F*#$ing oil pan gasket!!!! It's stuck! (1 Viewer)

[djawahir]

Hey guys, I am having a heck of a time removing my oil pan gasket from my FJ60. It was leaking slowly and I decided to just replace it while I do the clutch and rear main. Well, I have been scraping and scraping at the gasket and pulling on the oil pan and using crowbars and the hydraulic jack on it's side trick, hammer and chisel, etc.

The oil pan gasket is f'ing glued to the engine. Is there an easier way to remove this thing??

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

BFH?

So the oil pan won't come off or you can't get the gasket off?

I was able to pull my pan with out too much trouble and then just used some gasket remover and a putty knife to clean up both surfaces...I may have used a wire wheel on an angle grinder too.

Whenever you get to the point of installing the new one, put some Permatex in the corners, then the gasket, then some more permatex and torque, wait a while, retorque, wait another hour or two, re-torque and then check it again after a day or two. Those gaskets relax a bit and the corners are hard to seal. good luck.

Dan

 

[djawahir]

I've tried the BFH. I just don't want to get to the point where the oil pan is so dented up that I can't use it anymore. The lip is already twisted where I used a crowbar.

The oilpan is stuck to the gasket which is stuck to the engine. I can't get anything off. I'm starting to wonder if this isn't normal...

 

[MDH33]

I've heard that a new oil pan gasket = new oil pan. No good way to get them off without tweaking the pan unless you had a serious oil leak which would have helped loosen it up. Plus, depending on how many miles you have, the pans tend to get holes in them and usually need to be replaced on high milers anyway. Bust out the three lb hammer and give it a smack.

 

[NocalFJ60]

Got to give it some time to loosen up. I used a 2x4 with my bottle jack on the side aganist the frame and cranked it snug and then worked on something else.I think I even left it with a lot of pressure over night and then got it off the next day. Once you break all the way through the gasket then it goes fast. The hard part is breaking the initial seal.

Goodluck.

 

[Doc]

Bottle jack against the frame, head of jack on 2x4 against oil pan. That's what worked for me, but it took TIME.

 

[djawahir]

Bottle jack against the frame, head of jack on 2x4 against oil pan. That's what worked for me, but it took TIME.

I tried that and left it on for an hour. It dented the oil pan, but didn't do anything else. Should I leave it on longer?

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

Maybe do the jack-two-by-for-thing AND spray with gasket remover. Then let it sit over night. And alternate sides?

 

[Mace]

the stock gasket is cork.. get a puty knife and drive it between the pan and the block.. then yse a hammer to tap it along, cutting the gasket. It will be nessy but will work.

Sharpen the putty knife if it makes you feel better.

A sod knife also works..

 

[msummer]

I used the bottle jack 2x4 method. Every few hours I would turn it a few more cranks. The next morning it finally came off. This was after trying every other method I could think of.

 

[fj60dave]

i used an old saw blade to remove old gasket from the side/corner till i could get enough of a hold where i could gently pry one side off. the entire process is as difficult as you say. then, used a "perfect fit" chisel to remove fossilized gasket - especially at both ends of the block.

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

I got a short maybe 12" long piece of 2x6 proped against the side of the pan. Then got about a 5' piece of 2x4, through the wheel well and between the springs and frame on the drivers side of the truck. Hammered the piss out of the end of the 2x4 with a dead blow hammer 10 or 15 whacks and off it came.
This was the original pan gasket on a truck with almost 270k on it.

 

[Doc]

I tried that and left it on for an hour. It dented the oil pan, but didn't do anything else. Should I leave it on longer?

Curious.Hmmm... Mine was off in under an hour, maybe 30 minutes max.

Sorry then, can't offer anything else. Maybe mine was a fluke?

 

[Fearnofish!]

I did mine like Mace did... kinda. I drove a putty knife through the gasket on both sides in about 10 different places. I also cu hte blade down so it was only 1" long. I was concerned about the blade going through and hitting the crank or something. I then use dthe bottle jack set up and left it on overnight (There was a 2x6 between the jack and pan). It took me a good afternoon to scar up the gasket. When I came out the next morning the pan was hanging on one side. I hen jsut scrapped the rest off.

Since you pan lip is now wrped as you stated you should definately us some sealer on both sides of your gasket.

Oh yeah, I replaced my oil pump while I was in there. Nice difference.

Good Luck

 

[djawahir]

I have the weekend, so I will probably try a few of the ideas that you guys presented. Wish me luck!

Replacing the oil pump is an interesting idea...so much to do, so little time!

 

[powderpig]

Propane torch works great to both loosen the pan and the gasket. Heat it up until it almost smokes. Keeping work the heat all the around the pan. until the block flange gets real warm. later robbie

 

[djawahir]

Hey Powderpig, can anything catch fire? I'll definitely stay away from the fuel lines, of course. FIRE GOOOOOD...

 

[Mace]

YES things can catch fire.

Think of how much oil and other junk is at the bottom of your oil pan..


I would not use heat IMHO..

 

[powderpig]

I have been using heat for a long time( I'm a old guy) many years removing pans. As long as you keep the heat on the pan lip and move it around, by the time you start to see smoke it is only stuff starting to get hot. It has not caught fire on me yet. This is also just about the only way to get pan off in later model years(1fz, 2uz, etc). I have in the past fired up the cutting torch with a heat tip and used this. I have not caught the pan on fire yet. But to be safe always have a fire extinguisher handy.
Mace it takes alot of heat and open flame to inginte oil, try it some time with old used oil, it is not fuel, and is a lot harder to catch fire than diesel.
You may want to error on the safe side and only heat till the pan is warm and see what that will do for you.
later robbie
disclamer not responsiable for you blowwing up your garage if you try this (but I do know it works if done right) LOL.

 

[Mace]

Agreed, it does take a lot.

But I have also picked up friends off the side of the road due to a ATF leak catching the entire truck on fire.

I have also seen a from axle catch fire during a cut-n-turn.

Caution is your friend....