So I finally tackled this project, and boy let me tell you it was a female dog!
Thought I would document it as I just finished, incase anyone else wants to take on this project.

Start with jacking the driver side up.

Spray Pb blaster on 3 exhaust bolts connecting to the exhaust manifold, the 5 bolts on the engine arm( 3 on the bumper, 2 on the other end), as well as the 2 bolts that connect the exhaust to the engine. Doing this now will help you out alot later.

Next drain the oil, and change the oil filter( if it's time for a filter change).

Remove Arm that goes underneath the oil pan ( 5 bolts total)

Remove 3 10mm screws that hold the transmission plate. When under the car, this will be on the right side of the oil pan. You can't remove 2 bolts without removing this first, so you cant miss it.

Next drop the exhaust from the manifold, let it hang.

Now you can unbolt the 10mm screws going around the whole oil pan. Dont loose these. Start on the end that is slanted down and work your way back. This way the oil will go in the direction the car is leaning.

Remove pan and clean and smooth off the surface. You want the pieces that touch the gasket to be as clean and dry as possible.

Next apply some kind of silicone generously around the oil pan. ( I used RTV mega Black) .

Apply gasket over RTV, making sure to line up all the holes.

Apply RTV ON TOP of the gasket, and let sit for a couple minutes.

Now install the oil pan, and put all the screws in by hand. Start from the middle and tighten working out. 10 ft lb's people, no more!

Reverse order and install the pieces you took off, And add fresh oil!


I will say the transmission bracket was the hardest part of the whole job. It would not go back in for the life of me, I had to modify it a bit. Also the 2 bolts that hold the exhaust in place are a pain in the *** to get in and out.

Good luck! Hope this Guide wasn't too crappy and I hope it will help someone!

 

You must mean the torque converter/flywheel cover, yeah that can be a pain to take off if you've never done it before. After doing it a few times you learn to be quicker.


The job can be a pain, especially cleaning off mating surfaces. I would use a rotary tool for that, cause sometimes there can be stuck sealant there. Use solvent for the oil too. Some don't recommend using sealant on the gasket but just where the 'humps' are. I personally used a tad bit on the gasket last time just to be extra careful because I had failed twice trying to replace the gasket... The key thing is you don't wanna overtighten the 10mm bolts or you will squish the gasket and cause an even worse leak than you had before...


I still have a bad oil leak though even after I replaced the oil pain gasket, the oil pressure sender, the cam seal, distrubutor seal, and the valve cover seal... I still need to ID where the leak is coming from. It is possible it is coming from the head gasket but there are no real signs of a head gasket leak. The oil is leaking onto the oil filter and down onto the downpipe... Its really odd. I still have to put oil in it every 500 miles... Oil leaks can be a pain sometimes. My car has always had oil leak problems I think maybe the block is defective or something cause even after I rebuilt the engine it still leaks.

 

Thanks for that addition mishako!

As for your oil leak, have you tried any UV dye ? It might help you pinpoint where it's coming from.

 

It's not necessary at all to put silicone around the gasket and block when using a ready made gasket but I guess it's not going to kill anything. It's just going to be harder to clean off if you ever need to pull the pan.