i can't drop my oil pan because it seems to be latched behind this flat metal bellhouse cover. conversely - i can't drop the bellhouse cover because of the oil pan.

in the FSM and haynes, chiltons and all that... the bellhouse cover is not like mine. these two bolts pictured below (whose nuts have been removed) just arent there, allowing the cover, then pan to be dropped. wtf am i missing here???
T

 

Well I've never just removed that 1/2 cover thing. I usually have the tranny off and it falls and hits my head. But I don't see how that could be preventing you from removing the oil pan. I don't believe it has any type of "lip" that would prevent the oil pan removal. But I "think" you can grab those two studs and remove them. That would allow you to drop that 1/2 pan. I'm not sure how you could remove those studs safely w/o damaging them. Maybe two jam nuts. I have a tool that removes studs but you would have to buy that little socket attachment. And it does bung up the threads a bit anyway

 

stick two nuts on the studs and tighten them together. then use a wrench on the one closest to the tranny to back them out.

when you put it back together, get some bolts of the proper lentgh and thread pitch and replace the studs. it makes things MUCH easier when pulling the tranny. done enough of them I finally started swapping them on all the cars I work on. much easier.

once you get those studs out, one of those metal covers will come off and you should be able to get back there to get the rest of the bolts off the oil pan.

 

maybe i'll put the nuts back on and then try to pull them... gently to see if they come loose. the pan does extend over and beyond the bellhouse cover, that is the lip i refer to. i seriously cant get the pan over the lip or the bellhouse cover off with those two studs on. i wiggled and jiggled and... and whatever
t

 

ah thanks matt. posted while i was posting.
and thanks to jeff too
T

 

worked like a charm. got the oil pan off and it is so cool in there! i liked looking at the bottom of the pistons and all that roughly cut forged metal in the rods... not like you've never seen it but i took some pretty good pictures for fun ...and those that haven't dropped the pan i guess
ALSO - here is a great reason to replace your dented oil pan even if it didn't spring a leak. take a look at what happened to the inner coating. get that all up in your cylinders



-T

 

don't forget to pull the dipstick out before you put the pan back on...it usually has a tendency to get caught on something after you glue the pan back on.

 

bwahahahaha
so true.

 

WTF you do to the oil pan?

this more work left over from when you tried to bulldoze that curb?

 

thanks danny i didnt think of that
matt - yep - i think it hit the iron sewer. looks good huh

 

Definitely pull the dipstick!
we had a problem with that when awsm66, portdave and I had an engine out and replaced that gasket. After we put it back together, the dipstick managed to get stuck somehow. Luckily we were able to break it and then push it through the drain hole, but we thought we might have to drop the pan again

I dont recall the VE we worked on having a little filter there like yours does.

 

I did the same thing when i dropped my pan, luckily i was able to pull it out without breaking it.
You should have a piece of wood under the bellhousing so you ddon't dent that up too, plus it will make it a little sturdier because the weight is distributed a little.