FC oil pan remove & reinstall question

[Pete_89T2]

I need to remove & reinstall my oil pan to deal with a leaky pan gasket, obviously with the engine still in the car. Lacking an engine hoist to lift & support the engine in order to remove the passenger side engine mount, what's the best way to do this job? I was figuring with the car up on jack stands, I could use my floor jack to lift up the engine/tranny from the tranny's bellhousing. Would this be a safe & effective way to do the job, or should I just rent an engine hoist and follow the FSM?

Thanks,
Pete

[TitaniumTT]

Ugh..... I dunno but I would try
Remove the hood,
get a chainfall or a come along and hoist the engine up slightly, and I would actually drop the subrame away to get some more room in there. It's fricken TIGHT in there!

[rxspeed7]

Def remove the hood, then use what ever jack you have available and jack the engine and tranny up from the tranny pan, unbolt the engine mounts and raise the engine up of the crossmember. From that point your going to want to support the engine with a jack stand and unbolt the crossmember and remove it from there you should be able to get the pan off without any problems.

Zack

[NoDOHC]

If you still have all the factory rat's nest, etc. you should probably do it with a hoist or jack. If you simplify the fuel injection, you can have the engine out, torn down, new rotors put in, re-assembled and reinstalled in a day (don't ask me how I know).

Seriously, it doesn't take that much to take the engine/trans out. The biggest worry is remembering where everything goes and/or breaking old plastic lines.

[TitaniumTT]

While that's easier, and I'm definately one to haul an engine to make things easier, he said flat out he doesn't have a hoist.... so instead of going up.... why not go down?

BTW... when I pull an engine... I always pull it with the trans. If the trans needs to come out, it's just the trans with an extra set of hands. Reason being it takes about an hr to get all the HMIC + bumper off

[Pete_89T2]

Hey guys, I just double checked with the FSM, and it basically claims this job can be done by just raising the engine 40-60 mm (1.6-2.4 inches) off its mounts. It says to remove the fan (for clearance when lifting the engine), but that's about it - the hood stays put. Come to think of it, when I last swapped my engine, I didn't need to remove the hood either. Rented hoist I used was able to get it there without hitting anything with the hood on. I did have to remove the radiator & oil cooler to make room, but the A/C condensor core (and rest of A/C system) stayed put too.

It also states to make sure "the engine is securely hung" implying a hoist is needed, as opposed to doing what I suggested to lift the engine/tranny with a floor jack. My guess is since the engine/tranny's center of gravity is probably a bit forward of the bellhousing, lifting it from that point may be a bit wobbly. Guess I can try it and see if it's can lift it to the height needed and hold it securely w/o getting in my way under the car. If not, it's off to the tool rental shop for the hoist. Or maybe buy one - I'm sure I'll need it again!

[TitaniumTT]

Buy it. Get one of the foldable/collapseable ones. Look for used too... I think when I bought mine about 12 years ago, the going rental rate was $50, found one used for $175.... do the math.

Same thing with a car hauler, wish I had just bought one. Probably would've paid for itself by now especially considering U-Ass raped me twice already... once for ~$500 back from NC and the other double charge because it was back a few hours late when the motherfuckers specifically told me that I could keep it overnight as long as it was back before they opened the next day. I hate u-haul and refuse to go back... /rant

Point being, you're more than likely going to need it again so you might as well just buy it.

[RETed]

If all attempts to raise the engine with some kinda hoist fail, I've been able to jack the trans up using a piece of wood under the flat part underneath (ribbed area).
You'll barely be able to lift the engine up about 6" inches before it hits the top of the trans tunnel anyways.
No ways to get more access without removing the trans and / or engine out.

Good luck!


-Ted

[barnett87rx7]

it is definitely tight in there i did it with the engine in i lifted the car on a hoist and used a tranny jack to lift the engine and it was still tight with the sub frame there... if your going to do it I suggest getting a stud kit while your at it makes life a lot easier in the future

[TitaniumTT]

it is definitely tight in there i did it with the engine in i lifted the car on a hoist and used a tranny jack to lift the engine and it was still tight with the sub frame there... if your going to do it I suggest getting a stud kit while your at it makes life a lot easier in the future

It most certainly does NOT. A stud kit would make it more difficult. You would have to drop the pan a full inch before moving it backwards and out. Then you would need to remove a good portion of the studs to really clean it.

[Rotary Related]

Make sure to clean the flange of the oil pan and the bottom of the engine really, really, really, really, really good before reassembly. Or the rtv/silicon will not do it's job. You may or may not use a gasket. That's up to you. Both ways work fine.

You'll know its clean enough if your willing to put your mouth on it. It wouldn't hurt to just clean the oil pan up inside and out. Then you could even repaint it if you like while it's out.

[RETed]

Then you could even repaint it if you like while it's out.

I would not recommend this for those who don't know how to paint something that was oil immersed.
I would NOT recommend painting the inside of the oil pan especially.
If the paint on the inside of the oil pan happens to flake off (and most likely it will), I shudder that thought of all that paint flakes in the oiling system!

Most people don't know that most metals are porous.
Oil can actually soak into most metals - i.e. steel and aluminum.
This is why the oil pan is a ROYAL PITA to seal.
Most RTVs and most sealants cannot seal against metal that has oil in it.


-Ted

[Pete_89T2]

I would not recommend this for those who don't know how to paint something that was oil immersed.
I would NOT recommend painting the inside of the oil pan especially.
If the paint on the inside of the oil pan happens to flake off (and most likely it will), I shudder that thought of all that paint flakes in the oiling system!-Ted

Why would anyone want to paint the inside of an oil pan? I gave about a millisecond of thought to painting the outside surfaces while it's out, but one look at it and I concluded it looks good enough as-is.

[TitaniumTT]

:rofl: I powdercoated mine.

Ted's right though. When I coated mine I cleaned the SNOT out of it. Then I baked it @ 500* You wouldn't believe how much oil there was still there even after it was cleaned beyond belief. Then I used some tin foil and fiberglass tape to keep the powder out of the inside (even though it is supposed to be oil resistant, it's not oil proof and Ted does make a good point) and baked away.

After 18 months it's starting to flake. Go figure. Maybe next time I'll remove all of the factory coating not just scuff the hell out of it.

[firzen]

If you're going to clean the whole pan, the sandblaster works wonders if you got one.
I know Brian don't got one yet so I'm rubbing it in. (^^)

If you also have access to a coating shop that does zinc or ceramic coating, that would probably be better than paint. However, cost may become an issue if you pursue this route.

Good luck.

[Pete_89T2]

A little off-topic, but since I started the thread and we got into the topic of engine hoists, what do you guys think of this one? (ref. link to Harbor Freight tools)

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-capacity-foldable-shop-crane-93840.html

Based on the reviews & specs, it sounds like this would suit my needs (occasional use on my RX-7s). There's a Harbor Freight store a few miles from my house that has it in stock, but it's not set up and on display for me to inspect. I like the fact that it's foldable and saves me some garage space. Cost is a steal - with the coupons I have, if I buy it on turkey day, it rings up at about $99.00

The question is would it have the reach & capacity to pull the engine/tranny out of an FC? Anyone out there own and use one of these?

[TitaniumTT]

I'd go one size up. The hoist I have is a 2 ton and the casters on that are lackluster at best. Actually going to swap them out soon. Bigger is better.... It's just going to eb thicker steel, not much of a difference in size. Shouldn't be that much more expensive. CL maybe?

[Pete_89T2]

I'd go one size up. The hoist I have is a 2 ton and the casters on that are lackluster at best. Actually going to swap them out soon. Bigger is better.... It's just going to eb thicker steel, not much of a difference in size. Shouldn't be that much more expensive. CL maybe?

Is yours the Harbor Freight 2-ton foldable hoist? Looking at the specs on that now, besides the weight capacity, the 2 ton unit gives more boom reach - 42" - 63-1/2", compared to 36-1/4" - 50-1/4" for the 1 ton unit. Price is about $50 more, before any coupons. I had my concerns about the casters too, they are a bit on the cheap side.

[TitaniumTT]

Mine is an Excailber something.... I can pull some measurements for you tonight if you like. Even the casters on mine are on the cheap side. They're getting replaced before I attempt to drop in my buddies V8 diesel. I've heard reports that the long-block weighs 1200lbs!

[Pete_89T2]

Mine is an Excailber something.... I can pull some measurements for you tonight if you like. Even the casters on mine are on the cheap side. They're getting replaced before I attempt to drop in my buddies V8 diesel. I've heard reports that the long-block weighs 1200lbs!

Thanks, but no need to measure. I just measured from the nose of my FC to its firewall, and the distance is longer than the max. 50-1/4" boom reach that the cheaper 1 ton hoist at HF gives you. Looks like the extra reach of the 2-ton model will be a necessity.