Oil Pan Gasket

[bigfootlarry]

I have a 73 Mustang 302 and I have to remove the oil pan gasket and replace. I heard the engine has to be unmounted from the frame and possibly the transmission needs to be jacked up to remove the pan. Also I have some broken bolts that need to be drilled out. I have been quoted 500.00 to do the job. From the sounds of it, it sounds reasonable. Has anybody attempted to change the oil pan gasket and what has shops charged in the past or is it something I could do on my own? Thanks

 

[Don C]

Yes, the engine will need to be raised some, the oil pickup and maybe pump will have to be removed after loosening the pan, before the pan will come out. Whether or not you will be able to drill out the broken bolts will depend on the locations. If any are above the crossmember it may be difficult to drill straight.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Bigfoot,

That sounds high to me I would think 5 hours of labor should cover the job but I do not know the hourly rate your shop is charging. You might give the Ford dealer a call. They have flat rate books to quote from that gives the normal hours to do a job.

The broken bolts in an area that is tight already might be difficult, big unknown.

Here is a trick I used as a tool and die maker to get broken bolts out. The oil pan has 1/4"-20 bolts if I remember correctly. Might have two larger ones on each side of the front and rear beside the crank. But you can use a Left Handed drill bit. The tap drill for 1/4"- 20 is a #7 so you would want to go smaller than that. The idea is that when the drill starts to take hold and cut it will usually spin the broken bolt out so you don't mess up any threads. This only works on bolts that broke because of over torque. The person doing it I hope knows to grind off the end of the bolt flat and use and automatic center punch to punch the center of the bolt. This is very important or you will mess up the threads getting off center. If you have a rusted in header pipe bolt or thermostat housing bolt that is rusted or corroded and broken it usually does not work for them. An oily pan bolt or valve cover bolt should just spin out with the L.H. drill bit.

Let us know the outcome.

David

 

[bigfootlarry]

Bigfoot,

That sounds high to me I would think 5 hours of labor should cover the job but I do not know the hourly rate your shop is charging. You might give the Ford dealer a call. They have flat rate books to quote from that gives the normal hours to do a job.

The broken bolts in an area that is tight already might be difficult, big unknown.

Here is a trick I used as a tool and die maker to get broken bolts out. The oil pan has 1/4"-20 bolts if I remember correctly. Might have two larger ones on each side of the front and rear beside the crank. But you can use a Left Handed drill bit. The tap drill for 1/4"- 20 is a #7 so you would want to go smaller than that. The idea is that when the drill starts to take hold and cut it will usually spin the broken bolt out so you don't mess up any threads. This only works on bolts that broke because of over torque. The person doing it I hope knows to grind off the end of the bolt flat and use and automatic center punch to punch the center of the bolt. This is very important or you will mess up the threads getting off center. If you have a rusted in header pipe bolt or thermostat housing bolt that is rusted or corroded and broken it usually does not work for them. An oily pan bolt or valve cover bolt should just spin out with the L.H. drill bit.

Let us know the outcome.

David

Thanks