Steel Oil Pan Replacement?

[jedigras]

Hi guys, I was checking under the car to see which bushings / links needed replacement on the wife's 02 Pathfinder SE since she was complaining about "thumping" noises...

Well, while I was down there I saw that the steel oil pan was rusted and covered in oil. I popped the hood, and checked the oil and it was basically DRY . So now I have to figure out how to replace the oil pan before fixing the rest of the suspension.

Is this easy to do? Do I even need to jack the truck up? I can wiggle under there no problem w/o stands. I figure I just need to order another lower steel oil pan and some RTV sealant and using my wrench to replace the bolts (save the old ones, and old drain plug) and just install the new one.

Does anyone see anything that I'm missing?? I'm a pretty big noob when it comes to DIY since I don't have my own garage, but I can follow directions and this job "seems" simple to me on the surface.

[jedigras]

This part...
http://www.dealerdirectparts.com/Produc ... 366-PATH-4
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-2003-2004- ... 157wt_1399

This sealant...or similar
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-82194-Ul ... B000HBGI8K

[patqx4]

Simple job that you should be able to handle. My only criticism is the use of RTV. Instead you should buy the proper gasket from nissan. It will make the job quicker and easier, but more impotantly it will prevent a nightmarish job should you or some other poor soul ever have to remove it again in the future.

[jedigras]

But the manual:

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/QX4/2002/EM.pdf (EM-15)

Says specifically to use RTV
"Apply liquid gasket (Genuine RTV Silicone Sealant or equivalent. Refer to GI section)"

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/QX4/2002/GI.pdf (GI-52)

Silicone RTV Gasket Maker
999MP-AM003P (Ultra Grey)
99998-50506 (Ultra Grey)
Permatex Ultra Grey 82194;
Three Bond 1207 and 1216;
Nissan RTV Part No. 999MP-A7007

[patqx4]

Oops, I didn't check the manual I just assumed there would be a gasket. Sometimes people will use rtv for jobs like this just to save a few dollars which is what I thought you were doing. But in this case you are right, my bad.

[jedigras]

Cool, thanks for the reply! I always feel better having someone verify what I'm doing just in case I'm doing something stupid or missing a big step.

[jedigras]

So, I tried to do this today and I ran into a little problem. Not only was the oil pan rusted, but so were all the bolts holding it in. I assume they were 10mm bolts because some of them came out with my 10mm wrench, but three of them were so rusted that I couldn't do anything with them. After a quick Google search, I found some Irwin bolt extractors to remove rusted/stripped bolts, and luckily they worked like a charm.

So now, before I pry off the old pan and put on the new one, I'll have to buy more screws. Does anyone know which section in the manual has the specs for these screws? I went to home depot but I couldn't find them. These screws have the bottom 1CM of it without thread which I assume is important, the top looks like a standard flange bolt with hex cap. I need to get 7 of them by tomorrow, if anyone has any idea, I would appreciate it. They look about 1" long, but I'm just eyeballing them.



Here's one of the good ones.

[Towncivilian]

You'll want 7 of 081A6-6121A. Tell the guy at the parts desk to look up section 110 in FAST after providing your VIN and it'll be visible there. Hopefully the dealer will have them in stock.

[jedigras]

Thanks! I couldn't find that info anywhere.