Okay, here's the skinny: my oil pressure started to drop everytime I did a hard deceleration; in fact, it dropped to nothing. I suspected the oil pump pickup had fallen off. So, I grab my Haynes manual, check the procedure for pulling the oil pan while in the vehicle, and follow it to a "t". However, after raising the car 3 inches in the compartment (that's as far as it will go) like the Haynes said to, I wasn't able to get the oil pan out. It simply will not make it past the crossmember and the bell housing. There's about a quarter inch that it won't clear and it's just not coming out.

This is my daily driver and I need it back fast, so pulling the motor would suck. I've already damaged the oil pan trying to get it out, so I've got a Milodon one coming from Summit. My hope is that the crappy one I already have is just not shaped right (it isn't stock) and that the new one will slide in there correctly. Has anyone else had this problem or do you have any suggestions? I've tried everything I can think of, and the engine will not go any further up because it's already against the body. Thanks in advance!

 

Have your tried to turn the engine over to move the crank in a different position ? That did it for me when I couldnt get mine past the crank.

 

I did that a few weeks ago. I decided not to f**k with that and I just yanked the motor. It's MUCH easier to do on an engine stand. Unplugging the wiring harness doesnt' take too long. Hell, your car is carbed. Pull off the radiator hoses, pull the radiator, unplug the fuel and throttle cable and yank it!

 

I rotated the crank to get the timing mark to point at 6:00, which gave me as much clearance as I think I'm going to get. It's not stuck on the crank, it's stuck between the crossmember and bellhousing. The front lip of the oil pan is stuck on the first main cap as well, and I tried to get a wrench on that but didn't have the leverage. Maybe I'll try that again. There shouldn't be any problem with just pulling the first main cap, right? Can I just bolt it back on later?

I'm afraid I will end up just pulling the engine again, but I really don't want to; not until I have a second car and the money to put into souping up the engine again. If I had another car, I'd just take my time and pull it, but I just got out of college and I'm engaged. i.e. I have no money.