Oil pan gasket replcmnt - wheel cribs?

Bukowski · 07-02-2013, 06:32 PM

87 944 NA

Can wheel cribs be used to change the oil pan gasket?

mytrplseven · mytrplseven's Garage

what are "wheel cribs"?

aj951 · 07-03-2013, 12:20 PM

I think the OP is referring to wheel ramps, as in the kind you can drive your car on to change the oil. I know my car sits too low to use wheel ramps for anything.

A.J.

mhr · 07-03-2013, 12:57 PM

Just did my pan. You will want as much elevation as possible. I put mine on Jack stands and it was not fun getting the pan back on with so little room. You also need an engine support since you have to remove the crossmember.

Bukowski · 07-03-2013, 12:59 PM

Like a big block that the wheel gets raised on top of, usually 2 or 4 at a time. Not necessarily ramps, and not intended for this question.

So can the wheels remain functional after all that stuff is removed, or are jack stands required?

mhr · 07-03-2013, 01:07 PM

I think you need jack stands at least for the front because you have to remove the steering rack and I would imagine disconnecting the tie rod ends will be quite hard with the wheels down and suspension compressed.

mytrplseven · mytrplseven's Garage

MHR is correct. Because the some of the front suspension and the crossmember will have to be dropped and because the wheels will hinder access to your body moving around under the car, jackstands are a big plus.

Tips from when I did my pan:

get a picture of the torque sequence for reference and tape it to the bottom of the pan. Use a magic marker and mark the bolt hole number near each hole. Sounds hokey but it made it a lot easier to tell where you are and when you're lying on your back, things look different.

Before you re-assemble the pan, clean the metal surfaces and the gasket with acetone. Removing the mold release on the rubber gasket helps the adhesive you'll put in the corners adhere better and prevent gasket creep.

Use dental floss in the holes to hold the gasket in place while you are manually threading the bolts in. Cut them off with a razor as each hole is bolted.

As you tighten each bolt by hand, the others will become loose again so you'll have to go over the hand tightening sequence many times.

Have fun.

Bukowski · 06:09 PM

Cool - thanks for these interesting tips.

Not to divert the thread, but how does the car get best lifted - High lift jack?

Will a couple wood shims buy enough height?

mytrplseven · mytrplseven's Garage

When I did my pan, I raised the car using a floor jack on the middle jack point (see the little triangle on the door bottom sill). Install the floor jack stands. When you've gone to the height that the floor jack will extend, place wood spacers under the floor jack, raising the base of the jack to a new working height and then jack the car up some more. I used layers of 3/4" plywood for stability. I eventually got the car up 18" which, by the way, was also sufficfient for later replacement of the clutch (you need that much to get the transaxle out the back of the car).

Bukowski · 07-04-2013, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mytrplseven

.... eventually got the car up 18" which, by the way, was also sufficfient for later replacement of the clutch (you need that much to get the transaxle out the back of the car).

Tranny removal is actually what I am hopefully "doing to my car" today. Hard numbers help - thanks....

Actually, when you say 18", what two points is this between?

JAXTURBO · JAXTURBO's Garage

I agree with mytrplseven. I did mine with my jack stands. However I had to go to the limits of my floor jack and then place a wooden block on the jack and go again. Not sure how high I eventually got it, but it was sufficient to get the crossmember, steering rack and all removed. Since the cross member had to come out naturally you are going need to support the motor less it drops to the floor.