oil pan gasket

[kristen]

ok well i have a oil leak. i have to change the oil pan gasket. has anyone replaced theirs them selfs? how hard and long. i already have the gasket so i have to wait till my knee is a little better to craw under there.

[97slowbird]

I just did mine two weeks ago ... first thing is that, are you sure it's your oil pan leaking, 'cause it's a huge PITA !!! Took me about 4 hours to get it off, and about 2 to 3 hours to put everything back together. Basically remove the flywheel cover and brackets, starter, A/C compressor, motor-mount through-bolts (easier said then done), and drop the exhaust all the way back to the crossmember (disconnect the o2 sensors) jack the motor up and wiggle it out ... just be careful, there's a sensor in the bottom of the pan for oil level and I busted mine off, now the low oil light stays on all the time. One other thing, you have to get the pan off first before you can take the old gasket off, the pick-up tube is in the way. It's tricky to do, but it can be done ... Patience !!!

[RedFrk13]

The rear main seals are notorious for leaking on the 3800, make sure its not that. My has been leaking for 2 years and getting worse, but I am just dealing with. I know my tranny is not going to make it to much longer. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[kristen]

it looks like alot of orange goop where the gasket should be. so when i had that work done on my car i don't know what they did. i mean that it's not that bad. but i still like to have the piece of mind that my car isn't leaking.

[97slowbird]

"The rear main seals are notorious for leaking on the 3800"

If the seal was leaking, you'd be able to tell when you pull off the flywheel inspection cover right ?? When I did mine I was worried about that, but the flywheel and torque converter were dry as a bone.

[97slowbird]

The new gasket you got ... is it the plastic huge one ... about $40.00, or did you get the cork ??

[red93camaro]

Originally posted by 97slowbird:
I just did mine two weeks ago ... first thing is that, are you sure it's your oil pan leaking, 'cause it's a huge PITA !!! Took me about 4 hours to get it off, and about 2 to 3 hours to put everything back together. Basically remove the flywheel cover and brackets, starter, A/C compressor, motor-mount through-bolts (easier said then done), and drop the exhaust all the way back to the crossmember (disconnect the o2 sensors) jack the motor up and wiggle it out ... just be careful, there's a sensor in the bottom of the pan for oil level and I busted mine off, now the low oil light stays on all the time. One other thing, you have to get the pan off first before you can take the old gasket off, the pick-up tube is in the way. It's tricky to do, but it can be done ... Patience !!!

Would this be the same on a 93 3.4 auto because mine is leaking and i would like to change it because it just bugs the shyt outta me knowing its leaking but its not a big leak only small just getting underneath the car wet thanks

[97slowbird]

I'm really not sure on the 3.4, but I would imagine it's pretty close to the same. I have the haynes manual for our cars and I'll look tonight when I get home and repost. If it's just a small leak, I would just try and tighten the pan a little and deal with it ... mine was leaking pretty bad, BUT, now I found from being under there that the valve covers and intake are leaking too ... just when you fix one thing, something else goes wrong.

[kristen]

the 40 buck plastic one

[NCState98]

loosen the k-member bolts from the frame and allow it to drop down some. That helped me wiggle the pan out a bit easier.

[pontiac nino]

Originally posted by red93camaro:
Would this be the same on a 93 3.4 auto because mine is leaking and i would like to change it because it just bugs the shyt outta me knowing its leaking but its not a big leak only small just getting underneath the car wet thanks

3.4 took me about 1.5 hours. I unhooked the starter, y pipe, and the driver side motor mount (not necessary) for xtra clearance. So far so good! Gasket was $20 [img]graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img]