Oil Pan Gasket Replacement

[alvocado]

After a week of trying to track down a small oil leak on my '02 Yukon Denali, I've pinpointed my oil pan gasket. Replacement looks pretty straight forward provided I move quite a few components out of the way and lower the transfer case (which I had to do last year to replace the oil cooler lines.) Anyone have experience replacing this? I may tackle it if it's a reasonable Saturday afternoon job with no complicated steps. Otherwise, I'll take it to the indy and have them deal with it.

[alvocado]

Where are the DIYers out there?

[Bish]

Haven't had personal experience but it should be simple once you get everything out of the way. I've pulled the tranny and t-case but never paid attention to what would have needed to be removed to get full access to the oil ban.

[[email protected]]

remove the front diff. assy and the pan will come right off. the gasket is held to the pan by two rivits for ease of installing pan.

[REV353]

I've replaced a few. The one's I have done with the engine in, I removed the motor mounts and made sure everything was out of the way of the fire wall and radiator. You need to make your best guess that with about 4" of added clearance you will have enough room to slide it out, and put it back in with out touching things,keep in mind your oil pump is hanging down too. Have you asked how much it would cost to have a dealership do it? and how long it will take them.

[alvocado]

Bad news. It looks like the issue is the gasket on the rear cover between the oil pan and tranny. It's leaking at the top of the gasket and flowing down to the pan, making it appear as if the pan gasket was leaking. I know this requires removal of the tranny. The tranny is bone dry through the inspection hole so I know the main seal is fine. My indy mechanic quoated $800 to replace the gasket and swap the main seal while the tranny is removed.

 

Bish, how reasonable was it to drop the tranny and t-case? I'll be working with the truck on floor stands so clearance won't be great. When I swapped the oil cooler lines, I only lowered the t-case about 3-4 inches but assume this would require full removal.

[95Sierra2500]

If you wanted to do it yourself, pulling a trans and transfercase isn't too bad. It can be done with the truck on jackstands, though I suggest 6-8 inch tall wood blocks as it actually gives you a bit more clearance. THIS ISN'T A JOB TO DO ALONE, however. It's best to have 3 people (2 underneath, one working the jack), though 2 people can do it.

[jblakeney]

Depends on skill level and tools........

 

I have a 2 post lift and trannie jack....... makes it a really easy job.... pull the transfer case then the trannie..... cherry picker and pull the motor out....... quick and easy...... edgewise...

 

It can be done with jackstands and engine lift and a couple buddys to help remove the TC and the trannie.... You will have to lift the engine up to get the pan out so you can change the gasket....

 

while you have the transmission out put a new pump seal in.... (or I would)

 

If you do it follow the torque sequence on the rear main... or SHE WILL leak afterwords tooo....

 

Jbo

[alvocado]

I took the truck to dealer after getting a reasonable albeit expensive price to do the repair over the phone. The gasket replacement is basically a rear main seal job plus removing the main seal retaining plate to install the new gasket. However, after keeping the truck for two days to confirm the leak, my quote went up to $1100. The dealer is insisting on replacing the oil pan gasket as a preventative measure saying they generally leak after doing a main seal job. I know the rear of the oil pan mates where the main seal retaining plate mounts to the engine but is this really necessary? Since the oil pan gasket replacement can be performed separately, it seems sensible to not change it and address a leak if it develops. Thoughts?

[Bish]

Sorry for the late reply. Pulling the tcase and trans just took time...not overly complicated. Hardest part was making sure all the bellhousing bolts were removed and even then I had to use a comealong to get the trans separated from the engine after an hour of beating/penetrating oil, etc.

 

Regarding the oil pan, if it were me, I would replace it myself after the dealer finished the rear seal as it sounds like they are ripping you on the pan gasket. It should be less than an hour by a shadetree mechanic.

[alvocado]

Their theory was the oil pan gasket is compromised because the oil pan, tranny bell housing and rear main seal bracket all meet at the same surface. I know there is some adjustment required when reinstalling the mail seal retaining plate but their reco seems like a stretch. They weren't comfortable changing just the crank seal so I'm picking it up tomorrow.