MadJoe

Hi,

I have a 2003 DX Sedan with 241,000 miles on it and while changing the oil today I noticed the oil pan is rusting through in 2 places (not leaking yet, but I can push the spots to make them buckle with little pressure, so only a matter of time). This led to me taking a closer look at the hardware as I came up with a plan to replace it and noticed that all of the heads are swollen with scale, so I'm sure they'll need replacing as well.

I was wondering if anyone had a link for the hardware necessary to replace the oil pan?

Also, if you have a link for the spring bolts holding the exhaust on, I'm sure I'm going to bust those as well seeing as they're just as badly rusted.

Thank you!
Joe

ezone

Bolts M6 x 1.0 x 18mm, common hardware bin length would probably be 20mm (also, get flat washers for the bolts)

Bolts for spring loaded joint can be had at any dealership parts department, and I expect most parts stores can get an equivalent kit with bolts and springs
DangerZone shows some for $10 or less

CLICK LINK:
https://www.autozone.com/nuts-bolts-...ing/981130_0_0

MadJoe

I was able to find the bolts here, but the spring bolts you linked are for a Toyota so I went with these instead. Even so, your reply was extremely helpful in getting me there, so thank you.
Other parts I've purchased are listed below:

Oil Pan
Overpriced Magnetic Pan Plug
Oil Pan Gasket
Oil Pan Hardware (equivalent)
Exhaust Manifold Spring Bolt Kit
Exhaust Gasket

Overall cost: $86 so far in parts. Is there anything else you think I will need, like silicone for the gasket?

Thanks again!
Joe

Slumpertcivic

ezone

I'm under a 98 LX right now, the bolts look more like what I linked in my post.


Also I used the civic when I searched the zone site and they were one of several choices that came up. Toyota might use the same parts too for all I know.

MadJoe

Slumpercivic: Thank you! I had almost forgotten the basics.

ezone: I'm not sure why AutoZone flagged your link as not fitting my car, but it made me hesitant to buy them especially because they offered a link to an exact fit item (which, of course, was more expensive and wasn't available for local pickup but gave me the part number to find it on Advance's website, which was cheaper). I am grateful for the help, though. It got me to a set which was cheaper and I'm confident will fit.

I also picked up a flange repair clamp in the (very likely) event the converter's flange doesn't survive disassembly. The weird part is that everything underneath this car is either really badly corroded, or completely rust free. There's seemingly no in between.

Again, thank you for all the help and advice!
Joe

MadJoe

Well, the job is finished. It was a little easier than I anticipated, the spring bolts came out intact and without damaging the manifold flange, but having a new set was a good idea because they weren't going to last much longer, if even survive the reinstall, and everything else was pretty straight forward. I ended up needing nuts, but was able to save the studs. Turns out there's 10 stud/nut fasteners on my pan, and 8 screws. I replaced 4 screws and 4 nuts, but was able to reuse the rest of the hardware.

On a side note, once everything was back together and had sat for 24 hours to allow the RTV to fully cure, I checked to make sure everything was back together, and tight one last time, took the car off the jack stands, put oil in up to halfway between the 2 dots on the dipstick, and started it up. I let it idle for a few minutes to make sure no obvious leaks were going to present themselves, and everything was good to go. But then white burning oil smelling smoke started coming from the hood in a small, but steady plume. I opened the hood and the O2 sensor on the exhaust manifold was smoking from around where it bolts into the manifold. This went on for only about a minute or 2, and then everything was good. I scratched my head, wondering why oil would be there to burn off, especially since nothing was coming out of the exhaust except normal exhaust (no excessive moisture, no smoke, nothing odd smelling etc.) and other than a small "splat" of moisture that puffed out when I first started it up, nothing on the garage floor to make me suspicious.

So I "put it back in service" so to speak and my wife drove it for a few days without any issues, and absolutely zero new oil spots on the driveway; I couldn't have been happier! Until yesterday afternoon, that is. She started it up, let it idle for a few minutes as she strapped our little niece into her car seat, and got all the baby gear in the car (she had been babysitting for my SIL) then proceeded to back into a cloud of oil smoke that had developed behind the car. Thankfully she's not an idiot and didn't drive the hour round trip with a baby in the car with it smoking like that.

So my initial suspicion was head gasket, but then I thought maybe oil rings. What has me most confused is that if this is unrelated to the oil pan replacement, it sure is coincidental timing! I'm going to start a new post about later today, or tomorrow once I get a chance to dig into it and nail down any and all symptoms, but I was hoping to hear from anyone who might have experience what they thought was the more likely issue, and if there was some way I could be at fault because of the oil pan job.

Thanks in advance,
Joe

ETA: It just occurred to me that by changing the oil pan, I've essentially resealed the crank case and if the PCV valve is clogged the pressure has to escape somewhere. I'm picking up a new one on the way home and this might be an easy fix.

ezone

It would have been fine after the initial cloud was gone.
It's probably been using oil for a long time already (it's got almost a QUARTER MILLION MILES on it)
She probably starts it up and drives off immediately in her usual scenario, not letting it idle very long at all. This is probably just the first time she ever let it sit still and idle so long that she got to see it smoke so blatantly.
Most people never notice smoke because its behind them.

Usual typical expected causes are stuck oil rings, or valve stem seals.
Head gasket cannot pass oil into cylinders. Coolant yes, but not oil

MadJoe

Good to know about the head gasket, thanks. I'm mechanically inclined but don't have a lot of engine experience. Spark plugs and oil were about the most I'd done before getting this car.
Your reasons make sense, but this smoke was definitely more than normal because it filled the cabin and engine bay with the smell which we'd never noticed prior. I was able to get the PCV valve and install it last night and so far the smoke is gone. Obviously too early to tell, but after seeing the old one when I took it out I'm really confident it was at least a part of the problem.

Thanks again,
Joe

ezone

General rule of thumb

Rings tend to pass oil quicker as RPM increases, and pass oil while the pistons are cold

Stem seals (intake side) tend to pass oil during high vacuum conditions, such as deceleration and extended idle