Got the radiator support pulled back NEAR its original position, I believe. Used a come along and the ball hitch on my wagon and pulled left side about 2 inches and right side about an inch. Looks to be equal clearance all around, no interference from any pulleys, and replacement shroud fits with no fan contact.

Pulled car back in garage (car starts quickly and idles beautifully), drained oil, and put up on ramps. Oil was showing a little low on dipstick but my duct tape/JB Weld fix had surprisingly kept most of oil in pan with only 1 1/2 to 2 liters having leaked out over the past few days.

Removed front sway bar to gain a little more room to access oil pan.

Called it a day (actually wife called it a day for me).

Hopefully will have pan off with replacement installed by beginning of next week.

Will update as progress is made.

__________________

2023 Ram 1500
1987 300TD
2002 ML 320
2001 Chevy Suburban
2006 S430 (gone and trying to forget)
1985 300TD (returned to father)
2007 GL320 CDI (sold to brother)
1995 E320 (sold)
1991 500SL (parted out)
1995 E300D (RIP)
1991 300D (RIP)
1995 E320 Wagon (sold)
1992 300TE (sold)
1988 300CE (sold)
1994 E320 (sold)
1995 E300D (sold)
1978 300D (RIP)
1987 260E (sold)
1992 400E (parted out)
1989 300E (parted out)

I would really try to save that one if possible as a driver. Looks way too nice to scrap.

Got cracked pan removed and new pan installed.

What a bear of a job.

I bit the bullet and bought the Harbor Freight 1 town engine hoist. Still took me better part of 2 days to remove and replace oil pan.

Had the engine lifted higher, much higher than I expected, almost to an uncomfortable height. Was still incredibly tight. I haven’t dropped that many f-bombs in years!

Went ahead and replaced motor mounts while I was in there.

Got everything buttoned up and started her up.

Idle smoother than I could’ve imagined.

Went out for a quick test drive.

All going well, no strange sounds or smells.

At a stoplight a few minutes into drive and notice oil pressure at 1.5 while idling. Goes back up to around 2.5 while driving but slowly begins to drop. Even under moderate acceleration is still dropping. A few miles later has dropped to 0. No strange sounds or smells.

Get home a few minutes later and pop hood while still running. Notice a burning smell, when open the hood a small plume of smoke is coming from the rear of engine between rear and firewall.

No leaks underneath.

Open oil filler cap to make sure oil is being pumped through engine and oil is splashing all over, that makes me feel a little better about oil pressure. Hoping this is just a faulty oil pressure sender.

Am I correct in thinking most likely faulty oil pressure sender since i can see oil splashing around under filler cap???

If I had damaged oil pump during removal/installation of pan, what would symptoms be??

The smoke is my main concern currently. I could have easily damaged something when I lifted the engine as high as I did. Any thoughts on where to look and what to look for??

Once again, thanks for all support and suggestions.

-Scott

__________________

2023 Ram 1500
1987 300TD
2002 ML 320
2001 Chevy Suburban
2006 S430 (gone and trying to forget)
1985 300TD (returned to father)
2007 GL320 CDI (sold to brother)
1995 E320 (sold)
1991 500SL (parted out)
1995 E300D (RIP)
1991 300D (RIP)
1995 E320 Wagon (sold)
1992 300TE (sold)
1988 300CE (sold)
1994 E320 (sold)
1995 E300D (sold)
1978 300D (RIP)
1987 260E (sold)
1992 400E (parted out)
1989 300E (parted out)

Sounds like the sender. That is also a pain to change. Find someone with really small hands and arms to help. Smoke is most likely from a oil leak or a leaky hose on the smog pump

__________________
1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero

After another short drive last night, oil light on and off and still 0 oil pressure after warm up. (Oil is just between min and max on dipstick)No smoke however. Started thinking about the smoke and the oil light/pressure issue.

Looked back through records and no mention of lower harness being addressed. I obviously jostled/moved the lower harness around with removal of oil pan. Went back under car and could clearly see insulation has deteriorated on the lower harness.

I believe my smoke issue was either dropped/spilled oil on exhaust or wiring harness rubbing against something.

From my research, seems the lower harness is NLA, but looks like there are a few new ones still being sold on eBay and from my research, this isn’t a difficult re-wire.

__________________

2023 Ram 1500
1987 300TD
2002 ML 320
2001 Chevy Suburban
2006 S430 (gone and trying to forget)
1985 300TD (returned to father)
2007 GL320 CDI (sold to brother)
1995 E320 (sold)
1991 500SL (parted out)
1995 E300D (RIP)
1991 300D (RIP)
1995 E320 Wagon (sold)
1992 300TE (sold)
1988 300CE (sold)
1994 E320 (sold)
1995 E300D (sold)
1978 300D (RIP)
1987 260E (sold)
1992 400E (parted out)
1989 300E (parted out)

It’s easy. Basically you just need to redo the 3 wires. The wires to the starter and battery are good.

__________________
1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero