Oil Pan

[lennon]

its not that hard. loosen the nuts on the motor mounts, dont take them all the way out if you dont wanna deal with that. this will give you a bit of play. jack up the motor from the A/C bracket or something, using a regular floor jack. this will give you enough room to do everything. nothing needs to be removed.

take the pan loose, it'll fall a bit and be stuck on the pump. take the pump loose, itll fall into the pan and you can slide that out. putting it back in is a bit more tricky but reverse of removal.

[quickervicar]

putting it back in is...reverse of removal.

Is your last name Bentley?

[DanMan68]

I already ordered a oil pan off a guy on e30tech, and am planning to install it asap. But will the jbweld hold for a week or so until I can get the new one in? Or should I just try to get it properly welded after I get the new one in so I have a spare.

Also thinking about getting this

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74760&highlight=oilpan

[DanMan68]

Also, where is the best place to get the oilpan gasket? Would a local store have one? Ebay? Specialty store?

[quickervicar]

Local dealer had one in stock for $20.

[T Verdier]

I've heard of people running with JB weld on there cracked oil pans for years with no problems. i have several JB Welds on my car lol. looks like i need a new oil pan as well. or at least some more JB weld.

[E30QC]

[quote=Hallen;1636802]If you have those soft Eibach Pro springs, you may want to upgrade to some H&R's to keep from cracking your new pan.

Are the H&R's that much better, must be spring rate right?

[Adrian_Visser]

There is absolutely no need to touch the crankcase vent tube. It doesn't go into the oil pan it goes into the side of the block above the oil pan and it can be an absolute waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles to get back in place. The way Lennon described is the same way I did mine just loosen the engine mount bolts remove all the oil pan nuts, lift the engine from the mount arm or a/c bracket then drop the pan down and reach into the pan and undo the oil pump bolts and drop it into the pan. It gets messy when you use permatex instead of a proper gasket and go to re-install the oil pump though

[DanMan68]

Lol I already replaced the pan, and I have M3 springs not eibach. And yeah it was a pain. I still have yet to get a skid plate though. Hopefully this spring

[profbooty]

Any tips for getting the oil pump back on if you preform the engine jacking method? I really feel like i need more room to get it on.

Also my new cork gasket teared since i have had to pull the oil pan on/off 5x so far while trying to put on the oil pump. Can i use RTV instead, or just buy a new gasket?

[ttrousdell]

from someone who has cracked may oil pans and has spent bout 6 hours replacing..u dont need to remove the rack. losen the motor mounts nuts and use a jack to lift the engine. there are may instructions online on how to do it this way. i find that jb weld is great product and depending on how big the crack is, then this option can be considered

[SmokeE30]

profbotty i would get a new gasket, you dont wannna rtv it up and put it all back together to find a leak once your done and have to start over.

and i too have seen jbweld hold oil pans together just fine with no leaks, i would only use this as a temporary fix till you could replace it but i drove my e30 around with jbweld on there for quite some time and had no issues. Although i wouldn't wanna smack it on the ground so i definitely would recommend a skid plate either homemade or one of the ones offered for our cars.

[DanMan68]

Any tips for getting the oil pump back on if you preform the engine jacking method? I really feel like i need more room to get it on.

Also my new cork gasket teared since i have had to pull the oil pan on/off 5x so far while trying to put on the oil pump. Can i use RTV instead, or just buy a new gasket?

Get a good friend to help you out lol. But yeah it is tight and keeping the gasket intact is hard. Are you using some sort of gasket sealent on the gasket? You will get it allover your hands when getting the pump back on, but it helps keep the gasket together and from flopping around.

As for using jbweld, I used it on my cracked pan for a week or so untill I got the new one. It leaked a little, but not enough to worry about it. If you are going to jbweld it w/o taking it off the car, be sure to scuff up the area where the crack is and use some compressed air to blow any residual oil out of the crack.

[profbooty]

Get a good friend to help you out lol. But yeah it is tight and keeping the gasket intact is hard. Are you using some sort of gasket sealent on the gasket? You will get it allover your hands when getting the pump back on, but it helps keep the gasket together and from flopping around.

As for using jbweld, I used it on my cracked pan for a week or so untill I got the new one. It leaked a little, but not enough to worry about it. If you are going to jbweld it w/o taking it off the car, be sure to scuff up the area where the crack is and use some compressed air to blow any residual oil out of the crack.

Last night i used some ties to hold the gasket in place, but i bought some rtv like gasket seal that i plan to put on the gasket to hold it in place when i put it in. Ill just have to keep on trying to get the oil pump on. The hardest part seems to be getting the shaft to line up properly in the hole on the oil pump itself.

At this point i propbably should just remove the steering rack ;)