TurboFord

To remove the oil pan "in-chassis", follow these steps:

1. Raise the car and place it on jack stands.

2. Drain the oil (seems obvious, but I've seen people forget and they're soooo embarrassed when they get soaked).

3. Remove the motor-mount nuts and raise the motor as high as you can - support it under the crank pulley with a stand and a block of wood (might wanna take the trigger wire off the solenoid so you don't accidentally bump the starter and drop the motor).

4. Disconnect the strg. shaft from the rack and pinion at the "rag" joint and tap it upward and out of the way (it's telescopic to prevent you from being impaled).

5. Take all 8 bolts out that attach the front crossmember to the "frame" (it won't fall - trust me). The bolts have a torx head, but you can use a standard 6-point socket.

6. Remove the four bolts holding the anti-sway bar brkts to the frame and let the bar hang.

7. Drive a wooden wedge between the rear of the crossmember and one side of the frame (this will not only lower it, as it compresses the susp springs which is what's holding it up, but it will usually slide forward as well.

8. Remove the starter.

9. Drop the pan down low enough to disconnect the oil pump from the block, allowing it to drop in the pan (you'll need an 8mm 12-pt socket for the pump body and a 14mm for the pickup support.

10. Slide the pan out the back (assuming it didn't already fall on yer head, lol).

And above all, no cussing!!

C'ya - RAY

Yes, I'm replying to a 18 year old post. For a couple of reasons
- all the old links to this post are broken since the board software update
- to add the keywords replace oil pan gasket with the engine in the car so the new search engine can find it. (since most references to it are in threads about replacing the leaking oil pan gasket)

And to ask a question

Ray, where are you positioning the jack stands? Banging on the wedge under crossmember with the jackstands under the A arms scares the crap out of me, so I'm assuming they are supported somewhere else?

(07-29-2020, 11:49 PM)cmcurtin Wrote: [ -> ]Ray, where are you positioning the jack stands? Banging a wedge(s) under [the rear of the] crossmember with the jack stands under the A-arms scares the crap out of me, so I'm assuming they are supported somewhere else?

.
LOL......yeah, Chris ~ doing that would probably NOT be a good idea! <eek> I'm usually working on a hoist, but - if doing it on the ground and using jack stands - they need to be placed under some portion of the unibody "frame" that's separate from the crossmember/subframe being lowered with the wooden wedge(s)......namely, either ahead or behind it. .  

As for updating "keywords" in the title or body of the thread, so the search engine can find it......that's way too complicated for a computer-illiterate like me. The article/thread - along with many other helpful hints/destructions about 2.3 Tom-Foolery - is here in the "FAQ-Submission Area" and now that you and I have both posted to it.......it's back to the top of the "heap" and easier to find, lol. .