94' 3.0 Oil Pan + Oil Pump Removal

[94' Ranger]

I am attempting to replace the oil pan gasket on my 1994 3.0 Ranger. I've unbolted the block mounts and the tranny mounts (to the frame) and have the block/tranny jacked up just about as far as it will go. I am not going to lift my engine out or unbolt my tranny from the block unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I already used shears and blades to bend and cut through the metal inspection plate (seen on the left side of the picture below, bent off to the left side) between the block and tranny, it holds the oil pan in place. With that removed, I am able to drop the pan down a significant amount and see what's inside. I have been looking around for a diagram showing how the oil pump is mounted inside the oil pan so I can find out which bolts I need to remove to free the oil pump. In this picture, it looks like the bolt on the right side of the pump (somewhat centered in the picture) going upwards into the block may be the one holding the oil pump in there, can anyone second that?

 

[94' Ranger]

I just obtained this diagram from the Ford Dealership

I read on other posts about 3.0 oil pan removal that there is one bolt that holds the oil pump in and is undone with an Allen wrench.
The diagram below shows one bolt with a star on it in the lower right corner and it appears to be the only one with a hexagonal head. I'll be verifying this tomorrow morning, hopefully once the pump is loose I can get my oil pan free with a couple more pumps on the jack.

,

 

[Shran]

You realize that the inspection plate aligns your starter to the flywheel…right? You might as well pull the trans at this point, ruining the block plate will cause you all sorts of problems.

 

[pjtoledo]

the bolt that holds the pump is directly above your arrow. N606563-S
your arrow points to 1 of the 4 bolts that secure the plate on the pump.

star? *N803661-S is what adjusts the bypass pressure, don't mess with it.
when you drop the pump the driveshaft 6A618 may also fall out. you'll most likely need to remove the distributor/sync assembly to put it back in.
well, maybe not. put a gob of grease on the top of the shaft and see if it sticks in the bottom of the sync assembly.

 

[94' Ranger]

when you drop the pump the driveshaft 6A618 may also fall out. you'll most likely need to remove the distributor/sync assembly to put it back in.
well, maybe not. put a gob of grease on the top of the shaft and see if it sticks in the bottom of the sync assembly.

Last night I dropped the oil pump into the pan by unbolting N606563-S but it is being held in place by that pump driveshaft you mentioned, 6A618.

On that diagram I got from Ford it shows a 'C clip' looking thing on top of the pump driveshaft, on the pump end of the shaft. However, I could not feel any openings in the raised section encircling the shaft that might free it.

Does anyone know if there is a way to disconnect the oil pump shaft from inside the oil pan? Or does the block/tranny assembly simply need to be lifted up high enough that the shaft becomes free from the block?

Also, it's worth noting that I am doing this oil pan job at the end of a head gasket job so pretty much everything is removed. Heads are off, the exhaust manifold is lowered off the block, the front engine cover is off, the distributor is out, all wiring between the firewall and my block is free, and I took out any sensors in the way. Quite a bit lighter of an assembly to jack up once that's all gone.

One problem I'm running into is my jacking location. If you jack too far back on the tranny the assembly wants to lean block-side down, rear side of the tranny wants to go up. If I jack from where the block meets the tranny (on the tranny side) I can't pull the oil pan out because my jack blocks it from sliding backward. The one way I saw someone do this, however unsafe it may be, is by jacking up the assembly from the crankshaft. The picture below was taken from a 3.0 oil pan removal post similar to mine.

I'm determined to get this oil pan free today, any advice helps. Wish me luck.

 

[94' Ranger]

You realize that the inspection plate aligns your starter to the flywheel…right? You might as well pull the trans at this point, ruining the block plate will cause you all sorts of problems.

I know that the inspection plate aligns the starter and tranny bolts up, I had it in hand last year when I replaced my clutch. I just don't see how it is integral in any functions besides maybe a dust plate and to help line up bolts. The bolt holes are still there for the starter, I don't see how removing a small section of the inspection plate with cause me problems later on. I just cut one side and bent it out of the way, I could bend it back somewhat into place when the oil pan is reassembled.

 

[pjtoledo]

to lift the engine by alternate means,,,,
OTC Engine Support Bar 4324 | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com)
construct a swingset looking apparatus over the engine and lift it.
get creative with lifting, ratchet straps, long threaded rod, whatever.

 

[pjtoledo]

my memory is fuzzy on removing the shaft,,,

just looked at a 1995 Taurus 3.0 manual, it states the ring snaps into a groove when installing.
so pull harder to remove.

 

[94' Ranger]

It took quite a bit of maneuvering and troubleshooting, but my oil pan is finally free! I will provide a basic guide on how I ended up removing the oil pan on my 94' 3.0 Ranger, albeit I have very specific circumstances. I did not have to unbolt the transmission from the block nor did I have to use a sling or support bars. My heads and front engine cover were removed during this job because the original job was to replace my head gaskets and this gave me enough room to jack the engine/tranny assembly up as much as possible up against the firewall.

There is an inspection plate that holds the oil pan in place that can only be properly removed by unbolting the tranny from the block. I was unwilling to do start that project so I cut mine out just enough to free the pan. This metal plate will have to be put back in place as best as possible when you are putting everything back together. I was able to cut through it with shears where the starter bolts in and bent the plate enough to release the pan.

After removing all the oil pan bolts, the oil pump is removed by taking out a single 13mm bolt, N606563-S shown below. The oil pump will then be free to drop down to the bottom of the oil pan but will be held in place with the pump shaft (6A618). This shaft will allow rotation of the oil pump inside the pan as long as it's not all the way up, that's where it locks in place. The main hold-up at this point will be the oil pump pickup (6622) which will hit the bottom of the pan and is held in place by the shaft going into the block which only allows rotation on one plane.

Next, I jacked up my engine enough to slide my oil pump out of the pan. I had to jack the engine up from the front to get enough room because when jacked up from where the tranny meets the block, it does not allow enough room to maneuver the oil pan around. If you try to jack from any further back, the whole block/tranny assembly wants to tilt nose-down.

I reassembled my harmonic balancer and crankshaft pulley and jacked from there to give the oil pan as much freedom as possible. I wedged two blocks of wood between the steering rack and cut a saddle in the main block of wood to try to stop it from becoming a circus act. With a second jack under the tranny for a failsafe, I jacked the block/tranny assembly up as high as it would possibly go until the frame started being jacked up with it.

My driver-side engine block mount also needed to be removed completely in order to roll/twist the oil pan as much as possible. After the mount was removed I was able to get a ton of freedom with the oil pan, allowing me to rotate and drop it as far as it would go. At that point, I was still struggling to free the oil pump and was about the unbolt the lower housing off of the pump. While trying to torque the oil pump housing bolts, the pump spun around on the pump shaft and actually spun free out the passenger side of the oil pan. As mentioned, this is only possible if the motor mount is completely removed, allowing maximum rotation of the oil pan.

I was stoked about removing my oil pump but soon found out that EVEN THEN, removing the oil pan from the rear side proved near impossible without disconnecting the block from the tranny. At this point, I had the idea to try pulling the oil pan out from the front of the engine. I removed my non-OSHA-approved crankshaft jacking assembly and used the jack on the transmission to support the block/tranny assembly. I was then FINALLY able to take my oil pan out from the front by tilting it upwards until the crankshaft was inside the front of the oil pan, then I was able to pull it up and out completely.

~Mission Accomplished~

All in all, a MAJOR pain in the ass. I would not recommend doing this job unless it's really leaking a ton of oil and you know for a fact it's from the oil pan gasket. Do not attempt unless you are somewhat experienced, have multiple jacks and all the necessary tools, and are ready for what could turn into days of frustration. I only found one or two posts with relevant information and none of them actually explained a way that worked for me so hopefully this write-up helps someone with this job in the future.

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.