needmorepower

I know some of you have done it, but I can't find those threads now.

I'm thinking about doing this to my Lightning when I get to see her again this Christmas, since it's cracked and I don't have an engine hoist.

Obviously, I have to remove the upper intake so I can jack the engine up, but do I have to unbolt the transmission, too? Take the driveshaft off?

Does anyone have any tips on this?

93ssdestroyer

First off doing it in chassis is a real PITA but I have done it many times. Pull the upper and also remove the radiator shroud. After you have removed the motor mount nuts jack the motor up and remove the pan bolts, once the pan falls you will have to fish a wrench in to remove the oil pump bolts and sump retaining nut. When putting it back together lay the gasket and oil pump back in the pan. Once the pan has been slid back over the crossmember I use twist ties to hold the gasket in place around the pan lip. This part really sux but then reinstall the pump and sump. I also use the blue plastic studs they usually include with pan kits to hold the pan in place while putting bolts back in. Another tip is to use black RTV under the end seals and liberal amounts on the top and in the corners. I usually will also apply some to the joint between the block and timing cover.

DarkHorseCoatings

well said

blownnjucied94

where are you jacking from?

needmorepower

Thanks 93ssdestroyer!

I think I will use aviation form-a-gasket (tacky glue-like stuff that helps cork gaskets seal) to stick the gaskets to the pan so I don't have to use the twist ties.

I would also like to know where you are jacking from. Do you loosen the transmission mount at all? Exhaust?

lobo1117

Use the one piece Ford rubber gasket and use silicone on the
front notch where the pan meets the block around the crank snout..

93ssdestroyer

Do yourself a favor and use a neoprene 1 piece gasket like Lobo mentioned. I always lift the motor up by placing a wood block under the balancer and lifting it from that point and no I never have had to loosen the trans mount or exhaust.

needmorepower

Awesome. Thanks guys!

flaresidethundr

Nuff said exactly how I do it as well...except I never remove the upper intake.

__________________
JR

needmorepower

Really? How high do you have to jack the engine, exactly?

I trust your guys' experience, but it seems like if you're only jacking on the nose of the engine and not loosening the tranny mount, then the intake would hit the firewall if you lift the engine more than about 2 inches, but that's great to hear. I don't mind if I have to remove the upper on my truck. I'm practically an expert at it already anyway, since I've done it so many times.

flaresidethundr

If I had to do it over again I would remove the upper...nuff said...leaving it on made it that much more difficult.

__________________
JR

Red 93 L1 #3383

The oil pan gasket you want has a steel core running the entire length of the oil pan ( I believe it was standard on '96 F-150 5.8L ). I have bought them at Napa & Carquest. Jack on the crank snout, the higher the better. Use blocks of wood as spacers between frame & motor mounts so you can get the jack out of the way. You'll need to drop the exhaust since you are replacing the oil pan. If it was me I'd pull the motor, much easier & faster.

fordfx497

i agree, but if you got long tube headers forget about it!!!!!!!!! im doin that hooch in frame ha ha lol

HIVOLTJ

Do you have the regular truck intake or the Lightning GT-40? Lightning upper intake is much closer to the firewall and taller. I didn't take mine off when I did the pan gasket and the intake hit the firewall making it real hard to get the pan out and putting a nice gouge in the paint!

__________________

needmorepower

**UPDATE**

Okay, I did it. Took about 6 hours with my younger brother helping, both of us never having worked on the bottom end of any engine, and the temps in the garage around 8 degrees celsius, and a 25 minute break to warm up, plus I made a few mistakes. I think if I did it again, I would have it done in 4 hours, tops, with the same mechanically-inexperienced helper.

What I learned:

1) Don't forget to unbolt the fan shroud.

2) The engine should be jacked as high as it will possibly go, which means the lower intake will be nearly touching the firewall. I didn't go that high at first, because I didn't want to disconnect the -8AN hoses going to the backs of my fuel rails, and wasted some time because of it.

3) The oil pump push rod comes out of the pump simply by pulling on it. I didn't know this, and wasted a good 45 minutes trying to get the shaft to clear the bottom of the crank so I could slide the pan out with the pump. By the time I figured it out, I had already jacked the engine up higher and the pan slid out with ease.

4) Having the front on axle stands, holding the front wheels about 3 inches off the floor was probably the perfect height for working under the truck.

5) With the engine jacked up so high, it isn't necessary to put the new gasket into the new pan before you slide them into place. The gasket can easily be slid in after the pump is bolted back in and doesn't keep trying to slide out the back of the pan while you're working on the pump.

6) Wrenches with a ratcheting boxed end are definitely helpful for the bolt holding the pick-up tube, but don't work on the 2 holding the pump itself because of the clearance issues between the bolt heads and the pump. I'm guessing a thin-walled socket with a wobbly (u-joint) would have been ideal, but this is where my helper came in REALLY handy, as he was lying under the front part of the engine and could reach the bolts while I held the pump in place, so I didn't have to try to do both at the same time, which would have been a nightmare.

7) In hindsight, there's no way I would pull the engine to do this job, what with all the additional crap that would have to be disconnected.*

Thanks to everyone for the help, and I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of the work for the next dude that needs help with it, but I don't have a crappy camera that I'm willing to get dirty.

I'll post some videos of me getting the truck running in a new thread on another day.

Happy new year!

*It should be noted that my truck has no smog equipment; the section of exhaust where the cats used to be is currently flex pipe, which allowed me to simply bend it and push the y-pipe out of the way after unbolting from the headers; and I've had my upper intake off so many times, I could do it with my eyes closed, all of which reduced the amount of work/time required for this job.