Pulling the oil pan on a 318 to reseal

[toolmanmike]

I need to reseal the oil pan on the 318 in my 70 Swinger. Can it be pulled without jacking up the engine or dropping the exhaust? It would be much easier on a hoist I'm sure. I really hate to tackle it out on the driveway.

 

[Inertia]

Are you absolutely, 100% sure it's the rear main..

There are several places the oil can leak, then it migrates to the back of the engine with the help of the fan,, and drips off the back of the pan..

I would clean the begeebees outta the whole area with a coupla cans of brake-clean,, then look closely at the oil pressure sender beside the distributor, check valve covers,, and gently snug the oil pan bolts, the oil filter adaptor can leak onto the pan gskt, and run to the back. dripping far away from where the leak is..

I know by experience to look everywhere else to be sure, cuz you're gonna be real dissappointed doing all that work to replace the rear main, just to find out it leaking from the fuel pump, or some such..

hope it helps

 

[Inertia]

Here's what I do,, dozens and dozens of times;; At a dealership or private shop, it would be difficult to justify re & re the engine ( 6 hrs) over the FSM repair time of less than 3 hrs to replace the pan gskt.. plus cleaning the mess after..

1 Tie a shop cloth,, shopping bag or some such around the steering wheel.. That's to remind you, before trying to start the engine, to go and secure the distributor cap you are about to un-clipped to prevent damage if it came into contact with the firewall when engine is lifted..

2 Be aware that the fan shroud (if you have one) may have an issue with the fan, a 4 blade fan can be rotated to clear,, but shroud may need to be loosened..

3 Remove the 2 lower motor mount nuts,,

4 Place a piece of wood under the pan,, and gently jack the motor up, aware of the fan shroud,, until you can place a spacer between the mount pad and mount.. I use 2 sockets,, my 1 and 1 1/8 sockets work well .. then lower engine till it sits on sockets/spacer,, remove jack etc....

5 Depending on vehicle, I usually take the idler arm pivot bolt out,, aware of any spacers/washers for re-install. With idler loose and wheels toed,, steering gear is no longer a problem,, no pounding on tie rod ends,..lol

6 Drain and undo pan bolts,, wiggle, jiggle, pry as nec. to loosen and free pan,, to ease pan removal/replacement the crank may be turned to provide the most clearance between the crank throws/counterwights, and the K-frame,, but there should be oodles of room,, (Note - by not lifting the engine is where most folks have trouble getting the pan back in without disturbing seals)..

7 Replace rear main seal if nec,, clean all gskt surfaces,, take the pan,, and a small hammer,, I sit the pan rail on the edge of my bench and tap all the bolt holes level with the rest of the rail,, they usually get sucked outta shape be folks over-snugging the bolts..

8 I like to use 3M weatherstrip glue, or some other form of Gorilla Snot to secure the side gsts to the rail,, any good rubber cement style glue it good,, no rtv.. The rubber end seals have "nipples to secure them,, but I like to glue the end gskts as well,, no rtv.
I put four pea sized dabs of rtv where the gsts overlap at the corners..

9 With lots of room,, replace the pan,, then reverse proceedure.. don't squeeze the juice outta the pan bolts just snug,, torque if you can,, fill with oil,, chuckle at cloth on the steering wheel,, secure dist cap..

viola,, no fuss, no muss,, no coolant from engine removal,, or when engine turned over,, no burping cooling system,, easy peasy,, in an afternoon, unless there's beer involved.. lol

hope it helps

 

[toolmanmike]

I don't think it's the rear main. Front crank seal and definitely the pan gasket and end seals are leaking. Also the oil filter adapter. I replaced the valve cover gaskets last fall. I needed to start there and then see what else leaks. This car only has 35,000 on the clock and everything is original. The photo is the valve cover gaskets. I laughed so hard. No wonder the thing left a puddle! I really need to pull the drive train and reseal. Maybe a winter project in a friends shop.

 

[dano]

I did pull my pan with Doug's headers on. It was a PIA, but I got it out. I image it would be easier with stock manifolds.

I bet with the low mileage the gaskets are hard and cracked.

 

[Darter6]

Like Dano said, A guy brought a 70 340 duster to me after he changed the stock pan for a Moroso pan and it was leaking BAD.(why ? I guess he liked shinny gold stuff) The car had TTI's. Had to do it on the ground pulled headers and centerlink,jacked up the engine.What a pain laying on your back !! Anyway we used a 1 piece gasket from Chrysler for a 5.2 Jeep. Man are they nice ! No more leaks for him.

 

[TrailBeast]

It's not so bad in the car with factory manifolds.
Couple of hours, and no jacking or lifting the motor at all.
Just the center link and you may have to push the trans cooler line over if automatic.
You will have to pull the starter and the dust cover though.

 

[dano]

Anyway we used a 1 piece gasket from Chrysler for a 5.2 Jeep. Man are they nice ! No more leaks for him.

I thought those 5.2 Magnums had 360/5.9 mains and the the one piece gasket wouldn't work on a 273, 340 or pre Mag 318/5.2?

I don't think we pulled the center link or jacked up the motor.

 

[Yote]

Was able to replace my '72 340 , stock manifold, demon oil pan gasket with just the center link out.
Yote

 

[Darter6]

Dano, OOPPPSSS ! I talked to the owner of the Duster. He replaced the 340 with a 360 !!! You are correct,,,Dang I'm getting old.........What were we talking about ???

 

[AJ/FormS]

Here's what I do,, dozens and dozens of times;; At a dealership or private shop, it would be difficult to justify re & re the engine ( 6 hrs) over the FSM repair time of less than 3 hrs to replace the pan gskt.. plus cleaning the mess after..

1 Tie a shop cloth,, shopping bag or some such around the steering wheel.. That's to remind you, before trying to start the engine, to go and secure the distributor cap you are about to un-clipped to prevent damage if it came into contact with the firewall when engine is lifted..

2 Be aware that the fan shroud (if you have one) may have an issue with the fan, a 4 blade fan can be rotated to clear,, but shroud may need to be loosened..

3 Remove the 2 lower motor mount nuts,,

4 Place a piece of wood under the pan,, and gently jack the motor up, aware of the fan shroud,, until you can place a spacer between the mount pad and mount.. I use 2 sockets,, my 1 and 1 1/8 sockets work well .. then lower engine till it sits on sockets/spacer,, remove jack etc....

5 Depending on vehicle, I usually take the idler arm pivot bolt out,, aware of any spacers/washers for re-install. With idler loose and wheels toed,, steering gear is no longer a problem,, no pounding on tie rod ends,..lol

6 Drain and undo pan bolts,, wiggle, jiggle, pry as nec. to loosen and free pan,, to ease pan removal/replacement the crank may be turned to provide the most clearance between the crank throws/counterwights, and the K-frame,, but there should be oodles of room,, (Note - by not lifting the engine is where most folks have trouble getting the pan back in without disturbing seals)..

7 Replace rear main seal if nec,, clean all gskt surfaces,, take the pan,, and a small hammer,, I sit the pan rail on the edge of my bench and tap all the bolt holes level with the rest of the rail,, they usually get sucked outta shape be folks over-snugging the bolts..

8 I like to use 3M weatherstrip glue, or some other form of Gorilla Snot to secure the side gsts to the rail,, any good rubber cement style glue it good,, no rtv.. The rubber end seals have "nipples to secure them,, but I like to glue the end gskts as well,, no rtv.
I put four pea sized dabs of rtv where the gsts overlap at the corners..

9 With lots of room,, replace the pan,, then reverse proceedure.. don't squeeze the juice outta the pan bolts just snug,, torque if you can,, fill with oil,, chuckle at cloth on the steering wheel,, secure dist cap..

viola,, no fuss, no muss,, no coolant from engine removal,, or when engine turned over,, no burping cooling system,, easy peasy,, in an afternoon, unless there's beer involved.. lol

hope it helps

That's what I did