Best way to remove/tap the oil pan?
 

I've been asking around and I'm still pretty fuzzy on the procedure.

I've heard several different ways, from dropping the subframe, raising the motor, to just leaving the son of a bitch in there and tapping it while it's still bolted to the car.

Is there an 'easy and safe' way to do this? I have searched around, but I guess I'm not searching for the right stuff.

"safe" is to pull the motor.

You really can't take of the oil pan while the motor is in the car, and really don't want to. It involves removing the subframe and prying against some kind of miracle grip adhesive Mazda put on the pan gasket.

"easy" is to simply drill in place. I drilled mine in car...it wasn't too bad...but I had an extra set of hands to help push and align drill and tap.

I'm about to put in another motor, and am still not gonna crack the oilpan. I'll just drill it while on the stand, flush with mineral spirits, and then put in car.

I just tapped mine on car. didn't lift the motor or anything. Just had to loosen the a/c, mark the spot, drill and tap. I followed the advice from Begi to leave the oil in the car then drain after taping. I also greased up the drill bit and tap really well so that it would catch all the shavings. Haven't had any problems and i believe most people on here have done the same thing.

http://www.flyinmiata.com/support/in...all_turbos.pdf


Section 4

just tap that bitch and be done with it.

I've done it 3 times. 2 on car, 1 on engine stand. Never removed the pan. In car is more difficult, but not bad. A few things that made it easier for me:
1. I used my 12" long 3/8 bit I bought when installing my rollbar for my "pilot" hole. Made it easier to keep the drill "more" perpendicular to the pan when drilling by moving the drill body more in the fender well.
2. Rememeber you don't have to drill the final hole perpendicular to the pan when drilling. You just have to TAP the hole perpendicular. So, you can get away with having the drill at an angle to the pan when drilling making it much easier to do on the car. When I finished drilling, my hole was very oblong. I filed it abit to get a decent starting hole for my tap, and then carefully tapped the hole keeping the tap lined up like I wanted.

Sweet. This is exactly the advice I needed, I was really afraid doing this was gonna spin the shit out of my bearings and the last thing I need is a blown motor haha.

Thanks a lot dudes!

If you heard any other way than simply drilling and tapping it, then you should cease to listen to the advice givers.

I just did this yesterday, it was way easier than most people think. Just keep on greasing your bit to collect shavings and reclean it often. I honestly dont think hardly any shavings at all went into the pan.

Is that because the basic design of the twist drill bit is essentially designed for chip removal by use of the spiraling flutes?


:idea:

I would imagine :bowrofl:

If you have an air compressor, connect a blower nozzle to the breather hose and set the regulator to 5-10psi. That will blow out any shavings from the inside out.

Or use the "air out" side of a shop vac

As long as it doesn't put out more than 10psi or you risk blowing out the seals. Or, I suppose you could drill a small pilot hole first to relieve pressure.

Don't forget that pressure will be relieved through the PCV valve into the intake tract as well. I'd say the shop vac in reverse is a great method.

I also recommend sealing up the fitting after screwing it in. Mine leaked and I am going to jbweld the next one.

put sealant on the threads when screwing it in, not after. Well, and/or at least.

Ah, yes! Mine was plugged.

I used some bent q-tips to get out a lot of the shaving before I flushed with mineral spirits, it worked great. There were some fairly large shavings in there from the tapping.

Haha sweet advice from everyone.

Think I can get away with just using some RTV on the threads, or should I use proper JBWeld?

I also have an unopened tube of quick metal loctite from a 'something-is-really-wrong' failed crank repair lol.