Oil pan change?

[THEWHITEZOMBIE]

a few Q's for ya all,First i need to change my pan gasket leaks like crazy,the hard part with that is that i need to change it in the car(72 dart 318) is this hard to do it dosent look bad but looks can be otherwise.second Q i was looking into changeing pan when the motor was out but the wallet said no an would it be to much to change out pan in the car too heres the pan im looking at http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MIL%2D31935&N=700+400380+4294908110+4294862852+115&autoview=sku let me kow what u guys think an whats the best way to do all this i dont want to pull the motor but if thats what i have to do then thats what ill do!thanks MIKEY

 

[AdamR]

Mike, I have that pan on my 340. So far 2 set of header hit the back corners of the sump. 1 set of cheap Hedmans and a set of $500 Hooker Super Comps. Im using it as an excuse to buy the TTI's i wanted but I would hate to see you try to swap in in the car to find out your headers no longer fit. I couldnt even beat the extra cleance in to teh header thats how bad they hit.

The other thing is you have to notch the K frame for the pan, not a big notch but it would be a pin with the motoe still bolted in.

 

[THEWHITEZOMBIE]

will the stock pan come out without taking anything else off the car i just got it allined an i dont want to go throw that hell agian,my biggest fear is it wont come out an ill be fighting all the old gasket crud falling in the pan if i can get it out all the way!

 

[AdamR]

That I dont know Mike. If you do try it I would change atleast a few pan bolts for studs and nuts. That will make it tons easier to get back on and lined up.

 

[71Duster]

Changed my 340's pan -with a stock one- in the car it sucked. Mostly due to the headers being in the way. Hardest part is keeping the gasket lined up.

When I had a pan leak on my new engine with a milodon pan I just pulled the engine way way easier. Plus there was about a 1/2 notch on the righthand front lip of the k-frame to make it fit. Driver side clears by lots

 

[66dartgt]

If your car has headers all bets are off. If it has stock iron manifolds then yes you can swap the pan gasket. The service manual for your year car will tell you how. Basically you need to drop the center link, remove the starter (I think) - loosen the motor mounts off the k frame and raise the engine a couple inches, be sure to check for clearance around the distributor when lifting the motor, also watch your fan and fan shroud for interference problems. Once up shove a couple pieces of wood (like a short 2x4's or 1x's) in between the mounts and the frame, lower the motor on to the wood and remove the pan, reinstall, and reverse the procedure. As long as you dont turn the tie rod ends nothing should change too much on your alignment. I would check your rear main seal as well, these usually leak terribly on small blocks, especially with some miles on them.