necessary to pull engine to drop oil pan?

[punkbek3886]

my haynes manual says its necessary to pull the engine out of the car to drop the oil pan. is this really necessary? the engine is leaking oil out of the gasket sealing the oil pan to the engine and i want to replace it but i dont want to pull the whole engine out! thats just crazy. i know someone out there has to have done it another way.

 

[Adam Foote]

i work at a dodge dealership, and do oilchanges on cars and trucks all the time.... and i dont really know about the explorer but i would seriously doubt you would have to drop the engine...i dont remember exactly what the bottom of my truck looks like, i just remember alot of mud.... haha but anyways i would be shocked/dissapointed if that was true

 

[MrMatt]

When I had my oil pan gasket replaced about 6 months ago they had to pull the engine to do it, I had the rear main done at the same time as long as the engine was allready out.

Their might be another way to go about it but not that I know of.

-Matt

 

[punkbek3886]

how much did it cost to pull the engine and replace the pan gasket?

 

[MrMatt]

Im not 100% sure, I could look later but I think Parts/Labor for the Oil Pan Gasket and the Rear Main Seal was around $800 to $1000.

-Matt

 

[mrboyle]

There is absolutley not enough room to drop the oil pan with the engine installed. Trust me, I have tried!

 

[MrMatt]

Yeah I was pretty sure that was the case, I couldnt figure it out and the shop said ewww yeah we need to pull the engine for that one....not going to be cheap...hehe....

-Matt

 

[Adam Foote]

ok.... sorry i am wrong... im glad i know now though

 

[punkbek3886]

crap

 

[MrMatt]

Originally posted by punkbek3886
crap

lol, yeah that about sums it up. Ill double check later tonight and see if I have the invoice to let you know exactly what I had done and how much it was, its been a while now.

-Matt

 

[mrboyle]

How bad is the leak? Try cleaning the bottom of the engine (spray down w/ carb cleaner and wash off w/ pressure washer) then drive it a day or two and look for the leak. If it only appears to be leaking in a small location, reclean the aera and apply some RTV across the seam around the leak. Let it dry over night and take it for a spin to see if you got the leak. This may not be the most professional sounding repair, but it works.

 

[punkbek3886]

thanks, ill try that. anything beats pulling the engine out and spending all that money .

 

[punkbek3886]

btw, my steering pump is a piece and it leaks, so do you think that maybe it is shooting fluid on the side of the engine and it picks up dirt on its journey to the driveway so it looks like oil? just a thought

 

[punkbek3886]

i was thinking about this, and i wonder if i really need to remove the oil pan completely to replace the gasket. would it be possible to just drop it down as far as possible and replace the gasket with the engine still in place?

 

[Isaac]

to add,,,,,,

mrboyle How bad is the leak? Try cleaning the bottom of the engine (spray down w/ carb cleaner and wash off w/ pressure washer) then drive it a day or two and look for the leak. If it only appears to be leaking in a small location, reclean the aera and apply some RTV across the seam around the leak. Let it dry over night and take it for a spin to see if you got the leak. This may not be the most professional sounding repair, but it works.

Just to add to this,, also try retorqing the pan bolts to spec.

the engine does have to be pulled,, been there done that.

 

[punkbek3886]

once again, crap