Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

yabaiani
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Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby yabaiani » Sat Oct 03, 2020 11:11 am

Just like the title says...is there anyway to easily swap the oil pan without having to mess with the subframe? Let me know. Thank you!

Nick94tt
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Re: Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby Nick94tt » Sat Oct 03, 2020 10:19 pm

About the one thing I haven't pulled off the car yet, lol.

Best advice from the other side though - spend the money on the best fipg you can get (toyota/hondabond, or the pressurized expensive nonsense in a can - best possible options for form in place. ^_^) , a couple extra cans of brake clean at walmart, and enough cheap oil (and an extra quart or two just to pour through slowly) + filter so you can button it all back up tight, do a quick oil change (run it up to temp for a few minutes, maybe down the street - I'd leave it sitting still till hot then shut down and change.)

If the oil thing seems like overkill know I'm just tossing up what I would do if I pulled an oil pan and sprayed brake clean inside a block. ^_^

$20 of overkill is a whole lot of insurance.

Hope it helps. ^_^

davew7
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Re: Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby davew7 » Sun Oct 04, 2020 4:40 am

Pass on the form in place RTV gasket type sealers. The typical 30 yr old oil pan mounting flange is not very straight even after trying to remove all the dimples from over tightening the pan bolts. Use Fel-Pro pan gasket set 2-92981. Has two gaskets, one for the pan and a 2nd for the wind tray. Clean the surface, then spray Hi-Tac on the gaskets to hold them in place during assembly. davew7

yabaiani
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Re: Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby yabaiani » Sun Oct 04, 2020 5:43 am

Thanks everyone. I have to remove the oil pan fully because I need to tap a whole due to the bolt not going through all the way (long story). So the whole thing has to come off as there isn’t enough room.

I was more asking if there was a trick to removing it or a how to guide...

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jondee86
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Re: Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby jondee86 » Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:55 pm

I'm glad you asked because it gives me a chance to steal something useful :)

Here's the skinny on the procedure itself. No need to pull the crossmember!
You will need:
- Toyota FIPG for camshaft housing and oil pan ($23 from dealer)
- oil pump pickup tube gasket ($4. This gasket is IMPORTANT)
- misc tools, 10mm socket, extensions, etc
- putty knife, wire brush (or wire wheel on grinder)
- small amount of gasoline (from your lawnmower is fine)

- Jack up car fairly high. You want lots of room.
- Drain oil, put on new drainplug gasket
- Take off the oil cooler fitting (17? 19mm?)
- Remove the engine stiffening braces on both sides.
- Remove all the itty bitty 10mm bolts and nuts
- Crack the oilpan free of the block. It's glued on pretty good with FIPG so this
is fun. A putty knife and small mallet will help. Try to only pull out the pan, without
pulling down the windage tray. If you pull down the windage tray too, you have to
seperate the two before the pan will come out. Plus it's messier.
- After the pan is cracked loose, pull it forwards, down, then give it a 90 degree
rotation and fit it past the front swaybar.
- Now remove the oil pump pickup tube (4x 10mm bolts/nuts)
- Then remove the windage tray

Thoroughly scrape/wire wheel off the residual FIPG. The new FIPG will not adhere to old FIPG.

- Clean up the block mating surfaces too.
- Straighten oil pan surface carefully with ball end of small ball-peen hammer.
- When you're sure that the surfaces are really clean, use a rag and a small amount
of gas to clean and "primer" the surfaces to prepare for FIPG.
- Put a tiny bead (2mm) of FIPG on the windage tray upper surface. The bead should
run between the stud/bolt holes. When you get to the holes themselves, put the bead
on the inside edge of the holes. Don't install it yet.
- Put a slightly bigger bead (3mm) onto the oil pan mating surface. Be sure to fill up
the grooves of the oil pan.

- crawl under car, and put windage tray in place. Have a helper hold the windage tray
up with a finger by reaching over the steering rack. This keeps your helper out of the way.
- install oil pump pickup. Use a new gasket.
- install the oil pan. Remember to fit it in above the swaybar, then turn it into place.
Try not to allow the wet FIPG to touch anything. <-- this is the fun part.
- carefully have your helper retract his/her hand. You have 5-10 seconds to put the
pan in place before the windage tray falls down.

- at this point, assembly is the reverse of disassembly I <3 love saying that.

- Brian


Personally I would rather cut my own arm off with a blunt knife than try and remove
the pan while the engine is in the car. If you have to drill/tap a hole into the block it may
be worth investigating a technique for doing that without removing the pan. Have you
looked at using a right-angle drill ?

Image

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

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Rogue-AE95
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Location: Tampa Bay, FL

Re: Any tricks to replacing the oil pan?

Postby Rogue-AE95 » Thu Oct 29, 2020 3:15 pm

I'll never understand why aftermarket companies (like Fel-Pro) haven't made a proper rubber oil pan gasket for these engines.

I found this company that makes silicone oil pan gaskets. Maybe someone can reach out to them? I'd buy a notched block (20v) version.

https://realgaskets.com/product/oil-pan-gasket-13/
'88 Corolla All-Trac x2 (manual, auto)