Removing stock Oil Pan?
 

In the process of Turbo, and was wondering, what's the easiest way to remove the oil pan, besides a blow torch, any pry points I should look for, front, back, side?

Blow torch an oil pan? Really? Just get a good pry bar in and work with it.

my06tc,

This is the procedure that I followed when I removed a customer's oil pan on a tC:

1) Drain the engine oil.

2) Remove the engine assembly from the vehicle and secure to a suitable chain block and sling device.

3) Remove the oil pan mounting bolts.

4) Using Special Tool 09032-00100, cut off the sealant between the front cover (for reference, I consulted this tC oil pan diagram <-how to get the diagram to display: click 'get info', then 'go' and the diagram will display), cylinder block and oil pan.

5) Remove the oil pan.

Keep in mind that I work at a shop that has an engine hoist and all of the other technical tools of the trade that make jobs like this easier. If you are not keen on the idea of hoisting the engine assembly from your tC, then let me regroup and see if I can post an alternative method for removing the oil pan from the engine 8)

they way i did it on my car and my friends was drain oil remove bolts and use a flat head and a hammer easiest way i have done it works like a charm.

all the bolts are removed,i noticed 2 of them,you just take the nut off,but theres a bolt looking thing with a star head that still to the block,do i need to take that out for the pan to be removed

Thats how we did it at the shop I worked at. Patience and a hammer/flathead + lots of prying.

took me like a hour with that thing,and finally boom it came off,thats like the worse part of the hole job,

No you do not. Just pry on the pan with a screwdriver/ TINY pry bar. I would wrap the head of whatever you use with a shop rag or towel. Be careful not to gouge the mating surface or you will have oil leak issues.

just dont be afraid to go at it,as long as u dont have to reuse it,just takes time and patients and lots of prying,i used a blow torch,no way im sitting there trying to pry.im just like that

i used a blow torch and pryed on it. then to get all the sealant off i used a metal grinder wheel. put some RTV on it,and it's all sealed up nice and tight!

i just use a putty knife and a razor blade. the first time i took it off my friend pried so hard he put a dent in the upper oil pan

I was having the same problems when doing mine. I got all the same advice, and tried everything that has been said here.

Then after I tried all that, someone suggested using razor blades(triangular type). At the corner between the filter and the tire, hammer the blade in with a soft faced hammer as far as you can. Add another blade(same spot), and another, until the pan starts to separate from the block, then just pry it the rest of the way.

wow.... i had seen this in a a shop i worked at a long time ago... one of the other techs had the bright idea to try and weld a piece on an oil pan (why he didnt just replace is still beyond me) when his intelligent actions caught the remnants of oil in the pan aflame and basically melted his face off...

now back on topic... i have done hundreds of oil pan gaskets and like few have agreed, a scraper/putty knife/screw driver and your persuader (hammer) works just fine... no need for a torch... yikes..

blow torch + oil pan = insurance rep laughing his butt of when you try to explain it in a serious manner.

Beer, Flathead Screwdriver, Beer, Patience, Beer, Some elbow grease/muscle, Beer, Bam done, now drink the rest of your beer...

Wait that's only one beer?? Your doing it wrong lol

Let me rephrase lol... Pop open a beer and guzzle that ish, Grab your flathead screwdriver, pop open your second beer and guzzle that ish, Have a little patience, pop open your third beer and guzzle that ish, Put some elbow grease and muscle into it (dont be shy), pop open your fourth beer and guzzle that ish, bam now your done and by now you might be a little tipsy so the hell with it, finish off the rest of them beers. :P

I'm going in.
 

Hello. I am about to go to a rent- a - bay DIY car repair place and replace my jacked up oil pan. This is the result of local mechanics/technicians cranking the pepcock too tight when they did oil changes. This will be the first time I have actually worked on a car on a lift. I'll let you know how it goes.

Got new rims and tires this year, at Discount Tire, a place that has always been great and reliable. Their techs warped all four of my brake discs, and those needed to be replaced. I am reluctant to ever have anyone ever work on my car again after these two experiences.

A) Why on earth would you take your car to a mechanic to get oil changes done?
B) I don't know what a "pepcock" is but if you're referring to a PETcock then your car does not actually have one, rather it is a drain plug, unless you installed one of the Fumoto drain valves, in which case you cannot overtighten it.
C) Based upon possible answers to the above your first time using a lift could produce some very interesting results...keep us posted.
D) How did the Discount Tire techs manage to warp all four of your brake discs? From what I know, they tighten lugs to factory specs...seems like there is more to the story.

Success!
 

To answer your questions.
Apparently, the techs at Discount Tire did not tighten the bolts to factory specs.
I thought it was easier and less time consuming to have techs change my oil rather than doing it myself, so now I have changed my mind about that.
I went to rent-a-lift in Phoenix, and the owner, Sal, was great and very helpful. He showed me how to operate the lift. It was $20. an hour, and $2 for oil disposal. Well worth it. Also offered advice and assistance.
I completed the job, and there is no further leaking. It took me just under 2 hours.

Drain plug, pepcock, petcock, really, whatever. It was leaking, it could not be fixed.

The way to get the pan off (almost instantly) is to 1. remove the bolts, 2. Take a hammer, and pound on one spot on the pan until it bends, breaking the seal with the engine block, then it just pops right off. The most time consuming part was cleaning off the old gasket adhesive.

I even wrote a poem about it:

I took my little car, I put it on a lift.
That's because my car needed to be fixed.
I replaced the oil pan and put new oil in.
For 1/4 of what the garage would charge,
Sparkle Car is fixed!