Change Oil Pan Gasket

[fish62hook]

I have a 2001 ford ranger 3.0
Ihave been told it is a rough job, I would have to raise the engine by disconecting the motor mount to get it out ,this is a new one on me.

What is the best way of doing this job, any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[Wicked_Sludge]

the best way is to pull the engine out of the truck.

the quickest way is to unbolt the engine and jack it up (if its 4x4 your in for a fun time).

welcome to TRS! :icon_twisted:

[michowski]

easiest way would be to just pull the motor. I tried the lifting it up some and try to switch pans but it didnt work well at all. Taking the motor out was far easier and I would recommend that way

[cargs]

I changed the oil pan gasket when i had the transmission out. you can drop the pan enough to get the old gasket off and new one on, but you can't get the pan out. make sure to get a one piece silicone gasket, mine was from felpro i believe, it will make it much easier to get lined up if you choose not to pull the engine.

[therangerofdanger]

don't listen to them. disconnect the engine from the mounts and thread th bolts onto the studs and let the engine rest. it's ok belive me i did this on my 99. you are going to have to drop the right side of the front diff too (one bolt oh well). i think ihad to take out the starter but i have turned 21 sense then. also there are a few things about the new gasket it's gonna look wierd with the tabs (u will know what i am talking about). there are two bolts that are longer than the others. these go on either side of the timing cover. installing it is a bitch because the gasket won't seat right on the pan. remember the old full size? there was a lower and upper half of the splash shield to the bellhousing. i had to cut it off just below the sealing surface on the bottom of the block. it bolts back up in place and i used RTV to seal the gap. it's not as tough as you think. just time consuming. it took 3 days in the shop at my auto tech class but know this i had a teacher that was worried about us i am a tech now a could to it alot faster with out his help just message me with any questions.

[kroed11581]

I know this is an old thread, but I recently did my 99 4x4. I unbolted the engine and transmission at the crossmember, raised the engine as far as i could in the engine bay, removed starter, unbolted front axle and let it hang down on the lower control arms, removed the CV axle on the passenger side, then unbolted the oil pan. When you drop the pan, the pickup tube will prevent you from removing the pan completely from the automatic transmission. I took an air cutoff wheel and cut the inspection plate so i could remove the bottom half of the inspection plate without unbolting the entire plate. I was able to remove the oil pan at that point. Clean the oil pan with brake cleaner and a Scotch-Brite(R) pad, new gasket, some gasket maker and I also used the tabs to line up the holes. Re-assemble is the reverse.

Of course, i ruined my two front ball joints and noticed the CV joints were bad so I replaced those and my experience was not nearly as smooth as I just made it out to be, but if I did it again, I think I could do it as smoothly as noted above. I also found out 2 of my 3 bolts that go into the driver's side engine block were snapped off. When looking at it, the threaded part on the engine block that comes out to meet the mount had snapped off. I managed to get new grade 10 bolts in there with locktite and was able to thread about 1/4" of the new bolts into what was left of the threaded area still left in the engine. Perhaps the previous owner was in an accident?:flipoff: Either way, the truck shifts much smoother now!:icon_thumby: