dropping the oil pan with motor in car

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Shane

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Hey all...

I have been trying to ignore the leaking oil from the back right (big) and back left of my oil pan.

340, factory pan, headers.

My question is, for you that have dropped the pan , cleaned and installed a new gasket , with the engine in the car and the car on jack stands, how long does it take you? any pointers?

I can ignore it for another few months, and have all winter, or just get it fixed up.

Thanks for any pointers!

Shane
 
its like pulling teeth on yourself in the car; doable yes, easier not really. if you want to cheat some undo the engine mounts and raise it as far as you can without removing it
 
how long depends on one individual skills...tools...

you need to raise the car...drop the drag link..if you have headers...they need to get out of the way also,

and then the engine must be raised to get the pan to come out...not alot of fun..but can be done...
 
1970Duster said:
I've done it once. Never again.
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Xs2 ....I think its just as easy as just pulling the engine ....if you don't have A/C should NOT be that hard to just R & Re-install the engine assy. an hour tops not including the pan R & Re-install
 
RaniDart70 said:
Xs2 ....I think its just as easy as just pulling the engine ....if you don't have A/C should be that hard to just R & Re-install the engine assy. an hour tops not including the pan R & Re-install
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The best part about that one time was it wasn't even my car, friend with a broken leg. I swear he waited till he broke his leg to ask me.
 
Make sure to seal, seal, seal, and seal to ensure no leak because you don't want to do it again.
 
I would pull the motor, no way I would do it again in the car.
I bet you have more things leaking than just the pan gasket, maybe rear seal, or possibly oil filter adapter.
I would pull the motor and at least put a complete gasket kit in there.
 
i have done it.that being said,if it was mine it would be pulled out,put on a stand,and sealed up.
 
I'm with everyone else. I did it in my truck and it'd take me about an hour or so to drop, scrape the gaskets off, put new ones on, let the RTV set in the corners enough and pop it back in. I've done this 6 times though. On a truck. I'd shoot myself if I tried doing it on an A-body. Just pull the whole motor. Its worth the migranes saved. Also, the dictionary is getting a lil thick from all the new curse words we are inventing. You'd double that thickness in a day.
 
I just did this with my 72 Demon with a 340. I have headers by the way. I found it to be no big deal. Remove the center link from the steering. It will require you to use a short extension on the front left and 2 front right oil pan bolts. The rest can be removed with a long extension. Once all the bolts are removed the pan dropped right out. Just remember to drain the oil before you do anything else. I think it is much easier than removing the engine.

Jack
 
I think the biggest thing is working off your back , everything seems to be slow , rather than pulling it, and working standing up with the engine on a stand.I have never did it on an A body , but on a B body takes time and alot smaller oil base but still have to take the engine up and remove stuff , and i just took my time worked out good .
 
Coyote Jack said:
I just did this with my 72 Demon with a 340. I have headers by the way. I found it to be no big deal. Remove the center link from the steering. It will require you to use a short extension on the front left and 2 front right oil pan bolts. The rest can be removed with a long extension. Once all the bolts are removed the pan dropped right out. Just remember to drain the oil before you do anything else. I think it is much easier than removing the engine.

Jack
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Yep - Wobble Head extensions made the front pan bolts a breeze. The hardest part for me was getting one stubborn/rusted header bolt loose. After that it went fairly smoothly. My daughters helped me, we took our time working a little bit each night after work. I guess it would have taken a weekend from start to finish. Being our 1st Mopar it was good experience. On a less positive note, we have since developed a small leak right rear corner. Not sure if it's the pan/gasket or rear main. That said, were gonna live with it for now since we plan to pull the motor this winter/next spring.

Pat
 
Divenut said:
Yep - Wobble Head extensions made the front pan bolts a breeze. The hardest part for me was getting one stubborn/rusted header bolt loose. After that it went fairly smoothly. My daughters helped me, we took our time working a little bit each night after work. I guess it would have taken a weekend from start to finish. Being our 1st Mopar it was good experience. On a less positive note, we have since developed a small leak right rear corner. Not sure if it's the pan/gasket or rear main. That said, were gonna live with it for now since we plan to pull the motor this winter/next spring.

Pat
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I have used RTV sealant on the rubber end gaskets for years. I find it works real good on those rear pan leaks.

Jack
 
The hardest part is installing the pan and not knocking any of the seals out of whack. One bump, and you will be swearing. Especially the end seals...
 
I just did this about 3 months back on my '69 Dart 340 w/headers. Like Jack said,drop the center link,need a pickle fork for that, slide it out in about an hour. Mine had a Milodon 7 qt. pan & was a close fit,but I never had to take the headers loose. Once you have the pan clean I would take it under the car and do a dry run to get an idea of just how you'll need to go back in. I used the Milodon seal & gasket set dry with Great Stuff rtv in all four corners where the gasket & seals meet. Total time was about 4 hrs cleaning pan & all. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys!!!

I was mostly scared and figured I'll wait til the end of the season, and just yank it out.

Jack, you just popped out your centerlink, did the pan come all the way out? Or did you just have it drop down enough to clean everything and real it with new gaskets and put it back up?
 
Done it 3 times; always a leak at timing cover. It needs to be removed. By this time, easier to pull the engine and put it on a stand. And your body will feel so much better.
 
What I meant was, the pan needs to be on, then install the timing cover. Napa- the right stuff is great, made by permatex.
 
Shane said:
Thanks for all the replies guys!!!

I was mostly scared and figured I'll wait til the end of the season, and just yank it out.

Jack, you just popped out your centerlink, did the pan come all the way out? Or did you just have it drop down enough to clean everything and real it with new gaskets and put it back up?
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Yes the pan comes all the way out. Makes checking the bottom end real easy.

Jack
 
Yes I had a small pin hole in my pan and hated the thought of crawling under the car to remove it. I have done this before but on a BB "B" body and wasnt too bad. So what I did was drain the oil, clean the bottom of the pan and sand it down to get the paint off, just about to bare metal then I put a coat of underwater JB weld over the hole and spread it out about .500 each side, let it set over night, fine sanded, painted and have no more oil leaking out... Now thats what I am talking about !!!
 
green1 said:
What I meant was, the pan needs to be on, then install the timing cover. Napa- the right stuff is great, made by permatex.
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Sorry wrong information.

Put the timing chain cover on, then the pan, or you will have a leak.
The oil pan bolts to the timing chain cover.
 
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