oil pan gasket replacement

[johnceggleston]

if you are replacing the oil pan and the sperator plate on the back of the engine, pull the engine. it's easier than the trans.

 

the seperator plate is on the back of the engine behind the flywheel / flex plate. some are plastic and leak over time. the replacement part is metal ~35$ and solves the leak. make sure you buy the new screws (5 of one and 1 of another) to go with the new plate, the old screws will not work.if you search here you can find a great pic and part numbers.

 

ps: i think 2.5 oil pan will fit a 2.2 engine and then use slightly more oil. nothing wrong with a 2.2 oil pan, but 2.5 may be younger. what are you putting it on??

Edited September 6, 2009 by johnceggleston

[Jasmin]

Okay, so I have a '98 Subaru Legacy Outback. My oil pan had a leak, and I have the advantage of having a mom who is an excellent Subaru mechanic, but she is in California, while I am wrenching in Tennessee. The oil pan on these things is ALMOST easy to get to with the exception of the back two bolts. Access to them is hindered by the crossmember that keeps you from being able to get tools to those last two bolts.

 

I read many threads that suggested that you lift the engine out, or do some major disassembly underneath. My fiance, also a mechanic, and good at thinking on his feet, and I came up with a quicker solution. If my car was brand new, I might not have done this, but it works and saved us hours upon hours of time.

 

He used a 1" hole saw on the crossmember, cutting two very neat holes underneath those two bolts. When he was finished, he had two very tidy holes that the sockets and screwdriver needed to get the pan on and off fit through perfectly. I'm sure some people will balk, but I am confident that the structural integrity of the crossmember is not affected.

 

Now, when you use the hole saw, you will need to lead it with a drill bit made to drill through metal. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOT TO DRILL THROUGH THE PAN! As soon as hole saw has started a path through the crossmember, take the drill bit out and finish the hole with the hole saw ONLY. Do this portion slowly and carefully. You are already hours ahead of the alternative route to fixing the problem, no need to hurry at this step.

 

Then, remove the bolts, fix the seal (mine has a gasket available, but was originally sealed with RTV) accordingly, and bolt that bastard back on. The seals on these pans don't often go bad, but if you ever need to fix it again, the access holes will be there to allow for a quick fix.

[bosango]

Hey, I just pulled the oil pan in my '93 EJ22 a few days ago. As mentioned elsewhere, it was indeed a major pain, but definitely doable. I took the nuts off the engine mounts, disconnected that sort of swivel/stabilizer bar on the top of the tranny behind the engine, jacked up the engine as far as it would go, and secured it in place. It took a couple of cleaning/spraying sessions to pinpoint the leak, as there was oil spewed all over the underside of the car. Some even got above the timing belt covers. I see what you guys mean about oil going everywhere down there.

 

So here's my question... There are gaskets available for these oil pans, even though they came from the factory with RTV. I purchased a FelPro one locally for about $6. I put a thin layer of Ultra-Grey on both sides of the gasket to hold everything in place during reassembly and it all seems to be working fine now that it's back together. Is there supposed to be an advantage to using sealer instead of a gasket, or doesn't it really much matter?

 

Oh yeah, and I like that hole drilling idea - I almost resorted to it myself. The worst part was getting the four rear screws started during reassembly. It took forever, even after cleaning out the threaded holes with a 6mm tap.