I took a gander under the car this evening to "prepare" myself for an oil pan gasket replacement. It appears as if I will need to remove the exhaust to do it. I guess it will have to wait untill I get some exhaust gaskets.

Can anyone confirm this??

the oil pan is a pain. you'll have to unbolt the engine mounts and actually lift the motor a few inches to get at the rear bolts of the pan.

 

are you absolutely sure the oil pan is the cause of leaks? often times every other leak in the engine...valve covers, crank seals, cam seals, cam o-rings, head gaskets....will leak oil that coagulates on the engine crossmember and drips down all over and around the oil pan. on any leaky subaru, the oil pan is wet and dripping usually but it's not because the oil pan is leaking anything. i'd verify for sure it's leaking before starting this job.

 

and yes the exhaust will have to come, but often the exhaust manifold gaskets are reusable. more than likely to have some stripped exhaust manifold head stud holes though, that's very common and fun (nope sure isn't!!!). you can do a visual on the exhaust gaskets, if they leak then order new ones. or order new ones ahead of time and you're golden. i have lots of extra XT6 header gaskets because i've bought them but reused the old ones.

I took a gander under the car this evening to "prepare" myself for an oil pan gasket replacement. It appears as if I will need to remove the exhaust to do it. I guess it will have to wait untill I get some exhaust gaskets.

Can anyone confirm this??

 

yes you need to unbolt the motor mounts and lift it a bit.

remove the down pipe. I recomend new gaskets for turbo motors. I have had problems reusing them.

 

you can get the rear bolts with a 1/4" drive 10mm and a wobbly socket or use a #3 phillips thru the holes in the crossmember.

 

scraping the old crusty gasket off is the worst part in my opinion. you may want to invest in some spray gasket remover and a good scrapper.

 

you can use a stock type cork gasket or straight RTV(ultra grey or black) both ways work. I think the RTV method will last the longest.

I second getting some gasket remover spray

oh crack i forgot about removing the old gasket...this job sucks!

 

don't yank at the pan, it'll look like it comes off easy, but don't let that deceive you. there are baffles in the pan with cut outs in them that the oil sump runs through towards the bottom of the pan. the pan will have to be "slid" around in a way...can't think of a good way to describe it. just don't yank at it. if it won't come off (which it won't at first eventhough it looks like it should), keep sliding it around until all the stars align and it comes off.

oh crack i forgot about removing the old gasket...this job sucks!

 

don't yank at the pan, it'll look like it comes off easy, but don't let that deceive you. there are baffles in the pan with cut outs in them that the oil sump runs through towards the bottom of the pan. the pan will have to be "slid" around in a way...can't think of a good way to describe it. just don't yank at it. if it won't come off (which it won't at first eventhough it looks like it should), keep sliding it around until all the stars align and it comes off.

 

this is true. I helped a friend change a smashed pan after he decided it might be fun to launch off a jump. made removing the pan more dificult.

that was another reason resealing with RTV and no gasket was simpler.

It's no wonder they describe how to do it in the haynes manual with the engine on a stand , and upside down!

It's no wonder they describe how to do it in the haynes manual with the engine on a stand , and upside down!

 

yeah thats the easy way.

 

I am now in the habit of just pulling motors out of new subes I buy and fixing the leaks/problems that way.

Oh believe me when I say that I would love to pull this motor, and reseal it. But it's my girlfriends daily ride/school bus/snow mobile/shopping cart/etc.