Wish me luck

Today is the day I tackle the rear main seal. Wish me luck....:scared:

Ok, not too much fun so far. It took a lot of sweat to get the pan loose but it is now free. Unfortunately it is hitting the axle and won't drop. More dissassembly ahead.irate1:

If you haven't, jack up the body, remove the front wheels, and let the front axle drop. You might be able to get a little more droop by taking the axle end bolt out of the track bar.

ChiXJeff,

Thanks for the idea. I had already put the front end up on jackstands and had removed the wheels but still didn't have enough droop to get the pan out. I finally got the thing out but had to disconnect the mounting arms AND disconnect the shocks AND disconnect the track bar. What a job! After all this I can finally get started on the RMS......irate1:

Still haven't gotten to the RMS yet but the pan is now clean and I managed to scrape all of the gasket off of the bottom of the engine. Quite the job! Whoever put the pan on last time (probably the factory) was determined that it wasn't going to leak.....

Figured I would change the oil pump while I was in here. Oil pressure has been good while driving but it drops pretty low at idle. Hopefully now that the dissassembly/cleaning is done I can finish everything up tomorrow.irate1:

Depending on what year you have the pressure should go low at idle

Sorry to be "that guy" but this is a forum for technical questions, if you dont have technical questions dont post here.
This isnt your diary..

x91evo said:

Sorry to be "that guy" but this is a forum for technical questions, if you dont have technical questions dont post here.
This isnt your diary..

Click to expand...

And you're a registered guest, only here for the last year. Don't abuse YOUR privileges.

H8PVMT said:

Depending on what year you have the pressure should go low at idle

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I'ts a 1990 model but it has been dropping below 20 (18ish at idle) on the gauge. How low is considered a problem?

thx
Todd

Without glancing at my shop manual, that might be getting close, but should still be fine. If your oil pressure drops, it might not be the oil pump's fault, you might be looking at other wear like bearings & valve guides. You've already the pan off, it's pretty simple to put in a new pump. Fill it with something to make sure it primes easily when you start to crank it the first time.

Thanks greatly!!

Now that the easy part is done (dissassembly), my questions are starting to form.

1) Is there any easy way to get the pan back into position?
2) I purchased a new one piece rubber gasket, should I apply RTV and if so, where? The original gasket seemed to be a four piece design and it was definitely glued to both surfaces. It was hard to get off the engine block and even harder to get off the pan.
3) Is there anything else I should check while the pan is off? Bearings were mentioned and it would be pretty easy to replace them at this point. The engine has 200,000 miles on it but still has good compression (140-142 on all cylinders) so it seems to have been well cared for.
4) There is a half moon shaped brace that fit around the rear main and connected with the back two pan bolts. Is this needed or can I leave it off? It looks like it might be a bit of a pain to fight back into position.

Thanks!!
Todd

ChiXJeff said:

Without glancing at my shop manual, that might be getting close, but should still be fine. If your oil pressure drops, it might not be the oil pump's fault, you might be looking at other wear like bearings & valve guides. You've already the pan off, it's pretty simple to put in a new pump. Fill it with something to make sure it primes easily when you start to crank it the first time.

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As far as I remember that's where it should be, pretty sure under 13 at idle is when you should worry, mine never goes below 40 but I've never had a sender work for more than a year

ChiXJeff said:

And you're a registered guest, only here for the last year. Don't abuse YOUR privileges.

Click to expand...

Im sorry was I wrong about something? Is this not the technical forum? Meant for technical questions?
Moving on..

By the way an easier way to prime your oil system is to remove your cam sensor.
Mark the synchonizer from top to the bottom where it contacts the block.
Then remove it and use a flathead on a drill to spin the oil pump

x91evo said:

By the way an easier way to prime your oil system is to remove your cam sensor.
Mark the synchonizer from top to the bottom where it contacts the block.
Then remove it and use a flathead on a drill to spin the oil pump

Click to expand...

GREAT advice!! Thanks!!

x91evo said:

By the way an easier way to prime your oil system is to remove your cam sensor.
Mark the synchonizer from top to the bottom where it contacts the block.
Then remove it and use a flathead on a drill to spin the oil pump

Click to expand...

That is 2000 and 2001 only. His 1990 has a distributor (with internal cam sensor) in that place, you prime by removing that and running the oil pump with a screwdriver on a drill. Make sure to index the distributor.

x91evo said:

Sorry to be "that guy" but this is a forum for technical questions, if you dont have technical questions dont post here.
This isnt your diary..

Click to expand...

Technical pointers and info, too. Which I've given you some of in the past, fairly recently in fact, it looks like your attitude may have just changed that though.

tjmotter - when putting the oil pan back on, you can save yourself a lot of grief by running zipties (or heavy thread) through about every other hole in the oil pan and the pan gasket (you got the one-piece blue felpro one right? IIRC most people like to put a bit of silicone at the corners where it goes around the timing cover and rear bearing cap, but that's about it) and tying/ratcheting them down reasonably tight. Get a few bolts started so the pan won't fall on you, then cut the threads or zipties one at a time and start bolts in them too. Helps a lot keeping everything lined up.

Make sure the gasket doesn't pop out between the back of the pan and the rear main bearing cap, and also make sure you use the pan girdle/strap that goes outside the pan on those last two bolts by the rear main bearing cap.

I did the RMS recently on my '98 and here's what I came across...

I used RTV, but on the engine block instead; because I felt it worked better than using the zip ties, strings, or rubber band trick to hold the gasket to the pan. I did try the zip tie trick, and had nothing but problems lining up the pan/gasket/block. What worried me about gasket to the oil pan aspect, is that if the gasket at the rear of the pan dip is not perfectly in place to meet the groove in the rear bearing cap, you're going to wind up with a bigger leak. At least by RTV'ing the gasket to the block, you know the gasket is where it is suppose to end up on the block, and the pan will seat itself the rest of the way.

Just apply a thin stip of RTV round the bottom of the block. You don't need ungodly amounts of RTV. Just enough for the gasket to stick to the block. Start from the back around the dip and begin pressing the gasket to the bottom of the engine block. As you do this, use some of the pan bolts to hold the gasket in place as you work your way towards the front of the engine. Go back and press the gasket in place really well and let it sit for a bit. Once the RTV has had a chance to set, you can remove the pan bolts holding the gasket in place, then proceed to install the pan. The gasket is not going to move...

Personally, I rather face the future event of having to scrape off a little RTV of the engine block for the next RMS change out, than keeping my fingers crossed and hoping my newly installed pan gasket doesn't leak at the rear bearing cap juncture....

Thanks all! Looking forward to getting her back on the road

Before sticking that pan back on--re-torque your crank and rod bearing caps, they like to work loose.