Removing Oil Pans = Major PITA??

1112 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by ttmkiv, Mar 5, 2002

ttmkiv

Discussion Starter · Mar 4, 2002

Last night, i took my car out for some 3-4th gear tuning runs. When i got home i just happend to look at the rear of my car as i was closing the garage and noticed something wierd on the paint. I touched one of the spots, and it seems to be oil.. I jacked the car up, and saw oil drips on the crossmember, and dripping off the oil pan screws.. So, how much of a major PITA is it to remove the oils pans to replace the gaskets??? Is this something I should not try to do in my garage and just take it to a professional?? BTW, it looks like the leak might be the top oil pan/girdle thing..

Aaron Senft
93 T66 6-spd

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· #2 · Mar 4, 2002

Make sure you know exactly where it's leaking before you start tearing it apart. Maybe it's your oil filter thats loose? Use brake cleaner and blast the pan(s) clean, should dry on it's own.....then run it while on the lift or something (be careful) and watch as the leak develops.

If it's the oil pan(s), you have to slightly jack up the engine (unbolt motor mounts), in order to remove them. Be careful as everything will go up with the engine, like fan, harness, etc.....if you jack it up too much you might break or rip something apart.

Good luck.

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ttmkiv

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 4, 2002

Ya, i was going to clean everything and let it run and see where it leaks from, but the oil is on the lower exhaust side of the motor, so i dont think its the oil filter or anything on that side.

Ugh, doesnt sound like a fun job to me..

Maybe i'll break down and take it somewhere for this..

MONSTER said:
Make sure you know exactly where it's leaking before you start tearing it apart. Maybe it's your oil filter thats loose? Use brake cleaner and blast the pan(s) clean, should dry on it's own.....then run it while on the lift or something (be careful) and watch as the leak develops.

If it's the oil pan(s), you have to slightly jack up the engine (unbolt motor mounts), in order to remove them. Be careful as everything will go up with the engine, like fan, harness, etc.....if you jack it up too much you might break or rip something apart.

Good luck.

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supra178

· #4 · Mar 4, 2002

my mechanic quote me 22 hours for the oil pan.

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ttmkiv

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 4, 2002

22 hours??

Must be doing a lot of :beer:

supra178 said:
my mechanic quote me 22 hours for the oil pan.

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supra178

· #6 · Mar 4, 2002

My gayass mechanic is my cousin. And he's charging me 22 hours for the freaking job. I thought he was on crack when he gave me the quote.

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sidwin

· #7 · Mar 4, 2002

I am willing to bet a Popeyes fried chicken that you blew your front main seal. I blew mine the other week. You probably won't be able to do this in your house. You are lucky that you didn't loose that much oil that your check engine light came on. To replace this you have to drop both oil pans and use a die grinder to rip all the stock grey sealent off then reseal it with the black sealent that u can get from jeff watson. Tow your car to a dealership or a mechanic!

if you blew the seal, then you are going to have to replace the oil pump too. OMG, u can't believe the amount of work you are in for. It took my ase mechanic and I 7.5 hours to do without pulling the motor out. U will need a lift and drop the subframe to get both oil pans off the car and properly sealed. If you want, u can unhook the ecu and pull the motor out. It is a good time to do a clutch, egr plates, timing belt, drive belt and everything else while u have the motor out of the car. lar at SP said he notices the seal keeps on blowing back out unless u replace the oil pump so don't get cheap and just replace the seal. U might want to bore the return hole for the oil pump bigger too.

What conditions were the motor when this happened? Were u doing a high speed run? What was the boost at? What oil do you use and weight? Is your crank case ventilated?

Sid

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ttmkiv

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 4, 2002

Sid-
I have been reading your posts about that on the tech list. I dont think i blew my front main seal. There is no oil on the front of the motor. That is the first place i looked.. The oil starts to show when you get back to where the 2nd oil pan bolts up. More so towards the rear lower section of the block.

When i noticed it, i had just finished a few 3rd-4th gear runs, 18psi, T66, 720's dual intank pumps, stock rev limit, Mobile1 10w30. I have a k&N on the exh cam cover, and the stock PCV valve on the intake cam cover..

I have had a small oil leak for a while now, but this is the first time i noticed it on the rear bumper..

-Aaron

BTW- I'd love that Fried Chicken right about now..

sidwin said:
I am willing to bet a Popeyes fried chicken that you blew your front main seal. I blew mine the other week. You probably won't be able to do this in your house. You are lucky that you didn't loose that much oil that your check engine light came on. To replace this you have to drop both oil pans and use a die grinder to rip all the stock grey sealent off then reseal it with the black sealent that u can get from jeff watson. Tow your car to a dealership or a mechanic!

if you blew the seal, then you are going to have to replace the oil pump too. OMG, u can't believe the amount of work you are in for. It took my ase mechanic and I 7.5 hours to do without pulling the motor out. U will need a lift and drop the subframe to get both oil pans off the car and properly sealed. If you want, u can unhook the ecu and pull the motor out. It is a good time to do a clutch, egr plates, timing belt, drive belt and everything else while u have the motor out of the car. lar at SP said he notices the seal keeps on blowing back out unless u replace the oil pump so don't get cheap and just replace the seal. U might want to bore the return hole for the oil pump bigger too.

What conditions were the motor when this happened? Were u doing a high speed run? What was the boost at? What oil do you use and weight? Is your crank case ventilated?

Sid

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gritsak

· #9 · Mar 4, 2002

if you get an estimate, or a good idea of how many hours it will take to replace the seals please post it on here. a few months ago i noticed some fluid leaking, and it seemed to be coming from the tranny and i think there still is some, but i also noticed that there seems to be oil coming from the oil pan as well. so i might be in the same situation as you are.

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sidwin

· #10 · Mar 4, 2002

Hey Aaron,

i owe u a 2 piece. dude i can't imagine that u are loosing that much oil through your oil pans. 8 hours is what the dealership charges u. By far a great deal if u can afford it. The stock seal comes from a tube and isn't something u just buy another seal like a valve cover and you pop it in place. U have to die grind the old one off, use a screw driver scrape the cracks, use a razor blade to clean the middle pan and crank type of job.

I blew mine during the same conditions as yours. The thing u must have to check for is where is it coming when u have your car up in the air. Either way, no way on god's green earth would i do it in my garage if i didn't have a cherry picker. I believe u must be loosing oil elsewhere. I had a minor oil seal leak. I am talking about 3 drops the next morning after the car would sit overnight.. Many people thought it was rear main seal... Nope! u might want to check yours and find out exactly where it is coming. If u are getting that much oil where it covers your exhaust then it must be a tad serious.

Sid

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· #11 · Mar 4, 2002

oil leak

I had the same thing happen to me. On my ride it was the upper oil pan that was the leaker. I am a mechanic and our computer that lists the labor times does say 22 hours. It's like 21 hours and a extra hour if it has a/c(never seen a supra with out a/c). Anyway, it's a pain in the ass. In my opinion it's best to pull the engine. That way you can put the motor on a stand flip it over and make sure that everything is done perfectly, you don't want to do it twice. Also while it's out like another post said it's a great time to do some mods since you are already there. I have had the engines out of two supra's now and they really are not that bad. The first one took about six hours to get out and after some practice I had the second hanging on a cherry picker in about two hours. One thing to be careful of, When you are going back together do not apply to much silicone around the bolt holes. I did this and it makes some of them kind of hydolock in the threads, Then the bolt breaks off because you can't get it tightened all the way down. Just trying to help. If you want to attempt this your self e-mail me and I can give you a printout of procedures and torque specs.

Thanks Matt

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ttmkiv

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 5, 2002

Well damn. This sounds like a real bitch and not something i wanna do myself. Im not sure i want to trust the local dealership either.. Perhaps i'll contact Bullish and see if they can squeeze it in. I still want to pinpoint where the oil is coming from, but im 90% sure its one or both of the oil pans. Anyone know for sure how long the book calls for this job? I have an 8 hour, and a 22 hour.. thats a large difference..

There isnt really anything to do while the motor is out since i have pretty much everything i want done, done already..

Oh well..

Sid, next time im down in your area, i'll hit you up for that 2 piece..

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