Just put a 455 in my 72 and have to remove the oil pan. When starting up the new engine it just so happens the the oil pan is hitting the crank. Appears to be #2 crank counterweight position. The engine has MT headers and I am wondering how difficult it is to remove the oil pan with the engine in the car. Can it be done my raising engine on the mounts and leaving headers bolted up?? Thanks
The best way I found to raise the motor with out a cherry picker was to use a floor jack under the harmontic balancer, it gives you the most height to clear the frame. You might have to unbolt the headers from the exhaust. I've had to do this in the past to replace the rear seal on my 69 riv. good luck chip P.S. before raising motor check to see if you might have to pull radiator, fan might hit radiator.
Its really not that bad to remove the pan in the car. Naturally, put the car on jackstands. Pull the motor mount bolts. Place the jack saddle (or pad) on the oil pan (place a piece of scrap 2x4 between, so as not to damage the pan). Carefully raise the jack until the engine comes off the mounts. The engine can only be raised so far. You're limited by the transmission hitting the tunnel and the fan hitting the top of the shroud. After the engine is raised, I wedge some pieces of 2x3 and scrap shim stock between the frame pad and the engine mount. I keep pieces of wood cut to the exact dimension in my toolbox. You want to make sure you get the maximum amount of clearance when you let the jack down. Your going to have to pull the starter and converter inspection cover. After that, the oil pan should be able to slide out backwards. Unless you have the old Hooker super comp headers, you can leave the headers in place. For re installation, I silicone the oil pan gasket and rear seal to the engine, then fit the pan in place. Make sure you put an extra helping of silicone where the block meets the timing case. Also, if your using the Fel-Pro gasket, make sure you trim the cutouts on the cork where the seal fits. They always are cut too small. Good luck!
Yes, you could put the jack under the balancer. I prefer under the pan. Im afraid of hurting the engine. Im not sure if that may damage the front main bearing. I dont feel comfortable having the balancer carry the weight of the engine. Someone else may want to weigh in here. The only difference on a 69 Riviera is that you need to pull the centerlink too. It runs behind the oil pan and gets in the way on removal. Jason
Thanks, I have an overhead engine lift should be able to accomplish this. The car is a 4-speed, hopefully the pan will still slide rearward under the flywheel.
