[TATA79]

Hi all,
Replaced my timing chain on my 79 anniversary car last weekend. Getting ready to go back together with her this weekend. Unfortunitly it appears I need to drop the pan to get the chain cover on right. Normally it would not bother me to lift up the engine and yank the pan however my current environment for working on it is less than good. We have had alot of rain here in Missouri, and unfortunitly my car is not going to be leaving a gravel car port out on our property. I want to pull the pan and get both surfaces very clean. Can I pull the pan without lifting the engine? Any advice?

[Sirrotica]

No, Olds are easier to pull than a Pontiac, but they still have to be lifted in the chassis. In your predicament I would use a bottle jack with a piece of wood and lift the engine on the pulleys and get it as high as possible, block the motor mounts up so it can't come back down and pinch your hands and pull the pan out. Be careful of the distributor cap hitting the firewall, and the fan breaking the fan shroud. Exhaust must also come down. Make sure the battery is disconnected before you get started. Absolutely not a fun job on gravel with rain, plus the oil dripping on you after you get the pan off. Good luck and work safely.

[bobzdar]

It can be done but the engine has to be jacked up. No way to get the pan out otherwise. If you have a cherry picker you could use that to raise engine instead of a jack, should be stable.

[Sirrotica]

He did say he was on a wet gravel driveway and a cherry picker isn't going to move around on wet gravel. A couple wooden blocks and a bottle jack are going to be a little easier to get under the car. I never insinuated he leave the engine on the jack, rather I suggested he use wooden blocks under the motor mounts to hold the engine after it was raised up. BTW a cherry picker is hydraulic same as the jack is and either can fail and drop whatever they're holding up, I wouldn't trust either to not pin my hand between the engine and frame.

[TATA79]

Thanks for the replys, I think that will give this a try. I would use my cherry picker but unfortunitly your right, this gravel is driving me crazy. Any concern bending the crank pulley while jacking it up? I'm assuming I must remove the exhaust? Maybe the starter as well... Hard to make plans when the car isn't in front of you. I actually was able to snake the front cover on with the pan installed... It took alot of time and energy to do this but after I saw I had not yet installed the oil slinger which sits behind the crank sprocket I decided to re do this and figure the oil pan probally needed a new gasket anyway.

[TATA79]

Distributor is also out, pulled the intake for cleanup with a new manifold gasket, and the fan blades are out as is the radiator.... Seems like the time to do this if it's going to get done.

[TATA79]

Here is a quick question... Should my pan be semi gloss black.... Or corporate blue?

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by TATA79

Thanks for the replys, I think that will give this a try. I would use my cherry picker but unfortunitly your right, this gravel is driving me crazy. Any concern bending the crank pulley while jacking it up? I'm assuming I must remove the exhaust? Maybe the starter as well... Hard to make plans when the car isn't in front of you. I actually was able to snake the front cover on with the pan installed... It took alot of time and energy to do this but after I saw I had not yet installed the oil slinger which sits behind the crank sprocket I decided to re do this and figure the oil pan probally needed a new gasket anyway.

A block of wood under the pulleys and you'll be fine, A small piece of a board will suffice, your only lifting half the weight of the engine. Yes the starter will probably need to come out also along with the exhaust. I've done it countless times as I turned wrenches for 40+ years. As I stated before have some short pieces of 2X4 blocks handy to put between the motor mounts and frame mounts and some thinner shim wood to keep the engine up without relying on the jack to hold the weight of the engine. The 2X4 blocks will need a little additional thinner wood as alone they probably won't be thick enough by themselves.

If your going for original color the pan was blue same as the engine.

[Grand73Am]

You don't have to drop the oil pan at all if you don't want to. I replaced my timing chain and gears on my 403 and put it back together without having to bother the oil pan, other than wiping the lip clean. And it doesn't leak . The instructions for doing it is in the 78 Pontiac Service Manual.

[TATA79]

If you follow the service Manual for 79 Oldsmobile it actually doesn't say remove the pan. It actually recommends trimmings the pan seal about an 1/8" on each side, and chamfering the alignment dowl. Worked great, thanks for all the advice, car running better than ever.