anyone ever changed their oil pan gasket? is it very difficult?
I dont have an air compressor or a lift, just a 2ton jack and a
socket set, can it be done?

thanks

 

the socket set should be more than enough, the pan should not be torqued down to more than ~ 75 inch lbs....

the question is do you feel that you will have enough room under the car to comfortably work? i for one wouldnt want to have to do that job in so little space. it will probably be a pretty cheap job at any local shop, call around its probably worth your while to let them do it...

 

They were going to charge me over $200 to replace mine. I said screw it and did it myself. If it is a GSR, the flywheel cover needs to be removed to drop the pan. That was the only thing that tripped me up. I did it with just a jack and a set of socket wrenches. Like ISP James said, don't overtorque the bolts or they will snap right off.

If it is worth your time to do it, as opposed to paying $200, go for it. It isn't that hard at all.

 

I have no clue to what 75 inch lbs feels like on a socket wrench.. hmmm
simaler to curling 75lbs on free weights maybe? no clue,
also I have 94' LS so I dont see any flywheel cover, the only other thing is
I am unsure if the oil is ACTUALLY leaking from the oil pan gasket
or from higher up, i do see some dark residue below my header,
which appears to be oil. im going to use engine degreaser to try figure this out

 

get yourself a torque wrench.

 

75 lb-inch isn't very tight at all. With a little muscle you can almost do that with a screwdriver. Be careful with a ratchet handle, you might overtighten them. Grab the ratchet with your hand over the ratchet hub & twist, instead of using it like a wrench.

It's not only about breaking the bolts/studs. If you overtighten the pan, the rubber gasket squirms around & leaks.

 

craftsman inch-lbs wrench is about 70 bucks.... or get a lesser name brand for a lot less...

 

you can do it if you get it high enough

 

This is something that I need to do soon. I have already purchased the gasket. Are there some locknuts involved? I read in a manual that there were.

Slapmaho: I've heard that the GSR is the one where you need to remove the flywheel cover. You won't have to worry about it with you LS.

 

No locknuts. Some are bolts and some are nuts.