Oil Leak Discovered! Oil Pan...

[1990LTD]

I paid someone to do my oil pan for me, and the oil pump etc while it was off. Only $225, I was lucky...I've gotten estimates of like 800 bucks from shops.

[tyler_hubbard2003]

I would gladly pay someone $225 but no one is that cheap.. The cheapest I got was $480 sigh I would looks for a cherry picker but all the stuff I'd have to disconnect would kill me whn it came time to put it all back together... Even bigger sigh

[1990LTD]

masking tape + markers on both sides of whatever you disconnect, and write em all down. might add a few minutes in the disassembling but reassembly will go a lot smoother. it's not easy but possible if you have the space and hoist

[rick99601]

masking tape + markers on both sides of whatever you disconnect, and write em all down. might add a few minutes in the disassembling but reassembly will go a lot smoother. it's not easy but possible if you have the space and hoist

in theory its easy.


and after experience it becomes easy in practice. gotta start sometime.

[tyler_hubbard2003]

You know what, you guys are right! I have to start sometime and somewhere! So I'm going to do it! Even if it takes me a week! I'll get it done and once I'm done, I'll have a greater appreciation for my car knowing my blood,sweat and tears went into it! I can do this!!

[rick99601]

just because i got you into this, ill make sure the thread is watched closely. hah


as was said before, take your time and label things. good luck mang!

[86VickyLX]

You'll get it. It's not too bad. What I had done ( which is how cheap we were), is we had a tree, a big chain, and a comealong to hoist the engine up. We had the car supported on cinderblocks and 2x4s. The tree held the engine up as me and my dad undid the oil pan. Naturally we had the hood off. We also jacked up on the transmission bellhousing to get as much space as we possibly could without picking up the car. Needless to say it was the best thing we could've ever done. If you're gonna do that, be sure to have a block of wood between the trans, and the jack. Steel is so unforgiving to cast aluminum.

We were working on a concrete slab, on our backs, looking up, it's the most uncomfortable thing ever. If you can lift the car high enough that you can work under there comfortably, especially on a level flat surface (like a paved driveway) use a creeper to reduce pain to your body and increase mobility under the car.

Just take your time, and mark everything as other people have said. PUT THE BOLTS in some ziploc bags and label them too! It sucks bad when you lose bolts. Oh, and best of all have fun

[87_crown_vic]

i did the same as 86VickyLX... i got pics for proof... bigges thing to do is when you got it lifted some, is get the oil pump out after lowering pan then geting the crank turned just right to pull it out

[86VickyLX]

Show him the twisted oil pump driveshaft.

[87_crown_vic]

for your amusement and asking... here is the oil pump shaft that twisted from something getting in the pump and locking it up and distributor spinning till it twisted to a point of being too short... pissed me off since it was my 1987 Crown Vic 2 door i only drove for 2 months before this happened... now it is gone because of ex getting rid of and not letting me get my stuff back

[tyler_hubbard2003]

Damn!! I had a big chain too!! But sold it for $20! And I think my oil pump is newer, because my oil pan gasket is new and he said they guy had replaced a lot.. But today I was debating all day whether I should just patch it.. But sadly I know it's not going to last long in this Florida heat with all the salt and water.. And deep down I feel like I'm going to fail epically, it'll work out.. So when I get my money, I'm going to buy an oil pan and disconnect as little as possible to barely get the pan off then back on. Re-use the new perma-dry gasket that's installed, fill him 10w 30 synthetic or 10w 40 conventional. And call it a day.. Although I'm probably going to need to replace my mounts and bleed my brakes. But one at time. This week I'm patching my holes and rust since I got my POR - 15 I really appreciate all the support guys! Really it's awesome! I'm learning a lot about these behemoths!

[tyler_hubbard2003]

so my friends husband, my best best friend and myself are going to one way or another, replace that damn oil pan. It's $35 at the junk yard and I'm assuming that I have an oil sensor? and it has the fel-pro perma-dry all in one I can see it from the edge and I'm hoping I can re-use it. That's okay right? Isn't that what they're made for or is that only a VC thing? but I'm excited!! I'm also replacing the awful bosch plat spark plugs with motorcraft copper, and I'm putting synthetic in finally, since the leak is discovered!

[rick99601]

so my friends husband, my best best friend and myself are going to one way or another, replace that damn oil pan. It's $35 at the junk yard and I'm assuming that I have an oil sensor? and it has the fel-pro perma-dry all in one I can see it from the edge and I'm hoping I can re-use it. That's okay right? Isn't that what they're made for or is that only a VC thing? but I'm excited!! I'm also replacing the awful bosch plat spark plugs with motorcraft copper, and I'm putting synthetic in finally, since the leak is discovered!

keep us posted!

[tyler_hubbard2003]

Will do Senor Rick

[johnunit]

yes you do have an oil sensor.

Like others have said:
Pics
ziplocs
labels
success.

Since you're with buddies, if there's something you aren't sure of make sure you all witness it come apart so you'll have more than one mind remembering how to put it back together. I've even gone to the trouble of have someone stand there recording video as I pull things off so we can watch the replay if something shifts or drops or pops loose that we weren't counting on, it almost made up for the complete lack of manuals or previous experience with that car.

Don't be afraid to replace, repair, or even just repaint (budget and time allowing) things that you find. Personally I would replace every vacuum line that looks original, but that's probably because I've spent too much time in the last year chasing leaks on a few cars.

Also, paint that pan even if it looks reasonably nice. The first one rotted out, don't let the second one go the same way.