[abodine]

what's the best way to remove an oil pan on a '92 2.3L...i've heard of a couple different ways of doing it but any experience would help...is it worth the time doing it at home without an engine or car lift on ramps?

[edwatson1]

Hello abodine! I found this on the stang.net site:

To remove the oil pan "in-chassis", follow these steps:

1. Raise the car and place it on jack stands.

2. Drain the oil (seems obvious, but I've seen people forget and they're soooo embarrassed when they get soaked).

3. Remove the motor-mount nuts and raise the motor as high as you can - support it under the crank pulley with a stand and a block of wood (might wanna take the trigger wire off the solenoid so you don't accidentally bump the starter and drop the motor).

4. Disconnect the strg. shaft from the rack and pinion at the "rag" joint and tap it upward and out of the way (it's telescopic to prevent you from being impaled).

5. Take all 8 bolts out that attach the front crossmember to the "frame" (it won't fall - trust me). The bolts have a torx head, but you can use a standard 6-point socket.

6. Remove the four bolts holding the anti-sway bar brkts to the frame and let the bar hang.

7. Drive a wooden wedge between the rear of the crossmember and one side of the frame (this will not only lower it, as it compresses the susp springs which is what's holding it up, but it will usually slide forward as well.

8. Remove the starter.

9. Drop the pan down low enough to disconnect the oil pump from the block, allowing it to drop in the pan (you'll need an 8mm 12-pt socket for the pump body and a 14mm for the pickup support.

10. Slide the pan out the back (assuming it didn't already fall on yer head, lol).

FROM RAY OVER IN TURBOFORD.ORG

[edwatson1]

Here is another narrative I found on this site, sounds scary enough that I will probably have someone else do mine if it comes to that.

Well, I've done this one before. It is a PITA. I did it via the "lift the engine" method. Had the car on 4 ramps, yanked the motor mount bolts, attached the chain fall to the motor's pickup brackets (one at front should be next to or across from the alternator). Most of the oil pan bolts are fairly easy to get to, at least. The kick in the @$$ is I had to remove my T5. The bellhousing on my '91 is bolted to the cast aluminum oil pan at the very bottom. Because of this I also had to remove my exhaust to get out the tranny. If you have the aluminum oil pan, set aside a weekend and prepare to curse.

Having it not leak IS worth it, however. Or, in my case, getting oil pressure back, is well worth it. Someone used too much black silicone and it clogged my oil pickup. This reminds me, if you have the aluminum pan, the gasket will be about $50 from Ford. Find a service manual and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on getting this installed correctly.
It's a rubber/cork composite gasket that fits in a groove in the pan.

This is not a small job, but it's not really a hard job. If you have the alum oil pan/manual tranny combo, and don't have a garage... I would definitely recommend that you not do it alone, or have it done by someone else. I had my dad helping me. The T5 IS NOT light. Getting the shifter through the console is difficult, especially with a floorjack.

Anyway, I can give you more details if you need.

Either way, good luck with it.

[abodine]

thanks for your help i started with jacking up the engine and realized that it's too damn cold and too much of a PITA so I decided to send it to the shop for $115...i figured it is worth it and saves me smashing my fingers and all...thanks for the info though...