S13 timing chain job:Oil pan removal

[Red coupe]

1992 240sx 5 speed:Im having trouble getting to the back few oil pan bolts any of you guys who have removed oil pans want to lend some advise? Im having trouble removing the bracing that goes from the bottom of the trans to the sides of the engine, the drivers side one is blocked pretty good by the power steering lines... do I have to remove these? Im also having trouble dropping the front cross member, I think just because of those ps lines aswell, or because of the mount bolts(I took the nut off from the top and the angle of the bolts may still be holding them, I already removed lower controll arm)

Not sure what exactly im looking for, I guess just tips or step by step what I gotta remove to get the pan outta there...

[S13inBatnRuge]

if you want i can forward you a online fsm if youre interested.

[Red coupe]

I got FSM I couldnt find much on getting at the oil pan...EDit: untill I looked again at the REMOVING OIL PAN section, so it looks like I gotta unhook the lines, and the steering linkage? whats the best way for me to make sure I get it all back together strait? and how easy would it be to put it back with it just slightly off?
Modified by Red coupe at 11:32 PM 3/23/2005

[2_Liter_Turbo]

When I did my timing chain job, I just loosened the front cross member, loosend the motor mounts, and jacked up the engine with a block of soft wod between the jack and engine. This will give you enough room to loosen the bolts, and then you can acually wiggle out the oil pan rather than just dropping the whole cross member. Saves alot of time Hope this helps. Just make sure your careful with the oil pump collector. I acually took it off to get the pan out.

[Red coupe]

yeah but those brakets that come from the back of the engine to the trans are killing me, their is hardly any room with the steering rack, plus even with the pb blaster and correct sized 6 point socket it wants to strip rather then come out Ive just about ran out of time I can have my car down as well, spring break is ending and I have school and/or work taking up most of my time everyday of the week....I do however have more time then money some Im going to get an estimate of how much the job would be with my parts.

[mikehonda]

u seem to be one of the few without problems with this oil pan , did u use a gasget ? how much trouble am i in for .i wl;l be doing it this afternoon. any ideas how much tourqe the oil pan bolts are

[240sx88]

ok this might not be the right place but i have a question and i think im introuble. i am replacing my oil pan and i just got it off tonight. the thing is when i dumped it i found little pieces of plastic. now im sure the are part of the timing chain but i have no idea what the are or if the are hard to replace. i am mechanically inclined but i don't exactly have alot of time/money/tools and i need the cas ASAP. i got to college n about 2 weeks. ne help would be aprreciated.

[Red coupe]

those are most likely parts of the guide guides....Search around abit, there is tons of info about the timing chains/guides around, but if there is plastic in your oilpan you probably are looking at having to replace the guides...honestly once you have the pan off its not too hard, the only thing you may need that you may not have is a puller to remove the crank pully.In either the 240 gen or 240 tech you can find a copy of the FSM, you can find more info in there...

[180fan]

Whoa old thread! Plastic in the pan is from the guides.

Doing the guides ain't that hard. Like Red coupe stated, you'll want a 6" pulley puller to pull the crank. Otherwise some RTV, some basic sockets and wrenches can do a timing chain job.

[240sx88]

im pretty sure they have been in there awhile cause i always heard chain rattle i just never knew why it was doin it until i found the guide in pieces. so my question is if i don't do the guide replacement, how much will effect the motor? and do i absolutly have to take the chain of or can i work around it? i have the chilton manual so i already got a how to on it.

[Red coupe]

it depends...worst case, your engine kills its self.

You would have to take the covers off ad check out how much slack is in the chain to know if it needs to be replaced....inspect the chain for cracks as well and remember it has reasonable mass, and is spinning VERY fast while the engine is going, so it does streach a little while the motor is running. There usualy is a small amount of slack in the chain though because the tensioner works off oil presure.

You could presumably just replace the guides, make sure the tensioner isn't sticking/give it a cleaning put everything back and be fine.

But the KA is an interferance engine, which means that there isn't enough room for a valve to be open and the piston to be at TDC at the same time, so if something happens to that chain and the timing between cam and crank gets off it the piston and valve could end up hitting, messing up both pretty bad.

[240sx88]

if u had to decide to do it would u? and if so, how would u go about it? like take the motor completly out?

[Red coupe]

well you all ready have the pan off right? so just take off the timing chain cover. Its not really anything more, maybe have to unhook the oil pick up (make sure to use a new gasket when putting that on (leaking oil pick up = bubbly oil and toasted bearings)

Like I said its gonna depend on wether or not the chain needs replacing...If it does I would, if it doesn't I wouldn't.Chains are supposed to last the life of the vehichle, but the KA is known to have early problems with it.

The chains themself are not extreamly expesive so If you feel comfertable setting the cam timing (not that hard, but dont mess up, make sure to turn the engine over a few time by hand to make sure nothing is hitting, and the chain isn't skipping.)

You never even said what KA you have, but I would think that the guides would be nessisary at least, and you might as well inspect the chain, and clean the tensioner...you can find info on cleaning the tensioner from a search...