I need to change the oil pan gasket on my civic. I am debating whether to pay $144 to get it done or do it myself. Any suggestions? I know you have to remove the exhaust down pipe and on top of that i dont have a lift so it'll be hard doing it about 1.5 feet off the ground. Very tight space, etc.

Thanx!

Dave

 

i would say do it yourself, i have been reading up cuz i want to clean my oil pan (thinking it would be good to wipe out all those metal shavings, then get a magnetic drain bolt)

But i read how to do it in my chiltons, very easy, and not worth paying someone to do...at least on my 5th gen accord it is

 

its just time - fairly easy. just think of it as you have to remove some things to get to the oil pan, when your done with it there is nothing better than having the satisfaction of doing it yourself .... and that 144 in your pocket At least its easier than changing all the belts :P

 

How old is the car.

If the bolts are seized and you snap off some heads, you're responsible, and you need to fix it.

Now if the shop does it, they're responsible. But, you'll have some random ape wrenching on your baby... depends how that sits with you.

I don't' think that is a very bad price for the job.

-PHiZ

 

Hmm...its 10 years old..its a 93...with 150k miles on it.

I heard you can snap those exhaust bolts easy if the car is somewhat old. Its been heating up and cooling down for 10 years....so i guess thats a lot of wear and tear. And i'd rather a shop guy be responsible :-)

Yeh...$144 is alot for a gasket..but its the labor and its somethin i dont have the time for and if i break somethin..i sure dont have the money to fix. I cant just break the exhaust pipe..i cant drive it with hot gases coming dirctly out of my header..it'll melt everything under the hood. Even though it'll sound good ;-) LOL

But ne wayz...yeh..down the road when get some extra $$ i'll get it done...its not leaking that bad..but it is definitely leaking all the way around.

Dave

 

I just did it with the help of a friend. Definitely alot easier on a shop lift. You do have to remove much of the exhaust piping.

Some of the bolts might be hard to get to as well...

 

All good replies....

It's definitely an easy job but there is of course the concern with snapping one of the bolts on your manifod or piping. I wouldn't be too worried about getting the pan off but the exhaust is another story. When I removed the rear section of my exhaust (rear wheel back) one of the spring bolts snapped off.

Really all you have to do is get the manifold heat shield off then remove the bolts holding your down pipe to the manifold and let your exhaust hang while you remove the pan. I would suggest gently trying to remove these bolts. If they don't free up with little effort and you're afraid their going to snap then throw in the towel, put your manifold heat shield back on and drop the change to have someone do it for you. It doesn't hurt to try... just don't force anything, that's when you'll end up breaking something.

Otherwise the bolts should come out fairly easy... maybe try using some of that spray stuff that frees seized nuts and bolts if you think their stuck.

 

so....once i take those two(i saw two there)bolts from the down pipe, i can let that hang and then have plenty of room to remove the pan? All i have to do is remoive the bolts right? Anything else i have to take off to remove that pan? The bolts also look different going around the diameter of the pan. It looks like there are nuts and then there are bolts....thats weird how they are mixed.

Thanx for that reply btw! I might just try it after all, providing i can get that down pipe off to get to the pan.

Dave

 

You may have to remove one of the rubber hangers too just to give you some room to play but there is definitely no reason to remove everything completely. If you do this and have the front of your car on blocks or jack stands then you will have plenty of room to wiggle the pan out from between the block and exhaust.

You should have like six or so nuts and the rest bolts. You'll want to remove all of the bolts first then remove the nuts last and do the reverse when putting the pan back on. The purpose is this... the studs coming off of the block and through the pan that the nuts are on serve as a guidance for you to put the pan back on straight. Once you slip the pan over the studs coming off the block, put your nuts on just shy of tight. That way it alligns the pan and you can put the rest of the bolts in without having to hold the pan with one hand and straighten it out with the other while you're struggling to get the holes to line up.

When you tighten them they should technically be torqued to 9 lb-ft. If you dont have a torque wrench, tighten them by hand but don't make them gorilla tight or you risk causing the gasket to go bad and start leaking again. Once the nuts/bolts are firmly seated just give a few small cranks with the rachet to get them tight.

You should also apply liquid gasket to two points on the regular gasket between the gasket and the block. The two points are on the opposite side of the pan away from the side of your motor where the belts are(the passenger side. You should see a dip in the pan along the pan seat where the gasket is. On both sides of the dip, just before the dip apply a small bead of liquid gasket.

 

i'll do it for 143? any takers??? lol