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Replacing oil pan gasket on E30 325ic

I have a bad leak at the rear of the oil pan gasket. The Bentley manual says I only need to remove the bolts for the power steering rack, which I guess gives a bit of play to get it out of the way, along with removing a brace at the bell housing. Doing a check here it seems that in order to really do this, the engine has to be jacked up or the front sub frame removed. Any comments from those who have done this which is the easiest route?

Unbolting the engine mounts and lifting it with a jack at the bell housing sounds easy enough, but how far will it have to be raised and will that require removing the exhaust and radiator hoses as well?

If removing the sub frame, I assume the struts and all steering components can just hang there in place, with the front wheels resting on a pair of ramps?

It sounds like a dirty, nasty, but otherwise straightforward DIY job, compared to paying a shop $500 to do the work.

Christopher

Reply to
blickcd
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On the E28, you have to remove the engine mounts and lift the engine a little bit on a jack.... I don't know about the E30 but I would tend to trust the Bentley manual. On the E28 it was a major pain to do.

It should not, because there is a reasonable amount of play in them. You should only need to move a few inches.

Agreed.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Think the E30 has a steering rack which runs underneath the engine. Dunno the E30, but this arrangement is quite common on older UK RWD cars and you usually have to lift the engine slightly to remove the steering rack. And depending on other things sometimes have to remove the rack before the sump will come off. It really depends on whether the main depth of the sump is in front or behind the rack. If it's in front you don't usually have to drop it so far as at the back where it has to clear the bellhousing.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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