96 5.8L oil pan gasket

The gasket is "rubber". The best replacement is a one piece job with metal reinforced side made by Felpro. It's a bitch to replace at the best. The engine can be lifted high enough to remove the pan by removing the upper intake manifild and useing a cherry picker from above. The next problem is the exhaust crossover which goes under the back of the pan. The easiest way to deal with it is to have the muffler shop make a sleeve big enough to slip over the crossover and cut the crossover as far to the right as possible. You can either have the shop weld it back together when you are done or, dp it yourself if you have a wire welder and skills. The only other way to get the pipe out of your way is to support the transmission and remove the crossmember to allow the exhaust to drop enough. I have heard that some people have small enough hands and lots of patience to work a gasket in w/o dropping the pan enough to require the exhaust work. I don't believe that is possible with the metal reinforced gasket. You may be stuck with the older style gasket if you choose to do it that way. BTW, if you are carefull and skilled enough, you can probably forego the sleeve for the crossover and just buttweld it. before you final tighten the flanges.

Good luck Lugnut

Oh, mother! So, I wonder what it takes to drop the crossmember from that truck? Is it permanent or is it held together with removable bolts? I don't have it right now so I can't get a look at it again, otherwise I'd be more informed. As it is I can only drop the pan about two inches before it sits on the crossmember. I really don't want to be cutting anything, even the exhaust, so lifting the engine is sounding more promising. I'm not so hot a welder and it's going to have to be done in my driveway.

Thanks!

On Sun, 07 Aug 2005 23:38:48 GMT, "carl mciver" snipped-for-privacy@mindspring.com wrote:

The crossmember is the trans mount. It is bolted in. The trick if you decide to remove the trans mount is that you have to suspend and support both the engine and trans. Removing the crossmember allows the welded exhaust system to drop enough to work the pan out. The oil pump is mounted at the front of the engine and has it's pickup in the sump at the rear. (The SBC design is much more friendly to do this job even if an inferior piece in the first place) That is why the pan pretty much has to drop completely out to install the one piece gasket. I went thru this last year on mine after the gasker failed. The replacement one piece is the way to go if you want to stop the leak. I had originally though the rear seal was leaking in mine but after I pulled the trans for that job, I found the rear seal to be bone dry. The original gaskets are not metal reinforced and tend to work their way out after a while. Ford did not learn a lesson from GM before using this material. The Felpro metal reinforced gasket will not work it's way out. It ain't cheap. If you don't think you'll have the truck much longer, you may want to try to find one of the non-reinfirced OEM type gaskets or even a cork set.. With that you may be able to work the individual pieces in w/o completely dropping the pan after you remove the upper intake and lift the engine. Word of caution on the upper intake. It has a torx bolt in the middle. It is a t-40 IIRC. When you reinstall the upper intake, be careful not to get the plastic lines at the rear in the joint or you will have to go at it again to repair them. (learned hard way while in hurry)

Lugnut

"" wrote: > The rear oil pan bolts on my 96 F350 4x4 were found to be > missing and/or > loose. I found new bolts and tightened everything up, but the > leak is still > there, so no surprise. The thread about the Ranger reminded > me. Is this > gasket one piece cork, rubber, or what? I'm trying to spend > the least > amount of time replacing it since the truck is our prime > mover. I'm sure > it's a big job, but the exact composition of the gasket might > make things > easier and faster.

There is no need to remove intake or use a "cherry picker" to raise engine (actually a cherry picker is a lift bucket the you go up it because I have used them on large aircraft and we called them cherry pickers and ours went up to 50ft plus) Get a floor jack and a block of wood and place the wood between jack and pan and removed engine mount bolts and raise engien up several inches and they insert some blocks of wood of the correct thckness for height needed between engine mounts and frame (or between engine of mounts depending on how you unbolted it. ) Remove anything else in the way and remove pan. Reverse process to put it back together. Also you should never work under a engine that is just supported by a engine puller anyway.

Carl, I removed the upper plenum to allow enough clearance to get the pan out. The upper intake on the ones I have dealt with hits the firewall before it gets high enough for the pan to clear. I doesn't take more than 15 minutes to get the upper intake off anyway. The exhaust crossover will not allow you to get the pan down far enough to clear unless you remove the trans crossmember to allow the whole exhaust to drop.

In the past, I have used the exhaust manifolds to attach lift brackets or wrap a cable around for lifting. The last one I did had headers that had to come off for new gaskets at the same time. I used a couple of pieces of 1/4 flat stock with one end drilled to bolt to an exhaust bolt holt and the other end drilled out to attach the lift chains.

As far as the pan bolts are concerned, you should be able to get replacements at any well stocked Ford dealer. If you cannot get the OEM bolt, you can use lock and flat washers on standard bolts.

As far as the type lift I use, most parts of the country that I have been around understand what is meant by a cherry picker when it comes to lifting things. More precisely, I use a hydraulic engine hoist with an extendable boom. I use blocks of hardwood of whatever demision is correct to place under the engine mounts while I actually work on things like oil pans. You can use a floor jack and blocks of wood to do the lifting as suggested by someone else if you have one that will go high enough - mine like most only goes 20". I usually support the vehicle on jack stands high enough for me to get under it on a creaper. (I go 6 feet tall and about

250 most days.) The transmission is lifted from it's mount using an automatic transmission jack since I have one. The trans is then supported on a 12 ton jack stand once it is cleared. I am telling you this for the benefit of others who may think I would advise you to do this in any unsafe manner. I did not previously tell you this because I gave you credit for knowing that your vehicle and it's components must be properly supported while you repair them.

All of that being said, you can do as I did and start out by not removing the upper intake as others have suggested and don't bother doing anything with the exhaust. My large arthritic hands simply do not allow me to work without making enough room. The are several reasons why a dealer gets $400+ to do this job with the cost of a pan gasket and fresh oil being less than $50.

Good luck Lugnut

BTW, don't forget to unbolt the fan schroud and slip it back before you raise the engine.

"lugnut" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com... | On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 23:05:41 GMT, "carl mciver" | wrote: | | >"SnoMan" wrote in message | >news:1_645111 snipped-for-privacy@autoforumz.com... | >>>SNIP| There is no need to remove intake or use a "cherry picker" to raise | >| engine (actually a cherry picker is a lift bucket the you go up it | >| because I have used them on large aircraft and we called them cherry | >| pickers and ours went up to 50ft plus) Get a floor jack and a block | >| of wood and place the wood between jack and pan and removed engine | >| mount bolts and raise engien up several inches and they insert some | >| blocks of wood of the correct thckness for height needed between | >| engine mounts and frame (or between engine of mounts depending on how | >| you unbolted it. ) Remove anything else in the way and remove pan. | >| Reverse process to put it back together. Also you should never work | >| under a engine that is just supported by a engine puller anyway. | >

| > So the intake plenum comes off simply to get something to lift from, or | >is there something it can run into? | > How high can you go before you have to start removing major things? I | >have to replace one of the exhaust manifolds in the process (decked it once | >for a leak years ago, and it appears to have cracked now from the warp) so I | >assume the exhaust has to come off as well? I don't see how the pan can | >come directly out from the front or back (I might very well be wrong..) with | >stuff in the way, so will it come right out or do I have to jack it up even | >higher to get it the rest of the way out? | > I have replaced some of the missing bolts with standard bolts, so other | >than peening down around the bolt holes, is there anything I should do to | >the pan before reinstalling to keep future leaks down? Are the stock bolts | >good, or should I get something better? Is there a suitable retainer out | >there that might keep them from turning out in the future? | | | Carl, | I removed the upper plenum to allow enough clearance to get | the pan out. The upper intake on the ones I have dealt with | hits the firewall before it gets high enough for the pan to | clear. I doesn't take more than 15 minutes to get the upper | intake off anyway. The exhaust crossover will not allow you | to get the pan down far enough to clear unless you remove | the trans crossmember to allow the whole exhaust to drop. | | In the past, I have used the exhaust manifolds to attach | lift brackets or wrap a cable around for lifting. The last | one I did had headers that had to come off for new gaskets | at the same time. I used a couple of pieces of 1/4 flat | stock with one end drilled to bolt to an exhaust bolt holt | and the other end drilled out to attach the lift chains. | | As far as the pan bolts are concerned, you should be able to | get replacements at any well stocked Ford dealer. If you | cannot get the OEM bolt, you can use lock and flat washers | on standard bolts. | | As far as the type lift I use, most parts of the country | that I have been around understand what is meant by a cherry | picker when it comes to lifting things. More precisely, I | use a hydraulic engine hoist with an extendable boom. I use | blocks of hardwood of whatever demision is correct to place | under the engine mounts while I actually work on things like | oil pans. You can use a floor jack and blocks of wood to do | the lifting as suggested by someone else if you have one | that will go high enough - mine like most only goes 20". I | usually support the vehicle on jack stands high enough for | me to get under it on a creaper. (I go 6 feet tall and about | 250 most days.) The transmission is lifted from it's mount | using an automatic transmission jack since I have one. The | trans is then supported on a 12 ton jack stand once it is | cleared. I am telling you this for the benefit of others | who may think I would advise you to do this in any unsafe | manner. I did not previously tell you this because I gave | you credit for knowing that your vehicle and it's components | must be properly supported while you repair them. | | All of that being said, you can do as I did and start out by | not removing the upper intake as others have suggested and | don't bother doing anything with the exhaust. My large | arthritic hands simply do not allow me to work without | making enough room. The are several reasons why a dealer | gets $400+ to do this job with the cost of a pan gasket and | fresh oil being less than $50. | | Good luck | Lugnut | | BTW, don't forget to unbolt the fan schroud and slip it back | before you raise the engine.

Good point about the shroud! I was crawling around under there again and checking things out. From what you were saying, I have to unbolt the transmission? Being a 4x4 it won't flex up too much, so I assume that's the case? And, thanks a bunch for your wisdom. It's much appreciated!

Christ, Engine Hoists have been called cherry pickers for decades! Where the hell have you been???

The trans does have to be unbolted to remove the crossmember or rear support as some may call it. The engine and treans won't go up more than a couple of inches or so but it is enough to get the pan out. Removing the upper intake allows just a bit mor before you hit the firewall. The floor pan will stop the trans at the best This is not the easiest job you can tackle on an F series. Being a 4x4 you may have some things to work around on the drive train. There are some dealer techs here in the Atlanta area that routinely just pull the engine to do a pan gasket. That is great if you have their equipment where you can put the engine on the floor in an hour. Most DIY'ers do not have that luxury. Again, if you have fairly small hands, you may choose to try to lift the engine enough for the pan to drop a couple of inches and install the old style 4 piece gasket set. Unlike cork the OEM silastic gasket usually comes off in relatively few pieces which reduces the probability of small pieces getting into the oil pump. I have never felt lucky enough to try it this way for fear of a badly positioned gasket leaking at the get go.

Lugnut

Snoman likes to rebut everybody.

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