Hey my Gf's father isbuying a 96 civic EX haw hard is it to change the pan gasket. I guess i could jump under my civic and look but that would take to much work and i want someones opinion on how it was for them.

 

Not sure what would be different between years but on both my 96 hatchback and my 94 hatchback it was a breeze...Jack that sucker up, put some jack stands under her (make sure you place em right)...Un bolt the support brackets (if they exist) and take off the pan...I might suggest draining the oil first..haha.

I would also recommend using a torque wrench and using the spec sheet in your manual or in the torque specs which can be found on this site I am sure.

Just make sure to check and retighten the bolts after a few hundred miles. They tend to come loose for some reason on these cars.

BUT...before you go and change the gasket, check your bolts first! They are most likely loose and allowing oil to seap out...Seriously just tightening up those loose bolts could save you alot of time and 11.00 for a gasket.

Just a thought.

 

dont forget to remove the exhaust below the oil pan, and put some liquid gasket on the round dip down parts, just as they start to dip down on all 4 parts front and back or else it will leak right there... should be just time consuming getting all the screws back on..

 

Does the exhaust need to be removed or not? or can you get around it?

 

Rice burner is correct about the exhaust, on my 94 the down pipe was fabricated with flanges on both ends when the turbo was installed, so it was really easy to pull off and put back on. I am not sure about down pipes on non-turbo cars. I dont have a cat, so it is just flange to flange, easy job to pull the down pipe off....bu like I said...it might be a bit more complicated on a non-turbo car with cat converters....

Just get up under her and see....you may be able to unbolt it just like a turbo down pipe.

At this time however you might want to consider replacing the donut gaskets....

 

This is a 96' never touched im sure the bolts like tipical exhaust are rusted and **** and they will never come off with out breaking them and creating a mess. Im just wondering it there is enough room to slid the pan out between the crank,rods,bearing caps and oil pump and the exhaust with out taking it all a part.

 

Well, it is worth a shot for sure. I have un bolted the manifold on a 2g eclipse to drop the exhaust low enough to remove the pan in order to weld a hole up... That might be better than trying to remove the down pipe.

Its definetly worth a try!

But I agree that most exhaust bolts (with the exception of the manifold) are a pain the @$$ to get loose without busting. At least if a manifold bolt gets messed up you have easy access to repair it.

 

Ya i was thinking that may be the way to go but the heat shealds can be a pain to but your right with the manifold being easier to unbolt and in some cases easy to replace if one does have a problem. But i think i will give that a shot unless someone has any other ideas.