Have to change my oil pan gasket and Rear Main, what should I do?

WilwoodFiveO

Member
Oct 20, 2005
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Hey all,

I have to change my oil pan gasket and I also have some motor mounts to install along with a set of longtubes and a ministarter so I figure I might as well just pull my motor. The thing is I also am going to change my rear main seal so my question is should I unbolt my tranny first and pull that out from under the car or should I pull them both out of the bay together? Do I even have to pull my tranny to replace the rear main, or will it be really hard to replace it if I leave it in? I'm gonna get started tom night so please let me know the easiest way to do this project.

Also I got an engine stand, but what bolts do I need to attach the 5.0 to the stand? Can I just use the stock bellhousing bolts or do I have to get longer ones? Hopefully you guys can help me out. I already got the driveshaft off, the O2s off, all the exhaust off (because I was replacing it all) and the motor mounts off. Any other tips would help greatfully.

Tyler
 
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A lot of people like "shoe horning" both out at the same time, BUT, you need to have the ground clearance to do so. I prefer taking them out seperatley for 1) it's easier to remove without worrying about the firewall or radiator support being rammed and 2) the transfer of your engine to the engine stand is much easier when it is just the engine. Yes you have to take the tranny out for the rear main, the flywheel/flexplate covers the whole thing up basically.

Doesn't matter what bolts you use (although the current bellhousing bolts will likely be too short). Just make sure you get enough threads in the block and most importantly of all, don't bottom out the bolt in the block.
 
i think i had to use longer bolts then the bellhousing bolts due to the fact that the metal on the mounting bracket was longer then the bellhousing. i also pull then engine and tranny together. you have to pull rad and the accesorys off first. if the car is on jack stands there is enough room to pull at same time. you have to undo drive shaft and tranny from the mount and the exhaust so you need the car on atleast jack stands to acsess all that. dont for get to undo all the shifter suff in your interior.
 
Well I can tell you this, I have an extensive spare bolt parts bin lol. I think the bolts I neded up using, with a few stacks of washers of course, ended up being 4"-5" long. Basically whatever depth the hold downs are that bolt the engine to your engine stand are, just add about another inch and that's about right.

As for the other question, i'm about to pop the new 87' engine off an engine stand back in my stang next week :)
 
Nice, many people have told me not to undo any of my accessories and just undo the mounts, the radiator, the fan shroud, disconnect the lines from the p/s pump and the fuel rails and empty the oil. Is this true, or do u believe I should undo all the accessories from the block?

Tyler
 
The only two things you will have to unbolt from the front is the a/c compressor and the p/s pump. The rest can come out with it.

If you disconnect the lines from the p/s pump, you not only will lose the fluid but you will have the joy of bleeding the air out of the system when you go to put iall back together.
 
87'GTstang said:
The only two things you will have to unbolt from the front is the a/c compressor and the p/s pump. The rest can come out with it.

If you disconnect the lines from the p/s pump, you not only will lose the fluid but you will have the joy of bleeding the air out of the system when you go to put iall back together.
What he said.. There is no phisical reason that they cant stay on the motor, it will clear with the radiator out no problem but your better off leaving the compressor hooked up and just tying it up out of the way. I personally pull the PS pump with the motor but you will have some air to bleed out if you do it that way. There is no reason to pull your tranny at all. Once the motor is out, all you need to do is pull the clutch assembly and flywheel off the motor to access the rear main. None of the stuff your doing has anything to do with the tranny so just leave it in there.
 
The tranny will have to be removed, you can't leave it in there. You will have to pull it from the engine or vice versa and sit it down.

I'm about to pull my engine and do a oil pan gasket and rear main seal as well...
 
I took it differently. I thought you were saying the tranny could stay bolted to the engine when doing a rear main:D I was like..."umm...no":) I didn't realize you were just talking about when you actually remove the engine...