97 OHV Oil Pan Question

[stkline81]

My 97 OHV had developed a leak for the first time in 220k miles. I just replaced the head gaskets so maybe the coolant in the oil caused the gasket to fail? Anyway, my question is can I get the oil pan off easily or is this going to be a long project? I crawled underneath it this afternoon & it looks like it should come straight down after unbolting it.

 

[stkline81]

I found my Chilton manual today. It says to remove the entire engine to replace the oil pan gasket. I hope there is an easier way since I don't have the equipment necessary to pull the entire engine. Anyone with the 4.0 OHV engine done this?

 

[stkline81]

Anyone with the OHV do this?

 

[ranger7ltr]

Is it RWD or 4WD?

If it is RWD the pan can be dropped straight out the bottom of the engine bay after removing all 24 bolts and nuts...

If it is 4wd the difficulty goes up thanks to the front differential being in the way...

And yes I HAVE dropped my oil pan multiple times...Even installed the pan on a new rebuilt engine a while back...