How "screwed" am I, literally.

[nfpgasmask]

Sure, I will take tons of photos. I can't tell you how pissed off I am!!!

Bart

bart, if you do this please take lots of photos, i would like to drop my pan just to see what is laying at the bottom of it because my oil comes out with strange bubbles that make me worried there are metal shavings... so id like to see whats at the bottom of my pan

also i was out at sears the other day and was about to buy a torque wrench.. and a guy came up to me and informed me that hes owned two craftsman torque wrenches.. and they both kind of sucked.. and ive read a few bad reviews on their website.. i got myself a husky one from home depot and that has worked out well so far.. but ive only used it twice lol

[VehiGAZ]

My (late) 2 cents...

I wouldn't do any tapping/chasing/helicoiling without removing the pan - that's just asking for trouble with metal shavings in the oil. Vaseline or not, you have no idea if you are going to get all of them. So if have to pull the pan one way or another, then why not just replace the pan altogether and get a nice new gasket.

Bart, do a search for "oil pan" before you start, though - I vaguely remember a discussion about a take-up tube that interfered with easy removal of the pan without removing the cross-member.


Etlsport - those bubbles in your oil can be caused by over-filling, because if you have enough in there, it can touch the moving parts just above the pan and froth up your oil like milk in a latte.

[Chopper]

I mentioned Joes pix, stupid me...that was for tranny service. The oil pan isn't any harder. If you need to drop the crossmember, it's only 4 bolts...they look to be maybe 15mm or so. No biggie. The torque wrench thing is easy... Stanley...Husky...you don't need an expensive one for this. You CAN spend more...I just dropped almost 400 bucks on an electronic one that does torque angles as well as twist. Unless you plan on doing heads, or building engines, you don't need to spend over 50 bucks...tops. Wayne

[Joe_Black]

My main torque wrench is a 3/8 Snap-On clicker that has served me well for almost 20 years. IIRC they're about $150 give or take and well worth it to have in the tool box, especially as you learn more and build your wrenching confidence. The biggest thing to remember about torque wrenches is to not drop them, as you'll need to send out for recalibration.

I've also got a 1" drive Caterpillar-brand that's about 4 feet long and good for a few hundred pounds of torque, but that's probably a lil' overkill.

[Chopper]

Give me a big enough lever, and I can lift the world.

[nfpgasmask]

VehiGAZ, thanks for the input. I will do a search.

Joe/Chop: Have either of you two personally dropped the oil pan? What do you know of this take up tube VehiGAZ talks about?

Thanks - Bart