How to: S13 Oil pan removal

Basic tech questions such as future setups, different turbo kits, car diagnosis, etc
brian240grip
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How to: S13 Oil pan removal

Post by brian240grip »

I know for some people this a source of frustration or confusion, so since I've done it a time or two, I thought it might be helpful for some. Mods, feel free to make it a sticky as it's a topic that goes round and round.

First, no you will not have fun, and second, yes there are frustrating parts. Just take your time and follow these instructions, but most importantly, BE SAFE!

Drain your oil!

Raise and safely support your vehicle with jackstands. No, you can't rely on your trusty hydraulic jack you bought from Wal-Mart to safely support your vehicle, besides, you're gonna need it later.
Position the jackstands in a place where they won't be in your way while working. I used the front support:
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Remove the motor mount nuts from the top or the bottom, whichever you prefer. I went with the top ones since I have my exhaust manifold removed they were the easiest to get to. I would suggest going with the bottom ones as it will be easier to drop the mounts back into the slots instead of trying to put the bolts through holes as in the top side.
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Okay, time to crawl under there and get dirty! Start by removing the mud shield (if you have one, mine was already removed) from under the egine. Then begin removing the oil pan bolts easiest to get to. Start from the front and work your way back.
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When you get to the back side, you'll see the engine/tranny brace (two of 'em) that's conveniently obscuring access to the rear oil pan bolts. Take 'em off!
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Next remove the two tranny mount nuts from the bottom of the tranny cross-member. I didn't get a good picture of the nuts, but you'll see them, you need a 12mm deep socket to get to them.

Now it's time to jack up your engine/tranny to allow for the clearance your gonna need to get the oil pan over the crossmember.
You want to have as much of the weight of the ENGINE as possible on the jack while jacking it up, so place the jack on the bell housing at the point where your engine and tranny meet.
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Begin jacking it up SLOWLY, periodically checking the top side for accessories that might be streching, pulling or binding. Here it would be helpful to have a buddy helping you, sadly, I had none. :(

Continue jacking until the bell housing contacts the tranny tunnel on the bottom side of your car. You'll know because your car will start to lift. STOP!

Now you should have PLENTY of clearance to access ALL of the oil pan bolts. Double check that they are ALL REMOVED!

Now, a REALLY fun part! Use whatever tools you have at your disposal to pry the oil pan away from the block, which should be a PITA if you sealed it as well as I did the last time I re-installed it! I used an assortment of flathead screw drivers and a hammer. Don't do all of your prying in one spot. Take your time and work around it, slowly loosening it section at a time. You don't want to warp the pan or bend that lip!
It's also important that you don't dig your screwdriver into the metal of the block or the oil pan because you won't get a good seal when you go to reinstall it.
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Now that you have the pan loose from the block you should notice two things:
The oil pick-up is in the way and the sway bar is also in the way.
First, reach into the oil pan and remove the two 12mm bolts securing the pick-up to the bottom of the oil pump and one 10mm bolt securing the oil pick-up tube to the crankshaft cradle.
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Next, remove the D-brackets securing the sway bar to the chassis. Just the D-brackets, you don't have to remove the end-links. Be careful not to let it swing down and smack you in the face for the love of god!
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Okay, with the sway bar out of the way, and everything done per instruction, you should be able to slide the oil pan out toward the front of the vehicle.
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DONE! It took me about an hour and a half, stopping to take pictures, using basic tools. Now get to it!
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Feel free to PM me or E-mail me at brianok25@yahoo.com if you have any questions or concerns. Hope this helps some people! Peace
Brian
Last edited by brian240grip on Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
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Post by Marcus »

Great how-to! LOL at the thumbs up.
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Post by EstoMax »

nice job! now to see the pics of it goin back together :D
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Post by 240sxs1393 »

sticky!!!! nice how to
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Post by lopro240 »

that is one of the next things in my install. gotta pull the pan, drill and weld in my bung. great write up
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Post by driftMachine »

Great write up, thank you very much. I, and I'm sure a lot of other guys will, appreciate it.
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Post by s-x addict »

good write up! lots of pics are always nice. I'm not sure about anybody else but on the pick up I only had the two 12mm bolts to loosen....I didn't have a 10mm bolt anywhere :dunno:
the oil pan is by far the worst job I think to do. actually removal isn't bad....its putting the sucker back on that sucks IMO
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Post by Scarboroughdub »

pretty good, although its a bit harder on the s14 as you have to twist the pan parallel to the sway bar to get it out.
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brian240grip
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Post by brian240grip »

s-x addict wrote:good write up! lots of pics are always nice. I'm not sure about anybody else but on the pick up I only had the two 12mm bolts to loosen....I didn't have a 10mm bolt anywhere :dunno:
the oil pan is by far the worst job I think to do. actually removal isn't bad....its putting the sucker back on that sucks IMO
That's odd, it should look like this:
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There are two 12mm bolts that attach the pick-up flange to the bottom of the oil pump. Then a 10mm bolt that goes through that 4 1/2" bracket. Hmmm, you might wanna start lookin' for that bolt! :D
"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
brian240grip
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Post by brian240grip »

Now I've got it all cleaned up and ready to weld a flange. I used a circular wire brush on my cordless drill to clean off all the gasket material, then Easy-off and a nylon-bristled brush to clean the parts. I like to clean the parts as well as possible when I pull 'em off, regardless of whether you can see 'em or not. I'm just meticulous like that! :D
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I need to get my parts washer up and running! If you're married, you can expect one angry woman on your ass about the mess you made. :lol:
"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
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Post by Kinematics »

Nice writeup, thanks! Got it bookmarked in my list of KA/240 writeups.

I've heard of some people just loosening the motor mount nuts to the very end of the bolt, as opposed to completely removing them. Should allow for enough room to lift/jack the motor up high enough to still remove the pan.
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Post by slipnfall »

Nice write-up. Just some comments: on my S13, I could not for the life of me get my motor mounts loose. The top bolts are a PITA to get a good angle on, even with various extensions and swivels. The bottom ones started to round, so I didn't want to fudge things up even more. SO, I guess I took the long way and dropped the sway bar(note: you don't have to remove the end-links, just the two center bushings). I still had to jack the bellhousing up a bit but luckily my worn motor mounts had some play in them. I had to raise it a good 1-1.5"

BTW what did you use on your top motor mount bolts? The only thing I didn't have to try were 'swivel' extensions.

::edit:: speelling mistake ::edit::
'92 MS13 - getting there...
brian240grip
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Post by brian240grip »

Kinematics wrote:Nice writeup, thanks! Got it bookmarked in my list of KA/240 writeups.

I've heard of some people just loosening the motor mount nuts to the very end of the bolt, as opposed to completely removing them. Should allow for enough room to lift/jack the motor up high enough to still remove the pan.
Yeah, that's possible I s'pose if your motor mounts are F'd up enough to stretch a bit. But just the inch or so that the length of the stud will give you prob'ly wouldn't be enough.
I didn't try it, I took mine off because I'm replacing my MM's anyways. I went with the Nismo's, should be here tommorrow, YAY!
"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
brian240grip
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Post by brian240grip »

slipnfall wrote:Nice write-up. Just some comments: on my S13, I could not for the life of me get my motor mounts loose. The top bolts are a PITA to get a good angle on, even with various extensions and swivels. The bottom ones started to round, so I didn't want to fudge things up even more. SO, I guess I took the long way and dropped the sway bar(note: you don't have to remove the end-links, just the two center bushings). I still had to jack the bellhousing up a bit but luckily my worn motor mounts had some play in them. I had to raise it a good 1-1.5"

BTW what did you use on your top motor mount bolts? The only thing I didn't have to try were 'swivel' extensions.

::edit:: speelling mistake ::edit::
Honestly, I just used my 3/8" ratchet with a 14mm socket on it, no extensions or swivels. My drivers side one was exceptionally easy to get to since my exhaust is out. The pass. side was a bit more difficult to get to, having to work around the starter and all.

As for the bottom mounts, I just went out and looked at them and I see no reason why I couldn't get a socket on it unless maybe the tie rod was in the way if you have it on ramps with the suspension sprung...
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"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
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Post by southjrz240 »

nice write up.
http://www.ka-t.org/cain.htm
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Post by la_phantom240 »

Okay, so im trying to pull my oil pan to remove my front cover... and my suspension is still on... trying to remove as little as possible. What are your suggestions for getting some GOOD leverage on these mounts... i was literally suspending myself in mid-air under my 240 trying to pull that damn ratchet.
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Post by MaxRPM »

I did without removing the oil pickup, just drop your suspension to the floor.
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Post by la_phantom240 »

thats not the problem, the problem is the damn motor mount nuts. Nissan picked a **** place to put them, and the angle they sit at wont let you put a 1/2" drive ratchet on there, and you cant use a swivel and extension on them either... one ***** up design.
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Aftermarket Oil Pan

Post by TheBC Rookie »

Does anybody make an aftermarket oil pan for the SOHC KA24?
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Post by adamky »

la_phantom240 wrote:thats not the problem, the problem is the damn motor mount nuts. Nissan picked a **** place to put them, and the angle they sit at wont let you put a 1/2" drive ratchet on there, and you cant use a swivel and extension on them either... one ***** up design.
I just removed both of my motor mounts 2 weeks ago and had no problems at all getting them off. I used a 2 inch extension on top, and a 4 inch extension on the bottom with a breaker bar.


Oh, and I also used a torch to heat everything up that didn't seem to want to come free.
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Post by eissan »

i got my mounts loose by using a 2 inch extender and a hammer :D. hit the ratchet with the hammer the sudden impact will cause the nut to get loose :).
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Post by adamky »

eissan wrote:i got my mounts loose by using a 2 inch extender and a hammer :D. hit the ratchet with the hammer the sudden impact will cause the nut to get loose :).
A torch and PB blaster is not only easier, but safer.

I had never used a torch for anything automotive until recently when a guy I work with explained to me how much easier it made it. My mentality before was, if it won't break free, use a bigger cheater bar (or a big hammer).

But it is 10X easier to use a torch and PB blaster. Done properly, the bolt or stud or whatever, will just break free, no problems. It will go from totally unmoveable to smooth like butter. And you don't end up breaking tools, cracking extensions, stripping bolts and breaking studs.
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Post by dsylvia »

Hey brian, nice write up. I was wondering how you'd feel about having your write up in the tech section of my website
www.project-mayhem04.com. I have numerous writeups, some by KA-T.org's very own Foster. Let me know what you think.

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brian240grip
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Post by brian240grip »

dsylvia wrote:Hey brian, nice write up. I was wondering how you'd feel about having your write up in the tech section of my website
www.project-mayhem04.com. I have numerous writeups, some by KA-T.org's very own Foster. Let me know what you think.

-Derek-
Of course I don't mind, the more 240 enthusiasts I help, the better. Besides, I gotta do somethin' to balance the force after all the bad stuff I've done! :lol:
"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious ****." -Dr. Emmit Brown
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Post by jetblack »

now that's slick
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Post by sdzeroone »

Scarboroughdub wrote:pretty good, although its a bit harder on the s14 as you have to twist the pan parallel to the sway bar to get it out.
the S14 also doesn't have the 10mm screw like the S13 - sweet! Removing the gasket from the bottom was not fun. I used one of those FLEXIBLE lonnnnnnng razor blades, the one that breaks in small sections, which did thus making it a pita every time the thing cracked. Im sure theres one at home depot that doesnt break in such small increments.

Confident there was enough gasket penetrated, a flat blade screwdriver was wedged in, its a sweet sound when pan plops down :D (from under the car on the oil filter side toward front bumper seemed easiest to access.) Then like noted above the pan was removed slowly but surely. not stealin' any thunder just sharing my experience.
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Post by slothonaleash »

i deff. vote sticky
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Post by twofortydriver »

awesome writeup, i did it today, gonna weld my bung in tomorrow. i just took mine to a carwash, if you do dont let anyone see you!!!
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Post by zenkizen »

i just removed the oilpan on my S14 and it was a little different than everyone else.

first off, i didn't have to jack up the engine for the pan to clear. Maybe because i have a ford taurus fan installed and the clutch/ac fans were out of the way.

second, as soon as i removed the oil pick up. the oil pan came right out. i didn't have a 10mm bolt that i had to remove.

it was fun. i went in this order.

-unbolted 10mm bolts on oil pan.
-removed tranny brace to remove the remaining bolts on oil pan
-pryed off oil pan with flathead screwdriver. (was acutually easy. i was just prying away on the gasket in one spot and a couple minutes later, the whole pan dropped. didn't even get to use a hammer.)
-unscrewed oil pick up
-pull the damn thing out.

i was gonna unbolt the mounts and the tranny cross member and jack the engine up by the bellhousing, but that pan came out easy as pie as soon as the oil pick up was unbolted, without a bracket bolting down the pan with a 10mm bolt.

lucky me, i save 30 minutes.

Maybe S14's don't have that bracket that is shown in brian's reply

thanks everyone
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n1sm0r
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Post by n1sm0r »

Thank you!
I just pulled mine off this morning, everything went verrrryyy smoothly.
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