IT CAN BE DONE VERY EASILY! I, like many of you on this forum, hate leaks to the point that I'm willing to tear my engine apart to rid my truck of them altogether. In my attempt to rid my truck of leaks, last month I changed out the valve cover gaskets with Fel Pro rubber gaskets, replaced the power steering pump (which still leaks BTW), and this weekend decided to tackle changing the oil pan gasket with the engine in the truck and the factory crossmember in place.
I was intimidated to do this at first because I thought the factory crossmember would make it impossible to remove the pan. I searched everywhere but couldn't really find an answer as to whether or not this would be doable without removing the engine, or unbolting the mounts and placing wood blocks between the mounts and block - so I figured I'd share my story. For the most part, especially if you have a wobble extension on your ratchet, all of the oil pan's bolts are easy to access from under the truck. Once the bolts are removed, you'd think that the pan would just come undone and drop down... uhh yeah, not the case with my truck. Beating on the oil pan with a rubber mallet wouldn't even free it. So i had to get a razor blade and start cutting away at the old cork gaskets that I could fit a pry bar between the block and the pan lip. I eventually got the pan off and got to learn new things about my engine. I could tell that the PO did some upgrades like adding a Hamburger oil pan, a windage tray and a Manley high-volume oil pump. Next, I used my Craftsman Nextec multi-tool with the stainless steel scraper attachment on it and started scraping all the remnants of the old gasket still stuck to the block and the oil pan.
Note, I replaced the factory style 4-piece oil pan gasket for the new 1-piece style gasket from Fel-Pro.
Next, I installed the guides that came with the Fel Pro 1 piece gasket on each corner of the block, squeezed some RTV in the corners as indicated in the instructions that came with the new gasket, and then placed the gasket on the guide studs. I had to play with the pan a bit, but it eventually went back on using the guides. The new gasket came with all new pan bolts, so I started threading those in starting from the middle and working my way to each end. I tightened the bolts down in the same sequence, from the middle to the front/back of the pan, changing sides every other bolt. Eventually I got the bolts about as tight as the gasket would let me and filled the engine up with oil.
Its too early to tell just how well the new gasket worked, but I will update you later this week as I have time behind the wheel.
The new blue gasket:
And, in case you're wondering what my 75 Jimmy looks like.
Topless:
Top On:
I was intimidated to do this at first because I thought the factory crossmember would make it impossible to remove the pan. I searched everywhere but couldn't really find an answer as to whether or not this would be doable without removing the engine, or unbolting the mounts and placing wood blocks between the mounts and block - so I figured I'd share my story. For the most part, especially if you have a wobble extension on your ratchet, all of the oil pan's bolts are easy to access from under the truck. Once the bolts are removed, you'd think that the pan would just come undone and drop down... uhh yeah, not the case with my truck. Beating on the oil pan with a rubber mallet wouldn't even free it. So i had to get a razor blade and start cutting away at the old cork gaskets that I could fit a pry bar between the block and the pan lip. I eventually got the pan off and got to learn new things about my engine. I could tell that the PO did some upgrades like adding a Hamburger oil pan, a windage tray and a Manley high-volume oil pump. Next, I used my Craftsman Nextec multi-tool with the stainless steel scraper attachment on it and started scraping all the remnants of the old gasket still stuck to the block and the oil pan.
Note, I replaced the factory style 4-piece oil pan gasket for the new 1-piece style gasket from Fel-Pro.
Next, I installed the guides that came with the Fel Pro 1 piece gasket on each corner of the block, squeezed some RTV in the corners as indicated in the instructions that came with the new gasket, and then placed the gasket on the guide studs. I had to play with the pan a bit, but it eventually went back on using the guides. The new gasket came with all new pan bolts, so I started threading those in starting from the middle and working my way to each end. I tightened the bolts down in the same sequence, from the middle to the front/back of the pan, changing sides every other bolt. Eventually I got the bolts about as tight as the gasket would let me and filled the engine up with oil.
Its too early to tell just how well the new gasket worked, but I will update you later this week as I have time behind the wheel.
The new blue gasket:
And, in case you're wondering what my 75 Jimmy looks like.
Topless:
Top On:
