Trunk Monkey
Moderator
I finally fixed my oil pan leak over the weeked. I guess I should say a friend (Will Carroll) fixed it, I pretty much got in the way. It was the upper pan, front and rear arch. I've got a little moisture at the rear main, not enough to worry about now.
Let me say, I had no idea what it was people were talking about with the upper oil pan. I'd seen the lower from changing oil, but hadn't even clued in on what the upper was. It's huge.
So, here's a brief synopsis of the process, no pics were taken since we were both covered in oil most of the time. Simplifying this down to 10 steps makes it look easy, but it isn't. It took the two of us 5 hours with Will doing most of the work. He has a lot of tool attachments that work wonders for getting into tight spots (as well as quadruple jointed arms).
1) Drain oil
2) Undo bolts holding on lower oil pan and using a putty knife, pry it off.
3) Remove oil level sensor and set it out of the way on top of the frame rail.
4) Remove 6 bolts holding block to tranny
5) Undo front drive shaft front end and front sway bar
6) Remove bolts holding upper oil pan
7) Remove nuts from front motor mounts
8) Using engine hoist, tip engine up about an inch. By doing this and with the swaybar and drive shaft, you're giving yourself enough clearance to remove the upper pan. Did I mention it was big (runs the entire length of the block)? Will mentioned he'd seen a couple pans cracked when someone had missed a bolt and tried using a pry bar to break it loose from the old gasket material or trying to pry it out from under the truck without enough clearance.
9) Thoroughly clean upper and lower pans, removing all the old FIPG. Replace oil pick-up gasket in the DS front corner of the block.
10) Using new FIPG, reverse the process, put on a new filter and fill with oil. Check your oil level and pressure upon starting.
On mine you could clearly see where it was leaking at the front and rear. It's been 4 days since it was done, not a drop of oil on the garage floor. I had been putting down a few drops a night.
Let me say, I had no idea what it was people were talking about with the upper oil pan. I'd seen the lower from changing oil, but hadn't even clued in on what the upper was. It's huge.
So, here's a brief synopsis of the process, no pics were taken since we were both covered in oil most of the time. Simplifying this down to 10 steps makes it look easy, but it isn't. It took the two of us 5 hours with Will doing most of the work. He has a lot of tool attachments that work wonders for getting into tight spots (as well as quadruple jointed arms).
1) Drain oil
2) Undo bolts holding on lower oil pan and using a putty knife, pry it off.
3) Remove oil level sensor and set it out of the way on top of the frame rail.
4) Remove 6 bolts holding block to tranny
5) Undo front drive shaft front end and front sway bar
6) Remove bolts holding upper oil pan
7) Remove nuts from front motor mounts
8) Using engine hoist, tip engine up about an inch. By doing this and with the swaybar and drive shaft, you're giving yourself enough clearance to remove the upper pan. Did I mention it was big (runs the entire length of the block)? Will mentioned he'd seen a couple pans cracked when someone had missed a bolt and tried using a pry bar to break it loose from the old gasket material or trying to pry it out from under the truck without enough clearance.
9) Thoroughly clean upper and lower pans, removing all the old FIPG. Replace oil pick-up gasket in the DS front corner of the block.
10) Using new FIPG, reverse the process, put on a new filter and fill with oil. Check your oil level and pressure upon starting.
On mine you could clearly see where it was leaking at the front and rear. It's been 4 days since it was done, not a drop of oil on the garage floor. I had been putting down a few drops a night.
I didn't remove the sway bar, just dropped it down off the frame connections.
