OIL PAN Gasket Replacement Tips

[hpde30]

just did this last weekend, so for future reference...

anyone have any trouble removing the bell housing case even after the 4 bolts holding it were removed...what gives? all bolts to pan and bell housing are out...

there are 4 torx bolts that attach the inspection place to the trans. An 8mm wrench will work if you don't have a female torx socket.

I used just a dab of permatex gasket sealer (pink stuff) where the front and rear engine covers meet the block. Also make sure to torque the pan bolts from the center outwards to ensure a nice even seal between the pan and the block.

I also highly recommend getting the Pelican Parts oil pan gasket kit. it not only comes with a new gasket but it also has all new bolts which makes for a cleaner, easier install. I was thrilled when I opened the package and saw those shiney bolts... I was dreading cleaning up all 20 of the old ones.

[davem]

just did this last weekend, so for future reference...



there are 4 torx bolts that attach the inspection place to the trans. An 8mm wrench will work if you don't have a female torx socket.

I used just a dab of permatex gasket sealer (pink stuff) where the front and rear engine covers meet the block. Also make sure to torque the pan bolts from the center outwards to ensure a nice even seal between the pan and the block.

I also highly recommend getting the Pelican Parts oil pan gasket kit. it not only comes with a new gasket but it also has all new bolts which makes for a cleaner, easier install. I was thrilled when I opened the package and saw those shiney bolts... I was dreading cleaning up all 20 of the old ones.

link to kit?

[jaywood]

I just put the bolts in a parts washer, and they got clean in a couple minutes :)

[ELIXIR]

What kind of sealant that works the best is NOT rtv that crap hardens and will cause horrible leaks later. You want to use hylamar or dp300 works the best and doesn't harden 100% keeping it plyable. You only want seal where front cover meets block and the on the rear engine cover.

Don't use cork due to over time oil is absorbed into cork and will seep through other style works better due to no expansion on gasket

[FLG]

Best sealant ive ever used is "The Right stuff"

Its not cheap, but it sets up quick and when i went to remove the oil pan from my mopar engine i couldve probably lifted the damn engine from the oil pan it was on so good, i spent hours getting this stuff off.

[bowtie2bimmer]

Doing this as we speak. Car is on stands. Advice for getting the gasket in? i have the oil pan up and the pump bolted in. Just have to find the best way to get the gasket to line up...

[efficient]

gonna try hondabond on my oil pan gasket, seems like it holds up pretty good on my other car.

[bowtie2bimmer]

Finished up my oil pan today. Probably a total of 8 working hours to do it on jackstands. I did find it a hell of alot easier to take the whole inspection cover off. I found 5 bolts (4 that were the same size, 1 larger) and by taking the whole thing off it was massively easier.

Also, as a tip, I didn't have a block of wood laying around so i used a decent sized paperback book :D

[FLG]

I hate doing things like that on the floor, its a fricken pain.

[Pantless Spency]

about to do this :/

[Aleman]

Additional Oil Pan Gasket Detail (my Bentley supplement)

Here are my detailed notes on the oil pan gasket change. I gathered some of the info from this thread and many others on the 'net, and some of the notes I jotted on a pad of paper when I was under the car. I have a '90 325is and a Bentley manual. I did this back in March this year & have no leaks yet (from the oil pan).

Purchase a paper oil pan gasket. The cork type ones get pulverized by engine vibrations in short order. I installed mine with no sealant – just the gasket by itself.

Oil Pan Removal Notes:

• The 25 oil pan bolts are not torqued very tightly. Access is the big issue here.
• You have to remove the bell house reinforcement in order to expose the rear 6 oil pan bolts. It is held in place by 4 hex bolts and 4 Torx bolts. The hex bolts are vertical; the Torx bolts are horizontal. Note that one of the hex bolts on the driver side is longer than the other 3.
• Remove the steering rack bolts, so you can slide it back & forth to gain access to some of the oil pan bolts.
• Take off the two motor mount nuts and raise the engine about 4 inches with a jack under the A/C bracket.
• The oil Level sender/sensor wire plug not only gets unplugged from the wire by the alternator, but the bracket holding the connector in place has to be freed up by removing the bolt at the base of the alternator bracket. The Bentley manual left out this detail.
• The 3 oil pump bolts are right near the top of the inside of the oil pan, 2 on the passenger side, 1 on the driver side. The oil pump bolts to the bottom of the engine, and the oil pan does not drop unless you unmount the pump. I accessed the driver’s side one from above during uninstall.
• Scrape the bottom the engine block with a paint scraper or putty knife.

Oil Pan Installation Notes:

• During oil pump installation, attach half of the rear oil pan bolts very loosely, so the pan hangs a bit. Then tighten the driver side pump bolt from underneath the car with an open-end wrench (13mm). Slide the wrench between the pan and the block.
• When torquing the 25 pan bolts (start from the center & work your way out in a criss-cross pattern to the front & back edges), mark them with a black permanent marker as you go, so you are sure not to accidentally skip torquing any bolts.
• For the bell house reinforcement: Put in the passenger side front hex bolt first, since you’ll need to be able to move the bell housing around to insert the bolt above the sway bar. This first bolt holds a support bracket from the bell house reinforcement to the front subframe. Then insert the remaining hex bolts. It will be tricky to install because of the funky bracket it holds. Then do the Torx bolts.

Reinstallation Checklist:

• Tighten the 2 oil level switch nuts.
• Re-attach the grounding cable to the top of the oil pan next to the oil level switch.
• Torque the motor mount nuts to 32-35 ft. lb.
• Torque the steering rack bolts 42 Nm (31 ft. lb.).
• Put the aluminum flat engine air duct thing back on (looks like a skid plate under the transmission).
• Reconnect the oil level sensor and remount the connector mounting bracket to the base of the alternator.
• Tighten all the oil pan bolts to 9 to 11 Nm (7 to 8 ft. lb.)

Engine Mount Tightening Torques
Rubber mount to mount bracket . . . 43-48 Nm (32-35 ft. lb.)
Rubber mount to subframe:
M10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43-48 Nm (32-35 ft. Ib.)
M8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25-28 Nm (18-21 ft. lb.)
Mount bracket to engine:
M10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43-48 Nm (32-35 ft. lb.)
M8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-24 Nm (16-18 ft. lb.)

Random pics:
Oil Pump


Those pesky bolts behind the bell housing cover at the rear:


The oil level sender and cable:

[backtrail69]

FYI: If you use an engine support bar or engine hoist to lift the engine up a couple inches after removing the engine mount nuts and fan shroud you don't need to remove the oil pump. I have done this 2-3 times on multiple cars and it is MUCH easier than the oil pump removal method if you have something to lift the engine.

[noid]

FYI: If you use an engine support bar or engine hoist to lift the engine up a couple inches after removing the engine mount nuts and fan shroud you don't need to remove the oil pump. I have done this 2-3 times on multiple cars and it is MUCH easier than the oil pump removal method if you have something to lift the engine.

What about just jacking it up from below?

[autbot318i]

not sure if this also applies to the M10 but I need to do this very soon.

After a 3hr drive on NJTPK S @ 90mph...my floor was stained and the culprit looked like from the upper gasket....sigh

[Robert]

best sealant is honda bond..