Oil Pan Tap
 

I'm getting ready to tap my pan and was wondering how deep I can drill until I have to worry about the pickup. I was planning on using a stepper bit to make the hole but I would have to drill over an inch in to get to the size I need. Don't want to kill my oil pickup. :bang:

I would personally caution against a stepper bit.

A: going into to far and yes, hitting the oil pickup.

B: stepping too far for your tap to properly be sized and fit your fitting.

C: Stepper bits make many shavings. and can easliy transport shavings deeper into a pan.

Get the proper bit for the tap size and drill once.

Just my thoughts

Goodluck

+1

Wrap about 10-15 turns of electrical tape around the drill about 1/2" up from the tip to form a depth stop. This cushion will prevent the drill from being sucked in deeper than the tape. Don't push too hard when you are almost through and you won't have any problems. The pan is only about 1/8" thick so it won't take much effort to do it.

+1 to the man who is 8 post shy of loosing round two. :giggle: I'd do like 40 turns of tape myself just to be damn sure. I did this recently and 40 worked good for me on a smaller bit, but in my case I wanted to be DAMN sure I didn't drill to far, and tape is inexpensive.... Personally I pulled the engine and then pulled the pan cause I'm a pussy and didn't want metal chips blocking my oil pickup tube. But most don't pull the pan and have no reported problems.

You need less the 1cm of bit to get through the pan.

Well... yeah...there's that but, ummm...I forgot what I was going to say. I might be running tonight, though. That is if my damn MAP showed up in the mail.

EDIT:

OK, I just became a Democrat. I agree in spreading the wealth so I'm going to give away some of my post count to the unfortunate and those too lazy to work for their own. There, I'm back to 950 posts. Got plenty of time to get it done.

Deontology>Utilitarianism...

Try to avoid the stepper bit, I don't think it is required. The pan is quite soft, is even a pilot hole required?

I didn't. I minimizes chips if you don't give it a head start with a pilot hole.

OK after a trip to the hardware store today I got everything and tapped my pan. Still hit the oil pickup :crx: no damage though... atleast I don't think there was.

Now on to better things. I hope to have this thing running in the next week as long as I hit no more road blocks

Where did you drill the hole? I can't find any pictures of it. Can you tell me the exact measurements? Thanks.

I found this to be very helpful. I kinda wanted to know what was where in my oil pan before drilling.

All the way forward and mid way up is where I should have done it. It's far away from the oil pickup and nothing to really worry about hitting.

Oil Pan Drilling

This is where I ended up doing it. I drilled a little lower and nicked the top of the baffle and had an oh shit moment. :eek5:

http://s100085498.onlinehome.us/.upl...s/36453237.jpg

Thanks. So the original fitting was too low? Do you have to lift the engine to remove the oil pan?

Wow. Okay, its definitely too risky IMO to NOT pull the pan for this. I'd rather take the extra hour or two tops and be certain it was done right.

I dont think pulling the pan is an hour job with the engine in the car. Its pretty tight to the subframe and I dont know how far you could lift the engine with the mounts undone before it hit the trans tunnel/firewall. I would MUCH rather risk it and do it the standard way than try to pull the pan, and have to deal with sealing it back up fighting the subframe the whole time. I had a fitting welded on, so I had to do no drilling :fawk:

I dont think it would take that long either, but that doesnt mean if actually wont ;)

Gotta factor in what I call "stupid time," which is room for mistakes, things you didnt think would get in the way, and other unaccounted for lapses in getting things done.

Anyways I still think its pretty risky to do with the pan left in the car. Yeah theres more potential to mess something up when reinstalling etc., but I still say metal shavings you dont account fo are too costly to leave in the pan.

I don't have a cherry picker, so it means i might have to do it with the oil pan on the car than. Doesn't the oil filter filter out the metal shavings?

Please oh please don't rely on the oil filter to filter out the shavings... You need to be as careful as possible doing this. Make sure you drain the oil AFTER you have done the work.

I had mine welded to the pan, but I was doing a motor swap at the time, so not really fair. However, on a 2005 mustang GT, when installing a Vortech supercharger kit on it, they had a novel way to tap the pan. The instructions suggested just using a center punch to make the hole, which causes the metal to curve inwards. Then you use a tap with the appropriate threads, and pack the center of it with grease to catch the shavings. Once you have your threads, then you put the threaded drain piece in, and drain the motor oil.

Orian, I think NA6C-guy is saying it'll take way long than an hour to pull the pan, which requires pulling the engine or dropping the entire front subframe. You have to unbolt the tranny and move it back, cause I think there's some pins. And isn't the main seal bolted half to the block, half to the pan? And then there's the fact that if you haven't taken it off from the factory yet, it'll be glued on there with superglue and you'll need a lot of force and leverage to get it off.

I drilled and tapped the pan with it off as well, but it was only because it was already out of the car for a rebuild, do yourself a favor and be very careful, grease your bit, and do it with the engine in the car