Need to change the oil pan, do I have to unmount the engine?
Asked by Dump_Truck Nov 25, 2014 at 06:01 PM about the 1989 Dodge Raider
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I have a 1989 Dodge raider, 3.0 v6, 5 spd manual trans. It has a rather ugly little oil leak
on the passenger side of the oil pan, so I want to replace the entire seal. Does this require
me to yank the entire engine? Or can I pull the pan (with a bit of work) and reseal it? If
someone could point me toward a tutorial on the process as well that would be great.
3 Answers
You normally don't have to pull an engine to get the oil pan off. I checked on gaskets for your car and they have them in cork or composite for less than $5. I believe in gaskets and gasket compound, not the silicone gasket out of the tube. Here's some advice http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_change_the_oil_pan_gasket_on_89_dodge_raider_and_is_it_possible_for_a_novice_home_mechanic_to_do_this_job
Dump_Truck answered 10 years ago
Thank you for the response ytlas. Unfortunately the guide doesn't offer much more than I would have already guessed at. I also feel that having actual gaskets and the proper sealing compound is significantly more productive than globbing a mess of silicone goo into potentially sensitive areas of my engine. I have looked at gaskets, and found a few that are not much more than you have posted. I will likely buy a slightly more expensive gasket, since I find that a few extra dollars can often change the quality by huge margins. We'll see once I get them. The difficulty for me is that once my skid plate is off the bottom, I just don't know if I have the clearance to pull that pan. It's mighty tight under that V6, and they wedged that thing in there with a buttered shoe horn as is. The only reason I'm being picky with this is I have two choices. Make a mess of my garage and do it at home, or pay a guy I trust quite well to do it for me. If I can just get a confirmation on whether or not I have to do more than drop the skid plate for that oil pan gasket, then I can make my choice. Though, if nothing comes up I'll just spend the money and pay the guy.
Good luck. I still like to believe that car manufacturers still design cars that you can actually pull the pan without having to undo motor mounts and transmission braces. I hope I'm not wrong.... :)