I will be replacing the oil pan gasket this weekend on the wife's car and am wondering if the gasket is supposed to go on dry, or if i need to use a gasket sealant. There is an oily mess under the car right now, and I only want to dive into this one time...so do I use a sealant or not?

Nice write-up. Thanks!

Scott

gasket
 

Yes - it is actually supposed to go on dry. I had two "new" gaskets leak so I resorted to using a sealer with the new pan.

The car is driven daily - 238K miles and counting. I have hand cleaned the engine (literally laying on your back for hours removing grime) and now just maintain it to keep it presentable. Everytime I remove a part for a repair - I clean where I couldn't get to before. After 5 years or so with the car and doing diligent maintenance, you'd be amazed at the number of areas of that engine you're going to touch!

Just doing mine today - oil pan is still off. I tried the method used by the OP to pull the straight tube down through the grommet. Gave up.

Realized later that the grommet is positioned all the way past the o-ring and onto the smooth inner part of the lower tube. Having researched several postings on this job - I didn't see the grommet position mentioned.

The grommet on my car was as hard as a rock and came out in pieces. I had no idea of the original position of the grommet to the tube. Read another posting that the grommet slides on until it is "locked" onto the tube - this is not correct.

Probably spent 2 hours fighting the darn thing, only to finally figure out that the grommet should go completely onto the smooth portion of the tube, then insert the tube into the pan. I used a clamp to pull the tube all the way down into position.

Finally, push the grommet down starting with the most difficult to access point (closest to the block) and work your way around to the most accessible. This will leave good access for hands/screwdriver to wedge & start the grommet into the hole. (Another 20 minutes fighting to figure this out.) I did use the claw of a hammer to pull down on the top of the grommet to finish the job.

Hope this might help someone in the future - perhaps as an alternative to the OP technique.

By the way - this certainly rivals the oil coolant hose replacement I did some time ago. However, I'm confident I could tackle this task in a much more efficient manner - not so sure with the oil hose!

Rubber Boot
 

My rubber boot was sitting in the oil pan. Where would I find this and the screen? Are they one piece?

On a side note. What purpose does the boot serve? How detrimental is it to not be there? The piece that broke off was the bottom of the rubber boot that has the notches. The rest of the rubber and screen are OK.

Still trying to find out what the rubber boot does...anyone?
Thanks!

The boot extends down to the point where it actually touches the pan (sucking up oil between the notches). I assume this is to ensure the oil pump will be able to suck up oil even when the oil level gets low.

I remember pressing the tube out from below after removing the lower pan.
Made it much easier than wiggling and pulling from above.

Fyi
 

It's now in the Wiki HERE

thanks!
 

that is so cool - I've been wiki'd!!!!

Just did this job yesterday. I decided to remove the manifold assy. to not only make the job easier but so I could clean the crap out of the intake manifold. Went really smooth. I also welded the separator drain tube bracket back on as it was broken. Seems to be a common thing, I had to do it on my last sd too.

lasted 2 years
 

Well, I'm leaking again at the big grommet where the hard line tube enters the oil pan area. Two years without leaks on a daily driver is OK but I would have hoped that this repair would have lasted 100K miles and not <25K. Oh well - at least I know how to do it and the parts are cheap.

As soon as I can get a pass from the wife to hide in the garage I'll get the car on the lift and do the job again.

Always something springing a leak on these cars!

On my 83, I had a leak that turned out to not be the grommet or the tube connection. If/when I need to do this again, I am inclined to REMOVE the turbo, to do the job. This way the gasket surface can actually be cleaned and ensured to be smooth.

When i did it, I had a leak afterwards, and even after two professional attempts, it still leaked (slowly) enough to fill the indent in the engine mount arm and make the mount itself wet.

Removing the turbo would also make the alignment of the pipes far easier.

Am I crazy for suggesting this? It is only a few bolts, which likely could use a replacement anyway...

I would like to point out that the job is only a pain in the ass if you drop the oil pan. I really wish that I had not done it.

All you do is push the pipe in (down) as far as it will go, take a screw driver and push the grommet up and out, and simply pull (or push) the pipe up. Then, in reverse, you put the pipe in as far as it will go, then you push the grommet in, and finally reattach the line that goes to the turbo.

Knowing this would have saved me hours and not straining my arm from pushing, pulling, and taking off/putting on the oil pan.

Anyone know if this can be done without even removing the upper bent tube?