Oil pan arch seal (4 Viewers)

[steffan]

some shots of the front pan arch under the front main seal, power steering drive gears and the back of the main oil pan arch that leaks.
pretty easy job overall. as was said before, the most nerve racking thing about it is getting the pan back on without messing up the sealer on the way up. I also took out the studs on the front of the pan which hold the radiator hose support - made one less thing to get hung up on.

 

[js93cruiser]

so you just follow all those little grooves in the pan with fipg and slap it on?

 

[steffan]

I went with permatex ultra grey because I always have had good results with it. the factory really spread it on thick ( a lot of excess protruding out of the seam) so did the same and made sure it set up for 24 hours before putting oil back in the pan.

 

[js93cruiser]

so you made like 1/4 inch bead all the way around the groove with permatex?

 

[alia176]

It really doesn't take much to ooze out of the two mating surfaces. The two surfaces are machined very nicely so even a little amount may ooze out. Now, if this was a Land Rover oil pan......

 

[js93cruiser]

lr's came from the factory leaking....lol what did you do about that bigger groove in front of the smaller groove at the rear arch portion of the pan?

 

[mleichty]

Although a little old, this seems to be the most complete thread on the oil pan/arch seal job. Just trying to make sure I have all the parts before opening everything up, so maybe one of the resident parts experts can chime in here. From everything I have read in the various threads, it appears that I need the following (I think part numbers are the correct ones)
Timing Cover Gasket 11328-66020
Oil Dipstick O-Ring 96721-19010
Engine Oil Level Sensor Gasket 90430-27001
1 Tube of FIPG
Anything I'm missing or might need while I'm in there, or will that cover it?

 

[Rookie2]

Woe,woe,woe... What's this about timing cover gasket? You don't have to remove the timing cover to pull the upper pan and reseal the pan arch.

 

[Rookie2]

You probably need some kind of tool to work between the pan and block to the break the gasket seal loose. Also some spray on gasket remover will help save some time removing the old gasket material from the pans. A parts cleaner is nice to have access to, to submerge and clean the pans.

 

[Riad]

This might be a little off topic...I like the fact that I don't ever have to raise the engine to remove the #1 pan. I did this several years ago...search on "removable panhard rod" for the thread. With this, I was able to separate the pan from the top of the engine by using the rod...slide it down through the exhaust side onto to the #1 pan after removing all the bolts, then few gentle tap on the rod and the pan dropped down as shown on the pix below. Used FIPG to attach it back together per this thread...still running strong.

 

[mleichty]

I believe the timing cover gasket 11328-66020 is the square o ring on the front of the upper pan. That seems to be the official part name I'm seeing, and from the parts pictures I think that is what it is. Name is definitely deceptive, and if anyone has something different for that square o ring, let me know.

Love the idea of having that solid bar removable and out of the way down there, but at this point don't think I want to add that to the job. Of course I may be regretting that when I'm trying to wedge that pan back in place, but I hope not. Definitely seems like a good idea, and wish Toyota would have thought of that to begin with. I hope to not need to do this again for another 200k miles though!

 

[jafo9]

any tips on getting pan #1 unstuck from the bottom of the block? i've been tugging for a while and i don't think i've made any progress.

 

[FloridaFJ80]

There are some points near the DS rear inner corner where you can stick a screw driver or pry bar to separate it its flush with the block but you can see the space where you can stick in the pry bar.

Hope this helps.

 

[alia176]

also a propane torch will help with the bonding, worth a shot!

 

[jafo9]

thanks for the replies. i found a small spot at the very rear outer corner on the DS right below the starter that didn't seem to have any purpose and had a few mm space. perfect for a large screwdriver. once i "broke" the seal, it was easy to remove with the motor lifted a few inches.

 

[jafo9]

so i think mine is worse after doing this project. i have to say of all the "projects" i've done, this was the worst. to add insult to injury, my oil puddles are bigger now. i think next time, i'll just pull the motor.

 

[alia176]

so i think mine is worse after doing this project. i have to say of all the "projects" i've done, this was the worst. to add insult to injury, my oil puddles are bigger now. i think next time, i'll just pull the motor.

This is one of those projects that should be done with the head gasket..... along with pulling the engine. It's truly a PITA project. I'm sorry to hear about the oil puddle [emoji35]

 

[Rookie2]

Several comments on this, and in addition a search would yeild others experiences with this item as well.

First off: the 20 plus nicely bulletized items listed above don't do this job justice. It's a PITA. If you've got a "seep" with little to no drip accumulating on the driveway, you're going to be kicking yourself in butt for messing with this once your asses and elbows deep into it.

Second: There's no guarentees it's the pan arch, although percentages have shown it to be the most common out of it vs. rear main seal. I found it really hard to tell by doing the mirror investigation.


Rookie2

For anyone else itching to do this job...

 

[bmw635]

Is it possible for this pan arch to leak a lot all of sudden?

Rebuilt my motor last year, 8k miles later, the head cracked at the water pipe bolt next to valve cover bolt. While cleaning, and trying JBWeld to see if I can slow the head leak, next thing I notice the bell housing leaks. Just warm up for 5min idle then it leaves a large 3" dia puddle. I can't imagine rear main leaks that much? Thanks .

 

[landtoy80]

Remove the access cover there, wipe everything down or wash it off. Then run the motor and see if you can in the access hole to see whats happening. Turn the motor off and feel up in there.
I don't think its a good idea to stick you hand in there with the motor running.