[mviker]

I may have killed my oil pan today. Can it be replaced without pulling the motor? Not very happy about this, but I spose it's my own fault.

I've got a driveway that was once paved with brick where the tires roll. Over time, the bricks sank, but I let it slide because I have a 4 runner. I park my car on a slab up next to the house and try riding next to the ruts when I come and go. well... Car slipped into the ruts today and looks like the oilpan may have caught a sunken brick. causing a leak.

Is not the end of the world, but I just created a ton of work to repair it when I could have done something about the driveway instead. Not a very happy camper at the moment.

Can the oil pan be swapped without pulling the motor? I'm betting it will at least need to be lifted some.

I'm in the market for a 62 big car oil pan also if anyone has one laying around. I can paypal immediately for one in nice shape.


Thanks,

Kevin

[marxjunk]

ive done a few pan swaps in the chassis..just pay attention to whats holding and be ready to remove it..

mounts...fan shroud maybe at least the exh pipes..wires

..im giulty of thinking..i almost got it..and pry too much and screw stuff up..

very doable..


40+ years ago i helped my uncle do an in chassis re-ring/bearing job on his Pontiac wagon...no real issues..

and thats when i became a Pontiac guy...

[b-man]

Probably very doable in the car.

However think about all the things you'll need to take off in order to do it, and how much fun it will be laying on your back will oil dripping down on you while you're trying to clean up the gasket surfaces. Then getting the pan and gaskets in place while working in that same position, trying to get a reliable seal.

Much easier on you to just resign yourself to yanking the engine and doing the work with the engine on a stand. You'll probably be doing 75% of the work it takes to pull the engine to try to do the pan swap with the engine still in the car

[mviker]

Ok... I may be guilty of the one thing I do best... Jumping to conclusions...

Been waiting on the sun to move so I have shade on my carport. Just took a look. Apparently, I'm blind. Have plenty of oil, and actually over since I panicked earlier and added a quart while I was out.

I had gone out earlier like I said when the oil light came on, on my way to eat. I could swear I was losing oil pressure also looking at the gauge. Apparently, I also misread the dipstick, so putting another quart in before I came home wasn't necessary.
I DO have a dent in my oil pan, but it doesn't appear to have a hole as I imagined. quick inspection of my driveway and the street out front shows no oil loss or damaged bricks from being hit.

At this point, I'm going to drain the oil down until it's at the correct level and start the car up again and watch for anything bad. Going to also keep an eye on oil pressure gauge and verify where it's at. If it's ok, then I may just have a bad oil sending unit. I'm running a gauge AND the idiot light. Idiot light was definitely lit on the way home.

I may have escaped the fate I thought I had, but need to figure out why the light came on now.

I am a complete idiot! :P


Kevin

[stevep]

Pull the motor. It will be better in the long run.

[mviker]

Oil level is now where it belongs. No leaks. There is a dent in the oil pan, but it's not deep and it's not leaking.
Started the car and I have plenty of oil pressure. Gauge looks great, but the idiot light is still on. I'm suspecting a bad sending unit. I just had ta make a mountain out of a molehill with it. Will replace the sending unit and I'm fairly certain, the oil idiot light will go out with it.

[Willshire]

Better to jump to conclusions than let it ride. Jumping to conclusions makes you look more closely and at the end of it you can conclude you have jumped to conclusions!

[Deadhead]

Not too many oil pans on 60's B bodies without some battle scars. Roads and driveways were a WHOLE LOT less friendly when these cars were new. I have caught air with my '66 & it shows. What were we thinking?

If you have a big scar or hit it hard, might check motor mounts to make sure no damage there. Could have knocked wire off your oil filter housing causing idiot to light up. Take a couple spins around the block before your next trip. Then cruise on!

[Engine-Ear]

I have had the dash light sending unit fail / intermittently falsely go on. New S/U and >poof!< no worries...in your case having the GAUGE as a back-up is peace-of-mind.

[mviker]

Well, I've gone through everything under the hood and it looks like I'm back in business after replacing the oil pressure sending unit. Car's running and all's well.

I guess there was a perfect storm type of event.... I had recently changed my oil, so when the light came on and I stopped to check the level, I couldn't see it. My bad eyes and a very sunny day that day did me no favors. I thought it was dry as a bone. That triggered speculation about my crappy driveway and the ruts I fell into on the way out.

Anyhoo... I appreciate the sane advice for my insane adventure. I'm thinking it's time to have a look at getting my driveway paved with asphalt. Is a small stretch, so shouldn't be too terrible. Would make life a whole bunch better.

Takem easy Guys,

Kevin