whats up guys, i'm chirs from chicago. New to the sight. i just picked up a 1986 camaro IROC Z/28. only problem is its leaking oil from the pan. i got the thing jacked up.. but i do not know where to go from there. i've hurd this can be done w/o taking the engnie out of the car. i hope is isnt a re-post. if it is just call me a newb..

 

you gatta raise the engine some to get the pan on/off you can put a board between the pan and jack, jack the engine up, and put blocks in to hold the engine up, and go from there, or if you have a engine hoise that works great

 

I jacked it up by the harmonic balancer and just left the jack under it to hold then engine up while i worked away.

 

so you've done it? or is there still some problem?

 

Are you asking me if I have done it? If so, yes I have done it and it is a pain in the butt.

 

omg lol i got you and Fastflyin89 confused...thought you were the same XD i was like .."first post, hes asking for help, second hes ..done it?"

 

yea i didnt start it yet, i just got the car jacked up. i hurd you should take of the distributor cap so it doest crack. but as far as removing the pan what do i have to remove in order to get room to get it out?

 

The distributor cap and the engine mount through bolts. Take both off and jack the engine up. Keep the wires attached to the cap though, they dont need to be removed, lay the cap out of the way. Once the engine is up a few inches, remove the oil pan bolts (after the pan has been drained) and remove the pan.

 

Make sure the harmonic balancer is pointed downward, the little mark should point to the ground.

 

Mine was more tricky. I used an engine hoist and disconnected the transmission and engine mounts and took out the driveshaft, i had to also unhook the clutch shift z bar otherwise id destroy it lifting the engine. Luckily for me the machien shop used a shitty 4 piece oil pan gasket i get to replace it with the one piece this summer and do it all over again.

 

Bullydawg has a point. When the engine is rotated to that position, the counter weights are UP, that makes it possible to remove the oil pan.
Its impossible for me to do this with a standard tranny, but with an auto it's possible.
You may need to remove the starter to get the pan out of the way, in that case be sure you disconnect the negative battery terminal.

I'd recommend you jack the car up by the k-member, then put the axle stands under your a-arms. Then drain your oil.
-Then remove the engine mount bolts (the 21mm head bolts, the long through bolts with a nut on it).
-Make sure your dist cap is removed, and the engine is rotated to the correct position
-I'd put a piece of wood on your floor jack, then jack it up by the oil pan. Once it's a few inches up, put a couple more pieces of wood under your engine mounts. Then remove the jack.

Now remove the 1/4" and 5/16" bolts from the oil pan and see if you can get it out of there.

Before you do any of this - are you 100% certain it's leaking from the oil pan, and not the valve cover gaskets then just dripping down? Make sure of this, 'cuz valve cover gaskets are a lot easier and cheaper.

Oh, and use the 1 piece rubber oil pan gasket. Yea it's $50, but it's a lot less prone to leak again.

 

im postivie its not the valve covers. thanks for all the advice guys.. i'm gonna start this proabaly after the bears game

 

I had to remove the oil lines, starter, dizzy cap, y-pipe, strut tower brace, and i had to take off my wiper motors, because mine wouldn't come off and I had to jack mine up like 6 inches, and I still barely got it off. Mine took around 2 weeks, because I had every possible problem.

First I couldn't get it off and I took the first day taking off the wrong motor mount bolts, so i spent the next day putting them back one (pain in the butt). Then I had to take everything else off that needed to. Then I had to jack it up extra high, then My oil pan baffle at the bottom broke off, so I replaced it. Then I put the gasket on the pan on first and sealed it ( cant do it because of dipstick) then I took it off and spend the next day redoing it. then I finally put it all back together, and my y-pipe wouldn't go on w/o bending my oil pan a little, finally bent it and little and thank god it stayed sealed and wont leak.

I hope your oil leak gets fixed without too many problems.