i have the motor up as high as it can go, and i am so close to getting it in, but the bottom of the pan rubs the K-member, and the back of it cant go up anymore because the flexplate, if i could get it about an inch more forward, it can go right in. i had to bend the held out of the old pan to get it out, i didnt care cuz it was trash. any tips that i could use to get it in?

 

what kind of pan are you using to put in...is it a stock pan or after market one

 

its the stock replacement pan from summit. regualar 5qt pan. exact shape and size as the original one.

 

The engine may have to go forward and up a bit more. You have the distributor removed, right? Trans mount loose? Torque are removed? Wires clear? There's not a lot of room, but I've done it on an '89 Formy without completely disconnecting and removing everything.

 

You may be hitting on the crank? May have to rotate it while wiggling it through.

 

when i said K-member in my original post i ment the sub frame underneath the oil pan. i had the crossmember totally disconnected, and the trans held up with a jack, so i could manuever it with ease. its not hitting the crank, i can see a clear path all the way through with out the crank in the way, its binding on the sub frame and the flexplate. tonight i lower the jack holding the tranny up just a bit, and it helped the pan go in more, so i let the tranny down a little more and the driveline falls out, fluid every where, aproximately 12 square foot puddle. i had a buddy work the jack and the engine hoist up down and all around to see if i could get it in at the perfect spot, but i just cant. the lower i put the hoist it hits the subframe toward the front of the pan, and when i raise it, the subframe hits the sump area of the pan. it seems like i need the engine to go toward the rear of the car to get it in, but it would hit the firewall. this couple hour job turned into a few weeks of downtime. i figured it would be a pain to get it in, but not this hard.

 

Quick,

Sounds like you need a break. When everything that can go wrong does go wrong, it's time for a nightcap and a fresh pair of eyes in the morning.

I knew what you meant by K-member. As I mentioned, you may need to go forward AND upward with the engine if you can.

I know - It's not a fun task.

 

im only working on it for 1-2 days a week, in order for it to go toward the rear of the car more, it needs to come down, and i dont think it can with out being too low.

 

it is a real pain to install. i went out and bought a load leveler. it makes eveything so much easier when installing your set up. i dont know how often you take your engine,tranny out but if you dont have one i recomend getting one

 

You could loosen the 6 k-member bolts and lower it, but not remove it, just enough to slide the pan in. Worked for me

 

I've had to do this twice (dont ask).

I ended up not taking the distributor out, but instead just getting the dizzy cap off. Take the bolts out of the motor mounts, then disconnect the y-pipe. After that jack the motor up from the balancer Until you just cant jack any longer.

Then put the right sized pieces of wood between the clam shelled motor mounts.

I found that the dangling exhaust was what was getting in my way instead of the crossmember. At first I thought it was the crossmember, but ended up being the exhaust... i dont know how i got them confused lol.

After that I put the pan in at the steepest angle into the engine that I could until i hit something. Then I took my breaker bar and turned the motor over from the balancer bolt until I got past the middle row of crank counterweights.

Then I shoved the oil pan down onto the crossmember, and shoved it forward. Voila! I hope the description helps you a little.

 

I believe I had the same pan on mine, and I removed and installed my engine twice with that particular pan with no problems. But I've never tried putting the engine in with the distributor installed. At the very least, I pull the cap off.

 

If you still have trouble, I would suggest taking the tranny out and bolting them together. I know it can be done seperate but it takes time, practice and paitence.
Good luck bro!


Oh yeah, you should take the distributor out if you try it in one piece, or else you will hit the firewall. You will have to redo timing then, so consider that before doing it in one piece.

 

Slow down 83ho. The motor is in the car and he is replacing JUST the oil pan.I have done it before also by removing the motor mount bolts and the dist cap.Are you SURE its not hitting the crank.I had to rotate mine to get it in.

 

woah, sorry, I didnt read through it all. I have never tried it that way, does not sound like fun. go ahead and leave the tranny in then.

 

I did it befor but, I removed the trans and flex plate. of course it slid in and out my way but, clearly others have done it your way too, good luck

 

ok, i have found the problem. first off, i am 100% sure it is NOT hitting the crank, it was hitting it at first, but i got it at the perfect spot to not hit the crank at all. what happened is: when i unbolted the tranny mount, the whole engine/tranny assembly moved about 6 inches forward, so i need it to go back onto the motor mounts, or maybe even further. i cant get a pry bar in anywhere to push it back, and i cant force it back by pushing on it. if i could just get it to go back, i would have it in, no problem.
after cleaning the puddle of tranny fluid up the other night, i left a jack under the tranny to hold it up over night, and i guess it wasnt tight enough and dropped down over night, and another tranny puddle was made.