1972 351c oil pan repair

[BoweP]

I bought my '72 coupe under the pretense of original and running but needing work. That includespecially having to replace the oil pan gasket. The good news? I have it disconnected from the body. The bad news? The cross member is welded right in the way. I'm prepared to hoist up the motor and drop the pump if I have to, but is it necessary to disconnect the transmission?

 

[Don C]

You're not the first person with this problem. Using the forum search feature came up with these:

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-oil-pan-removal

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-oilpan-removal-351c

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

no. If you lift the engine up off the mounts and place a block of 2x4 between the upper and lower mount on each side there is plenty of room to remove the pan. If it is tight, you might have to remove the two bolts that hold the oil pump and then lower it into the pan, but i did not. If you remove the oil pump, then you will have to take care upon replacement to make sure the hex shaft that drives the distributor drops into the oil pump properly. Worst case is you would have to pull the distributor to do this.

 

[Hemikiller]

Haven't had to do it on a 351C, but several times on 302s. I used 2x4 under the mounts, unhooked the shroud from the radiator and had to remove the frame mounts for the sway bar. Had to drop the pump on the 302 anyway, as it had ingested some bits of the timing gear....

 

[Ron Tanzi]

The oil pan can be removed in the car as others have said. Unbolt the fan shroud to prevent the fan from ruining it when you jack up the engine. You do not have to remove the oil pump and pick up. I remove the starter and drop the stabilizer bar out of the way. I also use ARP studs instead of the original bolts (eases gasket installation) to mount the pan.

Good luck. Ron