Hello Techies,

I am planning to change the oil gasket for my v6 but after reading the Haynes manual there seems to be quite lot involved. What is the simplest shortest way to do this without removing a whole bunch of stuff?

Galen

I don't know what is the easiest in-car method because I changed mine while the drivetrain was out of the car. BTW, there's no "gasket" ... just a good application of black RTV.

I was able to find a rubber gasket at autozone. Some type of after market piece.

So, am I looking at quite a messy job? About how long does it take from start to finish?

galen

it is quite a big job from what ive seen... im putting it off untill i need to put a return feed in my oil pan (for turbo)
is your seal leaking? then fix it
but make shure its not coming from elsewhere (my leak ran everywhere but was from the oil pressure sending unit tube

I did the gasket on my 86gT not too long ago.

When I did mine I had the engine supported up top by an engine support and I had removed the cradle.

I had done it as an afterthought while I had the trannu off.

I have heard that if you loosen the engine mount by the front crank pulley you can raise the engine with a floor jack and rest it on a 2x4 and that will give you enough room to pull the pan and do the gasket without dropping the cradle.

Maybe someone will chime in with a link on how to do it that way.

Steve

quote Originally posted by antinull.com: it is quite a big job from what ive seen... im putting it off untill i need to put a return feed in my oil pan (for turbo) is your seal leaking? then fix it but make shure its not coming from elsewhere (my leak ran everywhere but was from the oil pressure sending unit tube

The whole bottom of my car is wet with oil & tranny fluid. I will be replacing that gasket too.

How easy/difficult was it to repair the oil pressure sending unit tube? and on what side of the engine is it located? I assume on the driver side? I will check everywhere first before diving into dropping the pan.

Galen

IMO, the best way to identify an oil leak is to wash the engine (with lots of degreaser and/or a pressure washer), let it dry, and then take the car for a spin around the block. Then, you just look for the wet spot.

The extra time spent washing the engine could save you alot more time (and frustration) from unnecessarily replacing gaskets.

BTW, the oil pressure sender tube is on the firewall side of the engine, between the oil filter and A/C compressor.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 04-02-2007).]

To drop the oil pan (V6 engines)
1. disconnect battery cable
2. remove cables from starter then remove the 2 bolts that hold starter in place and remove the starter. Save the spacer.
3. Disconnect front engine mount to cradle bolts, shock mount bolt and dogbone bolt.
4. Using a small piece of plywood at the bottom, and placing a floor jack under the oil pan, raise the engine up about 5-6".
5. Place a 12" piece of 2 x 4 between the harmonic balancer and the cradle.
6. Lower the engine down SLOWLY and let it rest on the 2 x 4 under the balancer. Don't worry it won't hurt anything. I've done this many times
7. Remove the front engine mount bracket bolts and remove the bracket from the block.
8. remove all of the oil pan holding bolts/nuts.
9. drop the oil pan down.
Assembly is the reverse of the above but be sure to apply a dab of RTV gasket sealer where the oilpan gaskets meet or you will have a leak. It's about a 2-3 hour job.

also - getting the exhaust out of the way helps alot

[This message has been edited by Pyrthian (edited 04-02-2007).]

What ^ he said though it is a full day if you have never done it before. The hard part is holding the oil pan gasket in place as you move it into position. You have to wiggle the oil pan around the oil pump pickup tube and between the cradle members. As mentioned above, a clean oil pan will make it much more pleasant. I ended up using gasket sealer to stick the new gasket to the bottom of the block. The gasket kept slipping off the oil pan as I moved it into place. This worked but will make replacing it in the future a PITA.

You can shorten the procedure a little by only removing one starter bolt, loosening the other, and pushing the starter aside to give access to the oil pan bolts. Then, you don't need to mess with the battery cables or starter wiring. It's still a pain-in-the-butt job, though.

Don't know if there is a lady in the mix of suggestions, but my thanks to all to responded. I am planning on doing this job in about a week, so wish me luck then.

Would I be able to have one side of the car on a ramp while the passenger side is on a jack stand? Or is it better to use two jack stands? any more helpful hints are welcome, especially how to set the car up initially - ie. how and what do I raise it on to work under it?

Galen