Oil pan gasket replacement

farmerdick

farmerdick

Senior Member
I`am replacing the oil pan gasket and wanted to know if anyone had a system of holding the oil pump in place and getting the oil pan back in place at the same time and keep the oil pump from getting out of alignment while starting a couple pan bolts? Why didn`t "Henry" use a roll pin or bolt to hold the pump in place?

Richard/Maine
 
I have used just a small piece of folded writing paper on one side of pump where it fits into the block. There is a bolt you can gently thread into the side of the block that will accomplish the same.
 
Dick, the suppliers sell a tool that screws in the 1/8" pipe plug on the side of the block to hold it. Also if you run a 1/8" pipe die down on a 3/8" SAE bolt, it will work. Bill W.
 
The simple tool is the best, but when I helped a friend and no tool was at hand, I just strung a piece of wire around the pump and tied off the end with a bungee cord to hold it tight and hold the pump up. Once I had a couple pan bolts started I pulled the wire through, then finished tightening the pan bolts. It was quick and easy and did the job perfectly.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
The simple tool is the best, but when I helped a friend and no tool was at hand, I just strung a piece of wire around the pump and tied off the end with a bungee cord to hold it tight and hold the pump up. Once I had a couple pan bolts started I pulled the wire through, then finished tightening the pan bolts. It was quick and easy and did the job perfectly.
Click to expand...
Tom, the builder of my engine just peened over the oil pump locating dowel to hold it. Also, they somehow locked in my oil pump drive bearing sleeve! It didn't even have a spring on top of it. Bill W.
 
Tool described in post #3 & 5:
A6621R-4762-xl.jpg
 
The easy way, is to remove the plug from the block just above the pump. Use the set screw from the distributor with the nut removed to hold the pump in place. Once the pan is replaced return the screw to it's original place. Many will say the threads are different and this is true but for an emergency use, it works and won't hurt anything.
 
I use a wood dowel that I have tapered on one end, and push it in softly till the pump holds. When the pan is in place I simply pull the dowel out and put the pipe-threaded plug back in. No damage to the threads or the pump. If you have to do this out in the boonies, just go get a twig and whittle it down.
 
First time I did it, I wedged a chunk of round stock thru the hole to the frame. Then drilled and tapped a pipe plug for later use. Its been needed at times too.

Also, for installing the pan. The pump spring can/will hold the pan away from the block enough to be a PITA. A real help is to make a couple guide pins, a couple 5/16 bolts with the heads cut off and ground at a taper make this a lot easier.

I also make flexible [rubber] spacers [about 1/8"] for the engine pans.
 
Thanks guys, these are very helpful ideas and will put them into practice today 8/8. Do the majority of you prefer the neoprene front seal over the two piece rope style. And if I use the two piece, whats the trick for pulling the top piece in place?
 
I think most prefer the rope. Usually just one section is replaced if its not leaking, but, it doesn't take much to remove the timing gear cover if you want to replace both halves. Don't cut/shorten the seal.
 
Recently when installing an oil pan gasket set, I started trimming the ends of the rope seals by the only method I have heard and read about, namely using a new single-edge razor. After some struggling with the razor, I spied my Dremel tool which just happened to be close by. It was loaded with a heavy duty cut-off wheel (No. 420), so i decided to do some trimming with it. I was pleasantly surprised how easily it cut through the rope seal, and I discovered if I ran it at a high rpm, the heat from the wheel sort of melted the loose ends of the seal and kept fraying to a minimum. I also learned if I tried different angles of attack I got better results. Anyway, I highly recommend this method.
 
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