I decided to go to the dealer to get the 100 point check up and see what they could find wrong. Besides some suspension parts which might be on their way out they told me that my oil pan was rusted badly. This wasn't a huge surprise to me seeing how I change my own oil and have noticed rust there, and being from Buffalo. In their summary they quoted 238.50 + tax to replace the pan!

Looking around online I see that the pan is roughly 83.00, which would be 1-2 hours labor (@85 /hr)...I am wondering how difficult of a job is this? I have searched and haven't found any relevant threads and can't find the FSM link to search that. Also it doesn't look like there is a gasket like on other cars so does ours use some sort of liquid one? The car is a 2001 by the way.

Basically I'm wondering how hard of a job this would be to DIY, the general process and any pointers or tips. Thanks!

 

shouldnt be to hard
1. drain oil
2. remove pan
3. install pan
4. fill oil

i had one rust too but got it replaced under warranty

 

I'm assuming that its more involved than those basic steps, there is no gasket listed anywhere besides some for the upper pan. I believe it must use some silicon gasket which is what I'm concerned with the most. If its too involved I'll have to take it somewhere because of my lack of tools....anyone else with some input?

 

sorry i didnt mention the gasket...figured that was a given

 

I much prefer Peremetex grey, I've done quite a few upper & lower oil pans, along with tons of other stuff like tranny's (thin coating only), and I've never ever had a leak.

I'll add in a few tips..........

3m auto scuff pad & brake cleaner/rags, get the surface on the upper oil pan like new.

Tourqe the bolts properly, refer to the FSM, I personally like to completely clean the bolts & holes out, than apply a touch of blue loc-tite to them, but I have a compressor & cleaning everything with JUST brake cleaner is kinda a pita.

Wear safety glasses.

 

So when removing the oil pan after the bolts are taken out is the old gasket going to be hard to separate? Also after removing the pan, cleaning off the old gasket...do you apply the new gasket to both the oil pan and the upper oil pan, or one only? Is there a time period that it needs to set before adding oil and running the engine?

I was gonna see if this info was in a haynes manual or something similar but they're sealed in bags (and don't need it other than this) and I can't locate any FSM online, so excuse the stupid questions...

 

Per the FSM:

 

Just curious pmohr. From reading the FSM directions, it states to "check oil and coolant level..." and to "check for oil and coolant leakage." Why is the cooling system affected?

 

That section of the FSM is for both upper and lower oil pans. Not sure why but it must be because of the upper.

This is for a VQ35 though, and it mentions the oil cooler so I assume the oil cooler uses coolant?

 

Could be. My 01 FSM is slightly different and it doesn't mention the cooling system. BTW, the 10 steel pan bolts need to be torqued to 82 to 94 ft-lbs.

 

Those 8mm (IIRC) bolts? 82-94 ft-lbs/s? Hell no.



Should be 56-66 in/lbs, if I'm reading that right. That's a '99 FSM, btw.

 

EDIT: Strike that. You are correct. Those are in*lb!!!

 

Yep, there's a minor change in the color of the icon, depending on ft/lbs or in/lbs (color reversed):



The bolts would shear around 15 or 20 ft/lbs anyway, so after the first or second you'd notice.

Had a friend once torquing down the rocker arm bolts (nuts? don't quite remember) on a 3800 SII once, he did the same thing you were doing - torque value ~12 times higher than spec. Made it through two before the third finally sheared off, and he checked his specs...

 

They go back and forth on the units in the FSM, so for DIYs who don't do this too often, it would be nice that the icons be different colors instead of negative images of each other.

 

That was exactly what i was looking for....after looking over the FSM it seems I would need a seal cutter to separate the oil pan from the aluminum oil pan. I cant seem to find this tool anywhere online, does anyone know where I could pick one up? Also is the tube presser needed to apply the gasket? It looks like a job I could handle now that I have good instructions...thank you!

Thanks for the link pmohr I knew I seen it before but couldn't find it again.

 

Chisel or similiar tool will work if you cant get it off with just a hammer, you're in a situation where it doesn't matter if you destroy the steel pan anyways. Even if you were, I've had some that were such a biotch and were ragged afterwards and laying it upside down an dbanging it straight worked pro.

As for questions in post #8, read the back of the permetex grey and follow those instructions as well as the fsm, it says 1-surface, and to let it sit for 24 hours.

 

Go/call to the library and get Haynes manual or similar from them. I just got one for my van....just check it out like you would a book!

Also, I have rust on my oil pan on my 2000 max, too. It's on the upper front area. I just bought the $20 or so POR15 kit and just a week ago tried it on that. If the rust is not so bad that the pan falls apart while scuffing the surface, just try the rust prevention paint. I got the POR15 since it is supposed to be one of the best brands out there and I HATE doing things twice as a result of poor products.

A few bucks for the paint is a LOT cheaper than that oil pan!!!

Edit: If you use the paint, ya better hustle unless you have a heated garage...50 degrees is min temp recommended for application.

 

the oil pan is biotch to get off. you can find the black rtv at AA or Autozone. apply it to the pan and let it sit for a little while, torque the bolts and let it sit for at least 30 mins, refill with oil and check for leakes.