low grade. I prefer an engine hoist or even a come along over a stout support beam in the garage as you only need to lift it a tad. Even a towel wrapped 2X4 under the meat of the pan, and then something wedged under the motor mount to keep her up there. As shown in a FSM, they used a jig across the inner fenders that had some LONG carb studs going throuh it with some big wing nuts to keep a motor off the mounts while doing work under there. I made one with a 4X4 and some threaded rod but have since gone to a breakdown cherry picker. A must for the average Mopar DIY'r. Even with all the steering out of the way, you;ll have to remove the trans inspection cover so you have a place to scoot the pan back into to clear the K member and you may have to rotate the crank to get it past the 102 throw or counterweight. I did a main bearing changeout like this prior to haveing a motor stand and cherry picker, what a mess! With a picker and the right extensions on a socket, I can pull my motor in about 45 minutes. No AC, P/S and a mini starter helps.

Mine came off the engine easy, out of the car.
;)

It looks like cavemanmoran pulled his engine with the hood on. I always thought the hood had to come off, which is a hassle since it never seems to go back right and I never have a helper. I learned to first drill two 1/16"D locating holes in each arm to re-align w/ nails, hang the hood from the rafters to take the weight, and stack newspapers under the corners so they can't scratch the paint. I will try leaving it on next time. I have a fold-up lift and engine stand off Craigslist (no more renting for almost same price).

Still, any time you can keep the engine in the car is simpler, especially if AC and pwr steering. I did a re-ring and re-bearing on my Newport 383 and Voyager 2.4L w/ engines in-car. Maybe 30% more work if doing a head job anyway. Must crawl underneath about 20 times, but not too messy if you plan. I first scrub the engine w/ gasoline or kerosine to remove most gunk, then wipe everything w/ soaked rags. I have heard of steam cleaning, but not sure where one does that (car wash?). I put down cardboard for comfort and cover w/ newspapers. Also wear scrap clothes since you end up rolling in grit no matter how often you refresh the newspaper. I never found a rolling "crawler" useful. If you jack up the front, an easy butt-plant & roll manuever to get underneath. I stack 2'L 4x4's in a cubic pattern under each front frame to support the car, in addition to the metal stands. Good use for old fence posts and adds to the comfort level of crawling below.

I have seen photos of modified trans supports as pishta mentions. I just hate cutting original parts. I don't mind bolting on new stuff, as long as I can go back to original. How many people wish somebody hadn't "improved" their car in the '70's.

I noticed a similar hole at the rear of the block, also left side. I wonder what they were for. Support block during factory engine build?

BillGrissom said:

It looks like cavemanmoran pulled his engine with the hood on. I always thought the hood had to come off, which is a hassle since it never seems to go back right and I never have a helper.

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I've always left the hood on when I've pulled early A engines (both V8 AND slants. Gotta raise the car, angle the engine and be careful. Done it both with a helper (my wife) and by myself - that's definitely a PITA.