73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Engine/Drivetrain => Topic started by: eventhorizon66 on January 26, 2009, 08:23:55 pm
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OK, I'll concede. I have to ask a very basic, very embarassing question. Does anyone know of a clever way to remove a stubborn oil pan?
Here's the story. So I'm replacing my intake gaskets (that's another story), no big deal. I'm cleaning out all the intake manifold bolt holes with a thread chase and naturally it slips out of my hand and down the rear oil drainback passage (my fault for not having a shop towel shoved in it). "No big deal," I say, after one or two four letter words, "I'll just drop the pan." All oil drained, all bolts removed from pan, no obstructions to hang up on, but the thing won't drop. I'm afraid to pry between the pan and block because it might warp the rail, so it's OK that I don't really have enough room to do so anyways. So I whip out my rubber mallet and start pounding away. No dice. Block of wood and 5 lb sledge. No dice, now it has a small dent. Is there some kind of toxic, prohibited, eat-your-face-away chemical that I can soak the gasket material with?
It's OK to laugh at me, I know I would, if I weren't so frustrated. Thanks guys.
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Go back around the pan. you probably missed a bolt. Smacking it in the corvers just right with a dead blow will break it loose. If you have to pry just do it carefully and gently or you'll be replacing the pan too.
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Definitely didn't miss a bolt, checked it very carefully. But, thanks, I'll get back out there and continue beating on it. I would like a new Milodon 7 qt pan, LOL, but I definitely can't afford it right now.
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Maybe one like this if you destroy it.
http://www.kmjent.com/cart/product.php?productid=797
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Wow, that's an awesome deal. I'm bookmarking it, or maybe that would jinx me. Calling it quits for tonight, bumming a ride tomorrow, and attacking it again in the afternoon. They must have used some sort of industrial strength adhesive/sealant when they assembled it. >:(
When I do get it loose, what do you recommend for gasket sealant when I reinstall it? I was planning on Gasgasinch for the pan rails and block, and a squirt of The Right Stuff RTV for the four corners. Sound good?
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Can you get a screwdriver/pry in the back corner? Did you glue both sides of the gasket?
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I can't really get a long screw driver in anywhere except a few awkward spots along the rail, thanks to my full length headers. I didn't install the pan last, a factory in Mexico did. But I figure they did use gasket glue on both sides or it would have come off by now.
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try taking a cheapo scre driver you have (flat head) and bend the tip in a vice to get yourself some good direction on it, a slight dead blow like vile said should do the trick too
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Clean the areas real good and put the end seals in with the rightstuff. Then use 3m weatherstripping adhesive (yellow snot) to glue the gaskets in place (assuming you have a 2 piece rear main) and hold them in place with bolts. Apply a bead of rightstuff across both ends and bolt it up.
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Definitely didn't miss a bolt, checked it very carefully. But, thanks, I'll get back out there and continue beating on it. I would like a new Milodon 7 qt pan, LOL, but I definitely can't afford it right now.
Not trying to threadjack, but i would just like to ask how having more oil than stock would actually help.
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more oil = more to circulate = generally lower oil temps, and more in there at all times if your running hi pressure, hi volume pump
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I wouldn't run an HV oil pump unless you have more than .002 oil clearances and if you do you better make sure you have a high capacity baffled pan. Running an HV pump with tight clearances will possibly pump a stock pan dry or run you with PR valve open. And as the dan said better oil cooling is a plus with the extra capacity pan.
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You get that bigger pan, might as well get a new pump because your going to need a different sump!
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The pan is the sump and it should come with a new pick up but a new pump certainly couldn't hurt.
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Just out of curiosity. What is the concesus on these gaskets (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=FEL%2DOS34510T&autoview=sku)? They are twice the price, but look like they'd make installation easier. My pan requires a gasket set that accomodates a dip stick on either side.
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The pan is the sump
Excuse my lame terminology I meant sump pick up
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I always use the one piece gaskets. They work real good and are easier. Use the same method with RTV and weatherstripping adhesive.
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Well I got her off. I've cleaned block/pan and I'm about to reinstall. I ended up spraying PB Blaster all along the perimeter, going around with a heat gun for a minute or two, and then with a few good wacks of the rubber mallet it fell right off. I wish I had thought of this last night.
Here's a pic of the little booger that started this adventure, LOL.
(http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/1985C10/P1270024.jpg)
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Also one thing that has me a little concerned, now that I have the one-piece gaskets right in front of me, is both end seal sections are a bit thicker (.125") than the ones I pulled off. And they don't feel any more compressible that the stockers. But the instructions say that this set is explicitly designed for the Goodwrench 350 with dipstick accommodations on either side. We'll see, I guess.
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Good job getting it off! I just read the thread and was going to suggest putting a bottle jack against the frame and a 2x4 between the jack and the pan. Pump the jack out til a bit of pressure is on the pan and wait for an hour or so. Then see if the pan will pop right off. Not my idea- I found it at another web site-
Darn chasers... :D
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I forgot to get back on here and thank you all for your help and advice. I got the pan back on and it's leak free, thanks to your support. I'll be sure to shove shop towels in EVERY hole next time. LOL.
Also, I love that one-piece gasket, it really made the installation much easier and it takes much more torque than cork gasket could handle (thanks to it's steel core). If you are replacing your pan gasket I highly recommend them, just make sure you know whether you need the thick front seal or the thin one, and where your dipstick is of course. Mine was $27 after tax at AZ (worth every penny).