Pulling oil pan on 273

-
67dart_drop_top

67dart_drop_top

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Messages
256
Reaction score
26
Location
Ocean Springs Mississippi
On my 67 Dart with a 273 automatic, I need to put a new gasket on my oil pan. It seems like I need to take apart my front end to get it off. Or is there a secret? I was thinking about just taking off the old gasket and trying to clean it as best I could, but I am not feeling good about that option.

Thanks in advance. And I mean it. The people on this site really do help me to enjoy a hobby that can sometimes get under my skin.
 
67dart_drop_top said:
On my 67 Dart with a 273 automatic, I need to put a new gasket on my oil pan. It seems like I need to take apart my front end to get it off. Or is there a secret? I was thinking about just taking off the old gasket and trying to clean it as best I could, but I am not feeling good about that option.

Thanks in advance. And I mean it. The people on this site really do help me to enjoy a hobby that can sometimes get under my skin.
Click to expand...

Your best bet in my opinion is pulling the engine. Its easy when its out, more complicated but can be done in the car. This is the part of the hobby that can get under your skin if you let it, patience is your friend. Ive had rotten luck with mine, ive had it in and out 2 times. My pan if fucked and i knew it but poor planning led me to reuse it. Do you have access to a hoist?

Jake
 
You can do it on your back, but pulling is alot easier IF you got the setup and the tools. If not, youll need to at least pull distributor (mark it) and pull the passenger motor mount nut (or both) Jack up the motor as high as needed to get to 3 of the nuts over the K-member, and drop the center link. you can get the pan out if you turn the crank (mark it too) so the throws let it slide back and down. Ramps are nice, a bottle jack or better a floor jack will be needed to raise the motor off the mount. Not real fun but it can be done. I tortured myself and actually replaced main and rod bearings ON MY BACK using this method. That would have been an hour job on a stand but it turned out to be about a 5 hour job under the car. Studs are nice when it comes to pan bolts as they help locate the gasket and prevent cross threading of those pesky short pan bolts. Strip one of those and a leak is about guaranteed. When you got the pan out, take a straight edge to the pan rail and pound out any high spots. torque pan bolt/stud to 15ft/lbs only.
 
I agree with Jake. It can be done in the car but in my opinion the best results with you pulling engine. Whichever way you choose make sure the oil pan where it mounts (bolt holes) is as flat as pi$$ on a plate! Thats where most oil pan leak problems are.
Also if you do decide to pull it, maybe think of a few other "things" that need to get done at the same time?
Good luck
 
Use "the right stuff" and you could probably take the bolts back out in a week and not have a leak! I've done it under the car a few times and anyone in ears shot leaned a new language ! No leaks....
 
Maybe the pan doesn't actually have to come right out. Maybe it's only leaking in one or two areas. Maybe you can just drop it down and let it hang there. Maybe the gasket won't tear. Or Maybe you can just slide a new one in there. Maybe you can drill an access port through the K for the tricky-to-reach front screw.
But taking it down does allow you to clean the sludge out, pop out the dinged in parts,and reshape the drain area for better drainage,make sure the oil pick-up is correctly positioned, and clean (as in not all plugged up with pieces of factory umbrella valve-seals),and inspect the two front left rod bearings.
But yeah, in-frame; the steering parts need to come down. You will need a Pittman-arm puller, and to drop the idler arm. Then just drop it down and push it out of the way. The pittman-arm has a master spline,so putting it back on is not a big deal, and the idler arm goes back on any old way. To keep the engine up, I put a block between some the pulley, and the front lip of the K, or the floor. Then you can pull the jack out. I notch the 2x4 so it will stay there if I have to rotate the crank.Make sure the fan does not get into the rad!And as said;remove the dist-cap. I have done it several times from on my back. I didn't find it particularly fun, but it wasn't that bad. But that was in my 50s,lol. Now I'm almost 64, so I wouldn't be that excited about laying in my back. Actually, the crappy part would be getting up off the floor to visit the tool box,every time I forget a certain tool,lol. On a hoist, for me, it would be no big deal.
Whatever you do, just don't put plain old cork in there, or you will just have a do-over, soon, and glue the gasket on.
 
Last edited:
not everyone has a cherry picker or cement floor to roll it on.
I unbolt exhaust pipes from manifolds. I pull the starter. I take the through bolt from the idler. Steer to full left and push right wheel farther inward too. I remove bolts from motor supports, jack the engine up and poke small pieces of 2X4 between the supports.
Nothing hindering my access/view/getting the pan and gasket in place properly.
I do have 20 inch fixed height stands to put under the front rails. Vehicle height and/or stand placement can make a difference in some jobs.
 
Last edited:
It's very difficult to install the oil pan with the engine in the car without knocking the gaskets out of line while wiggling it in... For best results - pull the engine for better access...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top