I may have an oil leak from the oil pan on my 97 Civic DX (D16Y7/5-speed MT). Does anyone know what parts must be removed in order to access and remove the oil pan? Any other tips on replacing the oil pan gasket would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron

 

Just the exhaust manifold and the brackets between the engine/transmission.

 

Thanks mxs for the helpful information.

Is the bracket also called an engine stiffener (see below)?



Also, do you think that it would be sufficient to remove only Exhaust Pipe A rather than the exhaust manifold (see below)?
When attempting to remove exhaust components, am I likely to break off rusty bolts? If so, how could I avoid?
Should I replace any exhaust gaskets?

 

just take out downpipe out and you can access the oil pan. its alot of bolts to take out the oil pan. probly 10-15 i believe but i haven't actually counted. I am gonna have to change mine soon too

 

Great. That's what I thought. Thanks for the confirmation. I will also replace gaskets at both ends of Exhaust Pipe A.

I assume that removal of the bracket/stiffener connecting the engine and transmission is likewise necessary.

Any tips on removing the exhaust pipe nuts and avoiding breaking or damaging the corresponding studs?

 

Lots of PB Spray or WD-40!!!

 

Soaking in penetrating oil made removing the exhaust nuts pretty easy. So, now Exhaust Pipe A is off, as are all of the many oil pan nuts and bolts.

My current problem is that the oil pan won't budge even though nothing but the original gasket and some old sealant are holding it on. I've tried without any luck to break the oil pan loose by pounding with a hammer. Must the oil pan be pried off? If so, how do I do this without damaging the oil pan or the crankcase surface to which it is attached? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

You will have to pry, carefully. Use a wide tool to spread the force out and pry at one corner being very careful not to damage the block. If you bend the pan a little it can be re-flattened with a hammer and punch.

Of course first take the plug out and drain the oil obviously. Don't try to reuse the oil, use new. You don't want to take any chance of getting dirt in your engine.

 

I tried doing this on my '86 CRX. I was able to do it just fine on my '87 Civic DX, but I had problems with the CRX that stopped me in my tracks. For the CRX, I had to remove a flywheel cover plate to get to 2 bolts on the oil pan. After unbolting the flywheel cover, I found that it wrapped over the driver's side axle, so I had to pull that out (removing the driver's side steering knuckle and prying out the axle). Once I got that plate off, I was able to unbolt the oil pan and loosen it. I found that I couldn't get my oil pan off because one edge was stuck between the...crankshaft girdle (?) and the flywheel.

The bottom end of the engines in my 2 cars is the same, but the CRX has a 5 speed transmission and the Civic has an automatic tranny. I'm not sure if you'll run into this problem with your car, but I couldn't angle my oil pan in any way that would get that edge out from between the tranny and that crankshaft support piece. I tried hammering at the corners of the pan (suggested by my Haynes and Chilton's) but that didn't work. I had to pry sort of--I slipped a screwdriver between the oil pan and the block, but instead of pressing the screwdriver against the block to push down on the oil pan, I tried to apply force so that I was only pushing down on the pan without applying force against the block, if that makes sense.

Edit: I also sprayed oil between the oil gasket, the block and the oil pan. It didn't make a huge difference, but it may have helped.

 

I was able to access and remove all oil pan nuts and bolts, and I don't see anything blocking removal of the pan once the gasket is broken loose.

I'll try to carefully pry the oil pan loose. This is a bit nerve wracking as I don't want to cause any damage.

I did drain the oil and will add fresh oil when done with the job.

Edit: Project temporarily terminated until I can find more appropriate pry tools.