Advice on pan gasket

[zookeeper]

I just finished replacing the intake gaskets and valve cover gaskets on my '88 GT in an effort to get rid of the leaks. While they don't leak anymore, it seems the oil pan still does, just a little. I assume the rear main does as well, but it's hard to tell. Anyway, does the engine have to come out to get the pan off? It sure looks like it to me, and I'm not really in the mood to yank a 160K mile motor out just to fix a pan leak. But if I can get it out in the chassis, I could swap in one of the one-piece gaskets like my '68 has. It's absolutely drip-free. Also, I assume the rear main is a one-piece seal, right? If so, that would give me a good reason to put a new clutch in it as well. Thanks in advance! Jim

 

[junkyardwarrior]

I've done a fox body pan at the strip before without removing the engine. It's not fun-not at all! Lift the engine about 2" give or take, remove all pan bolts. The pump won't let the pan come back enough to drop, so after dropping the pan down onto the crossmember you have to remove the oil pump to block bolts and the pickup to pump bolts. Then drop the pump into the pan and let the drive fall in there as well. Pull the pan back and wiggle it out. Going back in is even worse.

Have done it...don't recommend it to my worst enemy! Just yank it out. Easier, IMO. Unfortunately the time that we did it...was on a big payout race day ($2000/win) which I runnered up in. Was it worth the $1200 for runner up? No...next time I'll pull the engine OUT. Took 2 guys about 4 1/2 hours and it leaked afterward...but it was a cork style gasket (hate those).

Rear main is easy as long as the trans/flywheel/clutch is out. Easier if the engine is out of the car obviously.

Pan and rear main can be done easily in a weekend. Maybe a day if you have a helper that knows what they're doing.

 

[mob]

Like stated before the engine does not need to come out to change the gasket. I personally dont think its that bad. Lift the engine a couple inches, find some thick pieces of wood to stick inbetween the engine and kmemeber to hold the engine up while you drop the jack. Lower the pan and swap the gasket, not that bad. For the price of a new pump I would go ahead and change the oil pump while you have the pan down.

 

[zookeeper]

I looks like I dodged a bullet on this one. After finishing up and getting the car running, there was oil on the garage floor the next morning and I feared the worst. But after scrubbing the oil pan, bell housing and trans down with Purple Power degreaser and a scraper for over an hour, then squirting it with brake cleaner and wiping it dry from end to end, I have yet to find any new leaks. If I could offer any advice to guys chasing leaks, it would be this: my motor has just a tick over 160K on it, and I just assumed the engine was worn out and had a ton of blow-by. But a few weeks ago, I put new plugs and wires in and found the old plugs looked great, even after nearly 90K miles! So I hoped it was just leaks and maybe some fresh gaskets would do the trick. Upon disassembly, I found something I didn't know. The PCV valve evidently had popped out of the plastic bushing gawd-knows-how-long-ago. I'm embarrassed to admit how long I drove the car once it started puking oil on the exhaust, but lets just say it's been awhile. Anyway, I also found out there is a metal filter under the PCV valve that you absolutely cannot see with the intake in the car. This filter was plugged solid on the bottom, so I replaced it when I put in the new gaskets. Since the valve cover bolts were literally finger tight, those things leaked as well. My manual must've been written by the same engineer that designed the hard-to-get-to PCV setup, because the torque specs are listed as 3-5 ft/lbs on valve cover bolts. The GT valve covers are a hell of a lot stronger and thicker than the Shelby valve covers on my vintage Mustang, so I reefed down on them to the tune of 20 ft lbs and bought good rubber Fel-Pros to replace the stockers. I doubt they'll be leaking anytime soon. The result is a car that idles like new, doesn't leak a drop and starts right up. I only wish I'd done this a long time ago rather than put up with the leaks. Thanks to lots of info on this forum I was able to get it done quickly and cheaply.