Hey guys.

I have an '86 Firebird that I bought earlier this week, and in doing a bunch of much needed maintenance I ran into some issues I'd like to try and get some tips/suggestions on.

- An important thing to do early on after buying a new car is an oil change, and my new Firebird was no exception. Unfortunately this didn't go as planned since the drain plug had apparently seized to the nut on the inside of the oil pan. Attempting to remove the drain plug first bent the pan, then it outright broke it. Long story short, the oil pan is now shot and the car is out of commission. I need to replace the oil pan so I'm wondering if there's a howto somewhere and if anyone has any tips on that process as well as anything I should know. (I do understand the engine must be lifted... Or does it?)

- The previous owner (who is also actually the original owner) had replaced the fuel pump as well as provided a hack in the form of an access panel from in the cabin to get to it. The day I bought the car I drove it 144 miles back to my house and it made it home with no real issues. The new fuel pump sounded good and healthy. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't replace the fuel filter at the same time, so one of the other first things I did was to replace that fuel filter. The old filter, once removed, was actually physically broken in that something inside of it clunked around when you shook it. A strange orange-ish color also flowed out when it was upended. Slapping a new filter in was an absolute necessity. Problem is, not long after doing that, I'm now noticing that the fuel pump is operating a good bit louder and with a whine that was not there before. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

Replacing the pan shouldn't be difficult. You should see the bolts around the pan that bolt it to the engine. With a good wrench and some elbow grease (assuming the bolts aren't too heavily oxidized) you should be able to get them loose. Now since your pan will be full of oil I suggest loosening the bolts on one side of the pan and letting some of it drip out into a drain pan first (unless you like to bathe in dirty oil ). After that remove the rest of the bolts and CAREFULLY lower the pan. You'll need a new pan and a new gasket for it. Make sure you scrape off the leftover pan gasket from the engine if there is some stuck on there. Before slapping on a new oil pan, make sure your new gasket lines up and your bolts that screw into the engine are in good shape. Hope this helps!

As for your fuel pump, did you put it in going the right direction? I'm not expert on fuel but sometimes if you put your filter in the opposite way its supposed to go, your pump will have to work harder to get fuel to the engine. Just a thought.

 

Thanks! While I do enjoy bathing in oil, due to the oil pan breaking in the manner that it did (the threaded nut on the inside of the pan for the filler plug actually broke away from the pan), all of the oil has already drained.

Other than that, thank you for the tips. I already have a new oil pan on order to be delivered on Saturday, along with a gasket (that should be there today) and some miscellaneous brake components.

I'm almost certain the fuel pump is oriented correctly, but I will definitely double-check. Thanks.

 

Oh! My apologies I misread

Well in that case the job will be that much easier!