Please help me change my oil pan

[CaliColin]

Looks like I cracked my oil pan. Oil completely drained after it hit a speed bump. Looks fairly straightforward, and after doing an extensive search, here is what I learned: Sealant is used instead of a gasket. Sealant is 000 043 203 73. Should be pretty messy. The oil to to crankcase bolts only get 7.5 ft/lbs (10 Nm). Porsche says use only Drei Bond Silikon - type 1209 -- within 5 minutes of applying.

Is there anything else I need to know? Is this a piece of cake to replace? It just looks to me like a dozen or so bolts.

[Loren]

I was in a dealership shop and saw tech do this in about 15 minutes. He used a battery powered tool to remove all the pan bolts - but the reinstall was all by hand. Remember 7.5 ft/lbs is not very much.

[CaliColin]

Thank u sir. Good excuse to finally buy a good torque wrench.

[viper501]

there are good instructiions on the brey-krause website.

[wdonovan]

Second most important (second to torque) is getting the surfaces that receive sealant bone dry. The pan is easy to wash but get the crankcase as dry as you can with brake cleaner or lacquer thinner. Reach up and dry the inner lip so that it takes longer for residual oil to drip down. The longer you can wait after dumping the oil and shutting the engine, the less oil there will be to contaminate the new sealant. And the faster you can work, the less drainback there will be. Remember, a few drops of oil on these surfaces is going to get you a second chance to do the whole thing over. If Porsche is emphatic over a specific "Drei Bond", it's probably the stuff that's more oil resistant than normal RTV, still use caution.

[CaliColin]

Okay, the job is 95% done. I popped the drain plug and let 'er pee for an hour while I had dinner. Then I removed the 13 bolts on the pan. The bolts were so lightly torqued that they came off without much muscle on the ratchet. Coulda done it one handed. Or perhaps the ol' guns are stronger than I thought. Pryed off the pan with a screwdriver. There are some obvious ledges around the pan that enable you to get leverage without damaging the mating surfaces. The gasket material is rubber, so it's not too hard to pry it off one corner at a time. Like Loren said, took about 15 min. A little more oil spilled out. No big deal. Scraped off the residual gasket with a utility knife blade. This took a long time, and was tedious, especially because you are looking up the whole time. Inhaled some gasket flakes. Sprayed some Brakleen on a clean rag and wiped the mating surface clean. Wiped up inside her walls as well, to make sure there was no residual gasket material or dirt that got up in her case. After 45 min, the surface is clean enough to eat off of. Also used Brakleen to clean the bolts. There is a big black flange on the old pan that needs to be removed and installed onto the new pan. A monkey could do it. Now for the gasket. The instructions on the fat syringe says to squeeze out a uniform bead on one surface, then install the part within 5 minutes. No problem. Except that it takes about 3 minutes + a sore thumb muscle to squeeze it out evenly. Luckily, I'm a ninja. I made sure all my bolts were within reach while underneath the car, squirted the bead all the way around the pan, then swiftly slipped under the car and lined it up. Pressed it in with one hand and grabbed bolts with the other. Torqued them down to 7.5lbs in a cross pattern. Observed the gasket material squeezing out uniformly. It's drying today. Will fill 'er up tonight. Overall, not much harder than an oil change.

[Izzy]

Colin

You may want to invest on a steel pan cover (skid plate) now that you have the new one. Covers the oil pan under the car. I am amazed every time I liftt the car and look at the cover, the scrapes on it.....

[CaliColin]

Colin

You may want to invest on a steel pan cover (skid plate) now that you have the new one. Covers the oil pan under the car. I am amazed every time I liftt the car and look at the cover, the scrapes on it.....

I'm looking into the skid plate. Worried that it may hide some oil leaks or affect heat dissapation. Reading conflicting opinions, but nothing that will hold me back from getting it at this point.

[viper501]

Cali, I bought the OEM skid plate from Gert at Carnewal when I did the X74 install. Hasn't had any ill effects that I can tell and I've driven the snot out of the car since then ( I do 'bout 30k miles per year on the 911 ). I have noticed several scrapes on the plate though so I'm pretty happy that I listened to Gert and got the plate. With the Euro being so strong, or the dollar so weak, I think I'd check with some of the online Porsche dealers for pricing. I suspect that with the exchange, they'd be less. And it is an easy install. Three bolts (all 10mm) and its on. Still have access to the oil pan drain although I seem to take it off when I'm changing the oil just for inspection purposes.

[Izzy]

I do the same, always take it off for oil changes. Left it on once, and oil got on it and it was messy.

So speaking of driving the snot out of the car, going to CMP next weekend with the PCA? I will be there again, number 40 again.