kanwisch Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Need some help. I want to replace my oil pan gasket and have pulled off/moved over these items: left dogbone starter motor bolts on engine mount nearest accessory belt bolts on engine mount to frame (under mount itself) right front tire oil pan bolts Here's the issue. The pan doesn't drop more than 1" at the mount before it won't move. The engine mount is a cradle type and prevents the pan from dropping, along with (I presume) the internals to the pan (oil sump tube?). I'm at a point where I'm considering just putting it all back together and dealing with the constant, slow oil leak but would far prefer to actually change this sucker. I can see two nuts inside the oil pan which I assume are all that's holding the sump tube in place. I've considered loosening them to hopefully drop the tube into the pan and then removing it all at once but if I go that route there's no going back and I'm not sure how I could put it back together anyway; scary. Alternately, I've considered removing the cradle engine mount (the metal itself) completely and using a hoist to lift the engine up but the bolts are a nightmare to get to and remove and again I'm not sure I can get them back on once I'm done. This route is NOT indicated as necessary in either my aftermarket service manual nor the Autozone online instructions. Both do suggest removing the exhaust from the engine but its not in the way, so I don't understand that part at all. Why is that necessary? Any help or suggestions would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 IIRC, dropping the cradle down a bit while keep the engine in place will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanwisch Posted August 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 Just following up my own request for help. Sure 'nough slick the cradle has to be dropped and I lack the experience, space, time and confidence to undertake that. So I put everything back together after carefully wiping down the faces of the pan, engine, and gasket and put the bolts back in. Amazingly I see no signs of the leak whatsoever. Even more amazing is that one bolt wasn't put back in (corner closest to the front of the car and the belt) because the threads in the engine itself are stripped somewhat and with the mount's cradle right there I can't correct it. So far ~300mi and no signs of trouble. Moral: If one of your bolts is screwed, you can band-aid the install by ignoring that particular hole, at least temporarily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFFENDI Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Moral: If one of your bolts is screwed, you can band-aid the install by ignoring that particular hole, at least temporarily. THATS SWEET.. i always wondered what would happen now that i have extra parts post engine swap.... hehhe maybe it'll all work out.... what really happened was .... we used some bolts in teh wrong spots... so now i dont have any that are teh right size to bolt down my air intake anyone know what size they are off hand? 91 cutty supreme sl 3.1L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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