Oil pan gasket replacement

[Bigbertha78]

I've read a lot of things about doing this in the garage in an afternoon, just wanting to check and see if this is true. I have read that I can unbolt the four bolts on the front diff and lower it down a few inches to access the oil pan enough to clear it out. The two bolts on the passenger side are in plain site, but the two on drivers side are an upper and a lower nut. Has anyone on the forum done this before with great turnout? Thanks in advance.

 

[Rocket Man]

I did mine on my Denali. I was able to pull those 4 bolts on the front diff and I had to pry it down a bit after it dropped as far as it would on it's own. It was tight and I had to maneuver the pan just right but I got it. There's 2 pop rivets holding the old gasket on that I drilled out and decided to put new ones in so when I was maneuvering the pan back into place the gasket wouldn't move out of place. Don't forget RTV sealant at the 4 places where the front and rear seals intersect the pan gasket. You'll need to pull the cross member too, obviously. Also don't forget the oil cooler gasket or block off plate gasket if no oil cooler, and I'd replace the oil pump pickup tube O-ring since you're right there. It's not too bad, but a bit challenging.

 

[Chubbs]

@Rocket Man

Very well-explained

 

[Bigbertha78]

Thanks rocket man! Probably going to tackle this in the next couple weeks! Pretty bad leak seems to be be coming from the back two corners, no oil on flywheel, which is a plus. Sucks because I changed the oil this last weekend and spent an hour removing starter chasing this leak, but can never see it until I drive over 10 or so miles.

 

[Bigbertha78]

Are the two front axle to frame and two diff mount nut/bolt to frame torque 75 ft lbs? Haynes manual have a few different names but looks to be 75. Also, is there anything else in the area other than the oil pump pickup tube O-ring that I can change out? Would it be beneficial to take oil baffle off and clean too?

 

[Rocket Man]

Are the two front axle to frame and two diff mount nut/bolt to frame torque 75 ft lbs? Haynes manual have a few different names but looks to be 75. Also, is there anything else in the area other than the oil pump pickup tube O-ring that I can change out? Would it be beneficial to take oil baffle off and clean too?

I'm not sure on the torque for those, I just tightened the hell out of them. 75 sounds about right though. You will have to remove the pick-up tube with baffle in order to change the o-ring though so yes clean it out as well as the pan.

 

[Maxclass]

Are the two front axle to frame and two diff mount nut/bolt to frame torque 75 ft lbs? Haynes manual have a few different names but looks to be 75. Also, is there anything else in the area other than the oil pump pickup tube O-ring that I can change out? Would it be beneficial to take oil baffle off and clean too?

Can you provide an update on this process of removing the front differential. This forum is filled with comments about performing the procedure but no one has followed up with successfully accomplishing it. Haynes manual states to completely remove the front diff, including draining the gear oil. I am hoping that is not entirely needed.

 

[fiatdale]

You don’t need to drain fluid. You need to undo the 4 bolts holding it to the frame and the 6 on each CV shaft & 4 for the driveshaft. Put a jack under it and lower it. You need to drop it about 3-4”.

 

[Erickk120]

I did mine and it took me a lot longer than I thought or would like to admit, but this was my first one in a 4x4, I was able to remove the pan from the floor, I got away with just letting the front diff hang on its own and used a pry bar to get a little extra clearance, I believe I had a jack under it just in case, I didn't even remove any of the cv axles, maneuvering the oil pan is the hardest part, since there is little clearance and a lot of lines in the way should be a tight fit.

 

[Rocket Man]

I did mine and it took me a lot longer than I thought or would like to admit, but this was my first one in a 4x4, I was able to remove the pan from the floor, I got away with just letting the front diff hang on its own and used a pry bar to get a little extra clearance, I believe I had a jack under it just in case, I didn't even remove any of the cv axles, maneuvering the oil pan is the hardest part, since there is little clearance and a lot of lines in the way should be a tight fit.

Ditto for me on my Denali. I let it hang and then pried it down a bit for just enough clearance. I re-riveted the gasket to the pan where it originally had the rivets so it wouldn’t move around as I installed the pan.