Mikclson
03-22-2017, 09:27 PM
I have a 88' Ram 50 2.0L with 188k I bought recently, the previous owner was a bit unfriendly, I'm afraid. In this post I will go over how I took off and cleaned my oil pan.
Don't forget your gasket and liquid gasket before starting!
18662
Hey all, cleaned out my oil pan this afternoon after three oil changes within a month that all came out black.. I expected a bunch of sludge in there but luckily it was relatively clean. :(
18649
Here is a picture of the instructions from the shop manual.
18654
I already had off the under cowling which covers up the oil filter because of how frequently I had been changing the oil. It's four bolts - 12 mil and I needed an extension for the rear two closest to the trans.
I got the truck for a great price that I couldn't turn down, so it definitely needed some work. The valve cover seems to have been leaking for the past 20k miles. There is cruddy oil all over my engine and down to the oil pan.
18651
(I did not have to undo my oil pressure switch)
Next I used a 1/4 inch ratchet with extension to reach the 10 mil bolts around the pan. There's a bunch and 2 are in a tight spot on top of the cross bar that the engine mounts to, I had to use a swivel joint for those. I loosened everything, and pulled out with size 3 philips screw driver.
18655
After taking out all the bolts the pan sticks on due to the old gasket sealant. The manual suggests using a special tool that looks like a pry bar kinda, however I have no idea where to get it and I'm not paying for it. I used my trusty rubber mallet and with a few delicate swings in the sweet spots, it came loose. You have to get it under the lip of the timing cover on the front but it slides out besides that.
18658
Checked out my crank and felt around in there. There was a small metal bit on the oil screen. Nothing felt too loose, I didn't have my feeler gauges on me so I couldn't verify bearings.
18660
18659
The pan wasn't too bad comparing to a bunch of bikes that I've gone through however there was metal in there. And, something very peculiar.....
18653
The two metal pieces look like valve holders...? I was going to replace the valve lashers tomorrow because I was getting a very dirty clicking from the exhaust valve, number 2 cyl from the front. (stethoscope - very handy.) It seems I will have more work ahead of me.
18661
After cleaning out the pan.. (I didn't have any shop solvents or brake cleaner so I just used shop rags and paper towels.) ... I scraped off the old gasket and filed it down on both the pan and under the crank.
1865618652
That's the best I could clean the pan with what I had.. I was expecting a large amount of sludge or stuff I would have to scoop out with a spoon. I have changed the oil so many times it must have cleared away most of it, best guess.
After cleaning everything. I put the liquid gasket on the spots specified in the manual. Pretty much where all the cases meet. I also put a little extra on there so that I could press the gasket up on the engine and it would stick to it with the holes lined up. I had learned this lesson awhile ago on one of my bikes.. you will end up very frustrated if you try to put the pan on with the gasket resting (or even grease sticked) onto it.
18657
Retighten - again, I used a 1/4 ratchet.. these are small bolts and they will strip the casing if over torqued. Even if you had to use a 3/8ths to get off, I recommend using the smaller ratchet or taking much care.
Hopefully this will hasten the process to golden oil. I might try using an engine cleaner after checking out the valves.
Good luck guys and let me know what ya think!
Mike
Don't forget your gasket and liquid gasket before starting!
18662
Hey all, cleaned out my oil pan this afternoon after three oil changes within a month that all came out black.. I expected a bunch of sludge in there but luckily it was relatively clean. :(
18649
Here is a picture of the instructions from the shop manual.
18654
I already had off the under cowling which covers up the oil filter because of how frequently I had been changing the oil. It's four bolts - 12 mil and I needed an extension for the rear two closest to the trans.
I got the truck for a great price that I couldn't turn down, so it definitely needed some work. The valve cover seems to have been leaking for the past 20k miles. There is cruddy oil all over my engine and down to the oil pan.
18651
(I did not have to undo my oil pressure switch)
Next I used a 1/4 inch ratchet with extension to reach the 10 mil bolts around the pan. There's a bunch and 2 are in a tight spot on top of the cross bar that the engine mounts to, I had to use a swivel joint for those. I loosened everything, and pulled out with size 3 philips screw driver.
18655
After taking out all the bolts the pan sticks on due to the old gasket sealant. The manual suggests using a special tool that looks like a pry bar kinda, however I have no idea where to get it and I'm not paying for it. I used my trusty rubber mallet and with a few delicate swings in the sweet spots, it came loose. You have to get it under the lip of the timing cover on the front but it slides out besides that.
18658
Checked out my crank and felt around in there. There was a small metal bit on the oil screen. Nothing felt too loose, I didn't have my feeler gauges on me so I couldn't verify bearings.
18660
18659
The pan wasn't too bad comparing to a bunch of bikes that I've gone through however there was metal in there. And, something very peculiar.....
18653
The two metal pieces look like valve holders...? I was going to replace the valve lashers tomorrow because I was getting a very dirty clicking from the exhaust valve, number 2 cyl from the front. (stethoscope - very handy.) It seems I will have more work ahead of me.
18661
After cleaning out the pan.. (I didn't have any shop solvents or brake cleaner so I just used shop rags and paper towels.) ... I scraped off the old gasket and filed it down on both the pan and under the crank.
1865618652
That's the best I could clean the pan with what I had.. I was expecting a large amount of sludge or stuff I would have to scoop out with a spoon. I have changed the oil so many times it must have cleared away most of it, best guess.
After cleaning everything. I put the liquid gasket on the spots specified in the manual. Pretty much where all the cases meet. I also put a little extra on there so that I could press the gasket up on the engine and it would stick to it with the holes lined up. I had learned this lesson awhile ago on one of my bikes.. you will end up very frustrated if you try to put the pan on with the gasket resting (or even grease sticked) onto it.
18657
Retighten - again, I used a 1/4 ratchet.. these are small bolts and they will strip the casing if over torqued. Even if you had to use a 3/8ths to get off, I recommend using the smaller ratchet or taking much care.
Hopefully this will hasten the process to golden oil. I might try using an engine cleaner after checking out the valves.
Good luck guys and let me know what ya think!
Mike