Today I changed the Oil Pan Gasket, in the course of my scheduled oil/filter change.
I bought a can of Engine Degreaser, and cleaned off the bottom of the oil pan area with a power sprayer at a public car wash.
The drive home allowed the engine to reach operating temperature, after which I drained the oil, changed the filter, and removed the oil pan.
The old gasket was hard and brittle. It came off the oil pan mostly in one piece with the aid of a flathead screwdriver. I wiped off the inside of the oil pan, and used it as a parts cleaning basin, where I cleaned off the numerous allen bolts that hold the pan on.
I checked around and took some pictures "up" into the engine, and didn't find anything amiss. Everything looked to be in remarkably good condition.
After everything was scraped, cleaned, and wiped dry, I reassembled and added a fill of new oil. I used a strip of black tape on my torque wrench as a guide as I tried to maintain uniform torque across all bolts, tightening in a criss-cross pattern.
I also took a sample of the old oil to send to Blackstone Labs for analysis.
Tested. No leak. Woo Hoo
- Patrick