[joeyg1973]

Ugh... so this is the 3rd used oil pan I have bought and this one seemed to be a OK. The pan had a few dings and scrapes but all in all very solid. So I flip it over and lay the flange side flat on the concrete and... it doesn't lay flat. The 2 catty corners are high and 2 are low. It is about 1/4 inch off. I got a feeling that it is going to be a bitch making it seal against the block the way it is now.

Should I be worrying about this? Can this be fixed? Is it worth it? How do go about fixing this?

[rsbcruiser]

Yes you should worry about it. It will be nar impossible to align the mounting holes when you go to put it back on. Looks like some fun with a big old hammer and 2 X 4s' for you. With 2 X 4s Sitting on the floor Support the pan with 2 X 4s except for the area you want to work flat and use your weight to bend it straight. Do you have an engine stand? If so then you can work the pan and set it on the upside down motor without the gasket to check your progress. Took me many checks to get mine correct. eyeball for flatness and true to the holes

[joeyg1973]

So I beat on this thing forever to no avail. It is torqued so that the half moons are even out of round. I beat the snot out of it and it refuses to mate up to the bottom of the block so that it is flat and the bolt holes align. I called up Man-A-Fre where I got it from and they tell me that it is pretty standard that all used oil pans don't lay flat and the bolt holes don't align. That seemed pretty shocking to me so could someone please tell me if this is the truth?

[rsbcruiser]

I myself have found a similiar attitude from Man-a-fre. Can't tell you wether it is true or not, only that I have had a similiar experience. Good call noticing the half moons out of round. Do you have access to a 10 ton press? Maybe a small shop fabricater in your area? I have no idea of how experienced you are in the field of "get er done" so hard to tell you what to do. Wanna shade tree it some more? A garage jack, bottle jack, wedge it up under your bumper and jump up and down on your bumper kind of thing. Go for spreading the front and back half moons instead of forcing down. Break out the ol "Southern Engineers Manual" and go to town. A practical solution awaits those you contemplates! Oh, and if you don't want to buy the manual, on page 1, "Get A Bigger Hammer".

[joeyg1973]

Originally Posted by rsbcruiser

I myself have found a similiar attitude from Man-a-fre. Can't tell you wether it is true or not, only that I have had a similiar experience. Good call noticing the half moons out of round. Do you have access to a 10 ton press? Maybe a small shop fabricater in your area? I have no idea of how experienced you are in the field of "get er done" so hard to tell you what to do. Wanna shade tree it some more? A garage jack, bottle jack, wedge it up under your bumper and jump up and down on your bumper kind of thing. Go for spreading the front and back half moons instead of forcing down. Break out the ol "Southern Engineers Manual" and go to town. A practical solution awaits those you contemplates! Oh, and if you don't want to buy the manual, on page 1, "Get A Bigger Hammer".

Kid, I am from Jersey... I come from a family of longshoremen. So not only do I always have a bigger hammer available to me, I also know all the right language that goes along with sweet talking something into submission. However, given that I am kinda going for a high quality restore/custom that will still be able to take a beating of my FJ-40 and given that a new pan would cost me about 180 possibly less... it just isn't worth the effort. I already dumped 4 hours into this just trying to get it straight and I still need to POR-15 paint it and top coat it. Just trying to get the 90 something odd bucks that Man-A-Fre stole from me.

[FJROSS]

Joey, I don't know if you have a local parts guy up by you that you use. I found that Toyota of Hackensack is very useful in looking up old FJ parts. The owner of the place has a restored 77. If you need anything from them ask for Barry in the parts dept. I got my pan, front fenders, gas tank, soft top grommets ect.. ect.. ect... from them.

Dave

[rsbcruiser]

Originally Posted by joeyg1973

Kid, I am from Jersey... I come from a family of longshoremen. So not only do I always have a bigger hammer available to me, I also know all the right language that goes along with sweet talking something into submission. However, given that I am kinda going for a high quality restore/custom that will still be able to take a beating of my FJ-40 and given that a new pan would cost me about 180 possibly less... it just isn't worth the effort. I already dumped 4 hours into this just trying to get it straight and I still need to POR-15 paint it and top coat it. Just trying to get the 90 something odd bucks that Man-A-Fre stole from me.

Glad you cleared that up! I bought a POS ebrake from them, looked it over! screamed egads! it's a freakin go cart brake! Take it back! Course I used some of that ol Oregon charm on them, bet if you bite your Long shore tongue just a little they will too, shipping though? Your bio says you are 24, son! Daughter older than U! Hell no, she's married, keep your dirty longshoreman hands off! ANd what the hay, Longshoreman, $ 90, what is that 10 minutes work? Poor post then, not enough info Joe.

[rsbcruiser]

o wait, that is the age of your rig, Ize smart!