oil pan, 01 lumina

[tractorman]

Anybody ever remove the oil pan from a 3100 in a lumina? Is this possible with the engine in place? I got a leak.

Also, along each side of the oil pan, I see sevaral bolts going into the pan horizontally, though what looks like a rubber gromet. What the hell is this? I've never seen the like of it.

[bszopi]

Those would be the cross-mounted bolts... the 60V6 version of the 4-bolt main basically. And that would be the issue with getting the pan off in the car. There is basically no room to get in between the engine and tranny in order to get to the bolts on the back side. I've heard of a couple people doing it, but I think they had special tools in order to get it done.

[Carlspike]

i've got a 96 lumina. i'm not sure if it's the same but i've heard you have to drop the sub frame to get the pan to drop down, at least on mine that is. my pan is leaking too, but not bad enough for me to drop the subframe yet.

[v6h.o.]

Those would be the cross-mounted bolts... the 60V6 version of the 4-bolt main basically. And that would be the issue with getting the pan off in the car. There is basically no room to get in between the engine and tranny in order to get to the bolts on the back side. I've heard of a couple people doing it, but I think they had special tools in order to get it done.

Your lack of faith in the Force dissapoints me young Jedi Remove the pan you can in the car. :P

I pull the pans off all the time with the engine IN the car with no issues. You do need a shallow headed ratchet and socket and make sure you get on and hold it in there good. They are a shallow head on the bolt which if you slip and round the edges your fucked.

Also a belt tensioner tool works great too.

Oh, Subframe MUST be removed from teh car first too eh.

[tractorman]

Thanks for the info, h.o. I'm a tractor mechanic, not an auto mechanic... so I have the tools and shop to do this in, but I'm not too familiar with the setup. What's involved in pulling the subframe? Do I just let the struts hang, disconnect the ball-joints, and weld up some sort of cross-bar to support the engine?

[clean8485]

Something like that. You'll have to unbolt the steering rack from the subframe and try to support the rack as best you can. There is probably a power steering return/cooler pipe assembly that is bolted to the subframe. then unbolt the engine & trans mounts, ball joints etc, and remove the subframe. Make sure the engine and transaxle assembly is properly supported from above before you remove the subframe. Good luck.

[tractorman]

Thanks for the advice. I have access to assorted cranes and engine hoists, so supporting the engine won't really be a problem, but I'd like to avoid using a cherry-picker while the car is jacked up high... mainly for stability reasons and so I'll have room to work under the car.

So I'm wondering how ya'll do it at a dealership. I'm thinking I've seen some support bar setups that ran maybe between the strut towers that you can support the engine with while removing the subframe. Ever see anything like that? There's a welder and lots of iron at the shop- shouldn't be a big deal to weld up something like that.

[clean8485]

Most dealerships and repair shops have what is called an engine support fixture. It usually consists of a crossbar that runs between the tops of the front strut mounts with an attachment that goes on the engine support hook near the alternator, and another support bar that runs from the first cross bar to the rad support with another attachment to the engine support hook that's just ahead of the throttle body. Once the engine and transaxle are properly supported, then you should be able to remove the subframe.

[gboogie99]

so im guessing this isnt something i could do in the driveway, huh? How much would a shop charge for that?

[Syn]

so im guessing this isnt something i could do in the driveway, huh? How much would a shop charge for that?

i dropped my subframe in my saturn to pull the trans in my driveway,removed 3 engines lol all by myself as well! so i am sure you can do it lol, especially since its just a oil pan