So im going to be doing this on my maxima this weekend, and I drove it up on ramps and looked at the job at hand and I began to wonder. Do you have to take the Y-pipe and the cross member off to get the upper oil pan down? The aftermarket Y-pipe takes up a lot less space and it looks like I can get to all the bolts with out removing either the cross member or the Y-pipe. Has anyone tried to take the upper oil pan off while leaving those on? Or will i be the first to see if it works? My only worry is that I currently do not have a floor jack i would feel safe about holding the engine while im under it.

 

Whether you have an aftermarket or OE Y-pipe it needs to be removed along with the crossmember bar to drop the upper oil pan.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...n-removal.html

 

I have red that. I'm just wondering if it is a clearance issue to lower the pan enough to get it around the crank or if you remove them just for the sake of having less in your way. If i can leave them there and work around them cool. If you can't physically get the pan out with out removing them ill have to go buy a suitable jack and out off my project till next payday

 

There is not enough clearance room to drop the upper oil pan while leaving those parts still on. To remove the pan you'll need to purchase a hydraulic jack lift and 4 jack stands.

I have an aftermarket y-pipe but still had to remove that and the crossmember bar last year when I dropped the upper aluminum oil pan to fix the oil leak.

 

You'll need good clearance to reseal the Upper Oil Pan (UOP) and Half Moon Seals (HMS) with RTV sealer on the mating surfaces.

Since you have already replaced the stock y-pipe with Aftermarket, you'll appreciate the Y-Pipe Removal Tip Thread below.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...oval-tips.html

Here's a thread about the front timing cover that contains some notes about UOP and HMS.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...moval-tip.html

On my next UOP project, I will try temporarily screwing in two 4" or 5" long bolts (one for each side) in the outer pan bolt holes to use as guides to keep the pan in "spot on alignment" while I raise the RTV coated UOP mating surface into position to start the small outer bolts. I made a practice run without RTV to get a feel for maneuvering the UOP into position before I installed RTV for the final installation.

If you have a lift, then RTV mating surface alignment should be easy. Unfortunately I had to do my UOP job with the car on jack stands where my reach for maneuvering the UOP and aligning the RTV mating surface was limited. Since I was doing the job without extra hands from a helper, I think some temporary bolt guides would have made RTV mating surface alignment easier. It worked out good in the end though.

Be sure to get everything squeaky clean before you start using RTV. This is not a job you want to repeat because some RTV or a HMS didn't seal properly.

I used a small drop of automotive super glue (and I mean small drop) on the half moon surface against the block and TC metal mating surface with the recommended RTV on the tips to hold the half moons in place while installing the UOP. I learned to do that one the hard way.

 

I was afraid is going to have to come off regardless. Thanks for the good tips. Now I have to decide if I want to spend $150 for a nice jack or pay my buddy $200 and have him do it. :-\ its only money

 

Its well worth paying someone $200 dollars to do this job. When I had my upper oil pan done I had the steering rack replaced at the same time to save on labor.

 

Take them off. It will save you some trouble and money in the long run.

 

Yeah I understand why you would do this now as there is more room to access those brackets. Too bad I did mine and then the rack started leaking afterwards. Not sure if I should have someone replace it or do it myself.