Hey all,

Getting ready to swap oil pans tommarrow just wondering if anyone has any advice on the approach, and also what's the tightening sequence and torque spec's for these?

 

 

I searched and searched to no avail, or I woudn't post useless rubbish,

Chris W.

there isn't much to it... just unscrew, put in new gasket, and screw back on.

 

As for tightening sequence, the general rule is from the center outwards... so  the ones closest to the corners will be the last ones you tighten. 

thanks, I figured it would be, just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to run into some common headache that could be avoided along the way.

I dont even bother using the oil pan gasket since they always seem to start to leak after a while then get progressively worse, so i just use rtv by putting two coats on the two mating surfaces which holds up a lot better.

I would recommend using a quality PH2 size phillips screwdriver to remove the oil pan bolts. 

Conveniently,there are access holes through the cross member for the bolts at the rear of the pan.

I would recommend using a quality PH2 size phillips screwdriver to remove the oil pan bolts. Conveniently,there are access holes through the cross member for the bolts at the rear of the pan.

10mm all the way ... I put a deep 10 on my Craftsman electric impact gun, easiest removal ever .

+1 on the rtv, but make sure it's ultra grey. It's factory sealant for a lot of manufacturers and great stuff. Also make sure everything is clean and dry. Use brake clean on a shop towel to wipe down both surfaces before application. This is not a situation where if a little is good, more is better. You don't want it squirting out inside, breaking loose when it hardens and then blocking off the oil screen. Also, tightening from the inside out doesn't apply to gaskets such as oil pan, valve cover, etc.... You tighten them in a cris-cross pattern a little at a time (in steps) until tight. This keeps even pressure on the gasket and keeps it from kinking or slipping out. Whenever possible, I try to give the ultra grey 24 hours to cure before adding oil and running it. Guaranteed seal, but it can be applied and ran right after. It's common practice at repair shops.

Ive used the factory style oil pan gasket in resealing my EA81s in the past and never ran into a oil leak after.  Clean both the engine and the oil pan very well.   Apply RTV black or grey to both sides of the oil pan gasket and let it tack up a bit.  Assemble.  You will be golden for leaks.  The RTV helps to keep the gasket from drying out.  The same procedure can be used for the valve cover gaskets which are also cork.  

5 Nm of torque I think is non factory manual recommendation