Change Oil Pan Gasket

fish62hook · Sep 15, 2007

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 · Sep 15, 2007

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 · Sep 15, 2007

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 · Sep 18, 2007

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 · Sep 25, 2007

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 · Jun 16, 2008

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:

________
Kawasaki GA

Barney · May 16, 2012

I just did my oil pan gasket due to it being torn when I did my timing chain. I didnt pull the engine, but I did unbolt it from the motor mounts and raise it as far as I could, unbolted the tranny mount, and unbolt the passenger side axel, and it came out.

adfav1 · Dec 14, 2013

3.0 oil pan change

99 3.0 4x4 replacing pan due to rot.i ended up pulling front diff right out,not a bad job just time consuming due to first time.left side unbolt outer tie rod end,upper ball joint and small metal shield on back of spindle bearing 2 8mm bolts. then you can slide out left axle,same on right side except axle will slide out after dropping diff only three bolts for diff.dropp diff then right axle,unbolt starter and remove,having starter rebuilt just because it is out and there is almost 200,000 on truck now.remove two nuts for motor mount and small inspection plate right side of trans two 8mm bolts.remove all bolts from pan then jack front of motor all i used was a 2x2 block of wood and floor jack on the crank pulley,lifted motor about 2 inches and there is enough clearance to drop pan right off.since this was my first time replacing this pan it was time consuming but having all the steps now it will go back together more quickly as soon as i get the parts.

ridercv52 · Nov 12, 2018

Hi my names Rider

therangerofdanger said:
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.

I have a 99 ranger xlt 3.0 v6 4x4 but its flex and im wondering if the fact that its flex is gonna make this job different for me? And so heres my scenerio Im changing the timing chain and sprockets and i broke the old oil pan gasket so I dropped the right side of front diff took off starter and am trying to get it out without jacking up engine because it seems like theres enough room with nothing on the front of the motor and the diff dropped. But heres my problem the transmission inspection plate i believe thats what it is thats on the front of the bellhousing. the oil pan is not clearing that plate, is this why i have to jack the engine up? it just doesnt make sense to me because i dnt see how jacking up the engie and trans will make a difference. Anyways I would really appreciate if you could give me a little advice, in any capacity. I am new to the rangerstation and ranger forums and I havent gotten much help so far, so if you have an extra minute Im certain Karma will reward your contribution. Either way thank you!

adsm08 · Nov 12, 2018

They are no fun to do in-vehicle any way you cut it. With the diff out it will be easier, but still no cake walk.

If you are having issues with the pan clearing at the trans try backing all the transmission bolts out about 1/8th inch. That's not enough to let the torque converter get out of place, but it will relieve any binding between the bell and block that is keeping the pan in place. That should get you the room you need.

Rearanger · Nov 12, 2018

ridercv52 said:
Im changing the timing chain and sprockets and i broke the old oil pan gasket

I'm assuming the gasket broke at the front where the "U" shape of the oil pan seals the front crank mount and the front cover meets this.

This happened to me doing my water pump and trying the re-install the front cover. The rest of the pan seal was fine so I cleaned out the broken area with solvent and cue tip, then applied RTV and let it dry.

It's been well over 2 years and it's never leaked. But 4x4 may present access problem.

ridercv52 · Nov 13, 2018

Rearanger said:
I'm assuming the gasket broke at the front where the "U" shape of the oil pan seals the front crank mount and the front cover meets this.

This happened to me doing my water pump and trying the re-install the front cover. The rest of the pan seal was fine so I cleaned out the broken area with solvent and cue tip, then applied RTV and let it dry.

It's been well over 2 years and it's never leaked. But 4x4 may present access problem.

Yes that is exactly what happened, unfortunately i ssed it up more trying to get the pan out but i wish i would have done that dam. This is a b*** of a job.

Thank you for the help I really appreciate it, Im definitely going to be utilizing these forums and message boards more.

ridercv52 · Nov 14, 2018

Finally finished

I have a 4x4 and that made this job a lot harder but not impossible to actually get the oil pan all the way out. I had a block of wood on my jack going to the bellhouse and that was in the way and with the differential absolutely no way. So i came up with and idea a little scetchy but it worked. I got some sockets slightly different lengths cause the engine didnt raise evenly, and I put them between the engine mounts then I put a jackstand under the trans mount bolts and it was the perfect width and heigth so lucky. Then i took the jack out and the pan came right out, then i put the jack back on the bellhouse cause i dont like leaving that much pressure where the engine and trans meet. Then it was super easy to clean and put new blue felpro gasket on. I was going to try to put it on without taking pan all the way out but good ting I didnt cause the inside of my pan is knarly and caked with gunk. I have 263,000 miles on the truck so thats kind of to be expected.

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Change Oil Pan Gasket

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