4x4 D21 Hardbody KA24E Oil Pan Removal

[Zion8561]

I tried searching but did not find what I was looking for. Any help would be appreciated.

I am trying to change the timing chain and tensioner on my 1997 D21 hardbody 4x4 with the KA24E motor, but I do not see how the oil pan can be removed since the front drive shaft is preventing the large rear sump from moving out to the front.

Do you just lift the motor enough to lower the pan so you can get the front cover off (without pulling the pan out)? Please let me know how you did this. I have most everything else out...

Thanks, Jon

[nismopu]

No, just remove the front pan bolts that go into the front cover and loosen a few on the sides that go into the block but don't loosen them too much. DON'T forget the front cover bolt hidden behind the oil pump. People remove the oil pump and then totally miss that bolt. Then when they go to pry it off break it and have to get a new cover. After all that do the front bolts and the four upper ones on the head. Once all the bolts are out you can pry it off gently with a screwdriver. let us know if you get any other snags. peace.

[Zion8561]

Ok, I have all the bolts off the front cover, and 4 of the front bolts off the oil pan. My FSM does not say anything about removing the distributor, but I do not want to mess up the gears when I pull the front cover off. Does anyone know if I need to remove this? It is at TDC, oil pump removed, etc and right now it appears the only thing holding the front cover on is the sealant.

I found that one of my timing chain guides is completely missing the plastic "guide" portion of it and the chain has been rubbing directly on the metal (which explains the rattling). No major damage so far, I assume all the plastic is sitting in the bottom of the oil pan and I intend to leave it there since it has not caused any problems yet...unless someone convinces me to lift the motor and pull the oil pan.

Thanks in advance for your helpJon

[Q451990]

How much chain rattle did you have? I get it at startup for a few seconds on a cold start and have since I bought the truck at 105K. It's worse at colder ambient temperatures, but still goes away in a few seconds. How many miles do you have on your truck?

On the early Q45s we always recommend pulling the pan if the old guides can't be fished out... they tend to break up from the oil churning in the pan and plug up the oil pickup strainer.

Heath

[Zion8561]

My truck has 156K on it. It makes a loud rattle on startup for a couple seconds until oil pressure comes up, and then it settles into a constant lighter rattle. Not sure how long it has been doing this, it was like that when I bought it at 147K. Not much wear on the metal portion of the guide and the outer part of the timing chain though (I am going to install new guides, tensioner, chain, oil pump, water pump, T-stat).Good point about the strainer, I didn't think about that last night. I know the filter will take out the plastic particles before it gets to the bearings, etc but if the strainer gets clogged then I am SOL...I don't think there is much of a chance of fishing the guide peices out since it is a rear sump.

[Rev_D21]

That is exactly what mine was doing before I replaced the chain and the guides, loud clacking upon start up along with constant metal clicking noises when running. Lucky mine is 2wd so I didn't have to mess with the front axle any.

I ended up replacing:

Timing ChainTension GuideSlack GuideTensionerWater PumpT-StatCrankshaft Chain sprocketCamshaft Chain SprocketFront Crank Oil SealOil Pump GasketOil and Filter (twice)Valve Cover GasketCoolant w/ Water WetterAlternator Adjustment Bolt and KeeperFan Belts

I used all OEM parts which ran me close to $375 give or take a few dollars.

[Zion8561]

Were the sprockets visibly worn or did you buy everything prior to taking it all apart? How many miles did your engine have on it when you replaced everything?

[Rev_D21]

I figured I would only want to do this once so I purchased everything prior to taking the engine completely apart. I knew what was wrong and knew there was going to be a minimum number of parts needed to begin with based on several write-ups I had read on this site. I just went with the "while I am in there..." philosophy. Engine had 96,000 miles on when I replaced the chain. The sprockets were not worn very much at all but anything for under $50 was worth doing while the engine was in pieces. I also cleaned, primed and painted lots of parts during the project too.

[Zion8561]

So I guess I will take the distributor out.

Some time this week I will try hook up the hoist to raise the engine to drop the oil pan and get as much of the plastic out of there as possible. I have new motor mounts to install anyway...

[NM50]

Take out the distributor.The oil slinger is in front of the drive gear and will be damaged by the dist. shaft.Also you will need to retime the pump shaft.

[Rev_D21]

Make sure you turn the engine to top dead center then mark the dist rotor and base with white paint. That will help keep things in line during reassembly. Lining up the pump shaft and the dist is no fun.

[Rev_D21]

And hopefully this is helpful. It was for me!

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=168602

[nismopu]

this has baffled me for sometime as to why this lining up portion is so hard? Doesnt everybody just look at the dizzy drive tab? If its in the general 11:25 position you will be fine. Also, if you took the oil pump out your dizzy staying in there wouldnt matter one bit because the dizzy drive most likely came with the oil pump itself. Anyway, keep us updated as you go along. peace.

[Rev_D21]

The only reason I ran into a hard time was because I only had two arms. If I had 4 I would have been all set.

[nismopu]

LOL! AWESOME!

[Zion8561]

Got a chance to lift the motor with a hoist and discovered that the drivers side motor mount is broken completely in half. Nice.

I lowered the oil pan and took out a handful of plastic guide pieces. the majority of the pieces were .5 - 1 inch but there was a bunch of tiny little pieces.

I do not see anything stuck into the oil pickup strainer, but I sure am glad I got all that out of there! Of course now I need to scrape all the old sealant off the mating surface and then fish all that out of the pan or it will most definately clog the strainer. By the way, there was no chance of the small pieces draining out with the oil because the oil drain is raised about .25" from the bottom of the oil pan.

If you have to lower the oil pan I recommend taking the oil dipstick out since it is really close to the edge (drivers side near the 3rd bolt from the front) and my scraper hit it while I was separating the pan from the block. The oil pickup is also close to the edge (passenger side).