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My oil pan is stripped - the plug turns and turns without getting tighter, causing a bothersome leak wherever I'm parked for more than an hour or two.

It's the pan, not the plug. From here out I will be using a new crush washer each and every oil change. But for now, I need a new pan.

Here are some things I'm pretty sure about, and I'd really just like some feedback, corrections and tips for going about changing my 2003 Honda Civic EX's (manual transmission, 5-speed) oil pan.

• The EX with the D17A2 vtec engine differs from the LX and DX (which use the D17A1), and even the Si.
• The oil pan I seek is going to be more expensive. I guess it's a different material and/or a different form? I'd love to know if anyone has one for sale or can link me to a good online store to purchase it.
• I'm unsure about the gasket. I think that because the pan for the EX is aluminum, I don't need a gasket, only some silicone. Thoughts?
• My local stealership quoted me $294.67 for the pan. I'm willing to go aftermarket if it's significantly less than that.

What bothers me is that I keep seeing aftermarket pans for the LX/DX for like $50 - what's so expensively different about the EX's pan?

Also, from other posts, I'm reading that I may need to "drop the exhaust" to access everything. I had thought that might be necessary when I was looking at mine, but can anyone be more specific on what/where needs to be moved out of the way for minimal work?

 
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I believe the engine in the EX is slightly larger than the one in the lower trim models. Same with the Si. I believe sdai has a link in his sig which contains the manual for 7th gens. I would check your local junkyards first. You might get lucky!
Edit: Looks like he doesn't.
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...placement.html
This is all I got for now for you.

 
Rep Power: 813

you do need a rubber type gasket for it to seal properly and most auto stores carry something like felpro.

 
Rep Power: 202

If you have something else to drive take the pan to the machine shop and have em fix it. MUCH cheaper than 300 bucks I am sure. The main reason to replace a pan is, 1 it is stamped steal and cheap anyway, 2 you hit something and busted it. Fix the pan.

 
Rep Power: 236

^^ It's an aluminum pan, not steel.

To the OP: That's also why it's more expensive.

Check here for nationwide salvage listings: http://www.car-part.com/

And these guys are the cheapest around if they have one near you: http://www.picknpull.com/default.aspx

 
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Okay, thanks for everyone's feedback. The best pan deal I could find was to go through a buddy and get an OEM pan for $220 - I did find some online for ~$180 but they were $20 shipping, and my friend had one in stock at the dealership he worked at.

So I get my oil pan and hondabond today. I suppose my next steps after that:

1. drain oil from system
2. drop necessary exhaust components so I have room to work, hopefully not much more than "the two flange bolts and then pulled off a support" that JonDorian_JD described.
3. start removing oil pan bolts - there look to be several, up to 8 or 10 I think
4. pull the oil pan down and off, preferably without letting it fall into my face
5. take a razor and start removing old hondabond/residue from the engine block (or whatever the oil pan is being bolted on to). My understanding is that this thing needs to be as clean as if it were brand new for the hondabond to seal correctly.
6. Apply new hondabond to my new oil pan and put it into place
7. start the two corner bolts to hold the pan in place while I then work around until all bolts are started
8. Screw all of the bolts in to the designated torque requirement*.
9. Bolt on the oil plug using a brand new crush washer to prevent stripping.
10. Pour in my new oil

*I understand that too loose and the oil pan leaks, but too tight and the oil pan is ruined and leaks - seems to be a sensitive system so does anyone know the correct torque for the oil pan's bolts?

Does anyone know how long does the hondabond take to dry? Should I let it all sit overnight before I put new oil in? Did I miss anything?

Update - According to a reliable-looking online manual, a 2001 Civic with an D17A2, -A5, -A8 or -A9 vtec engine will require torquing of 12 Nm (1.2 kgf/m, 8.7 lbf/ft).That's specific - I suppose I'll need a torque wrench.

 
Rep Power: 236

Yes, you need a torque wrench. Harbor Freight and Northern Tool have decent cheapies. You will also need a gasket and maybe bolts and springs for that exhaust junction (numbers 14, 15, 16: http://www.hondapartscheap.com/south...t=0&quantity=0).

This should answer the rest of your questions:


The first caption says "Apply liquid gasket along the broken line".

The torque sequence caption says:
UPPER- 15, 13, 7, 5, 1, 3, 9, 11, 17
LOWER- 18, 12, 10, 4, 2, 6, 8, 14, 16

Sorry about the fuzzy pics, crappy phone cam.

 
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Thanks for the walkthrough on replacing the pan, lazlong. But now I have to back up a step: how do you get the oil pan off?

I've removed all bolts and nuts including the brackets connecting to the transmission - from what I can tell nothing but the hondabond is holding the oil pan on. Is it likely that I missed something? What's the best method to pry the pan off with the hondabond still being notably effective?

 
Rep Power: 236

Just pry it off. If you're throwing it away don't worry about ruining it. The best way to clean the mating surfaces is with brake or carb cleaner. Also, be careful with the blade as it may cut into the metal.

 
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I suppose it's complete - the new pan is on and I ran around the block without it falling off and without any oil leaking.

Thanks everyone for your tips and support. This wasn't a super-easy but it also wasn't terribly difficult. I'd say I spent about 6 hours working on the car this weekend (in two 3-hours blocks) - I'm tired but not dead haha.

Oil Pan Removal:

1. Jack up the car. I needed to borrow my father-in-law's service jack because my little $25 trolly jack just didn't cut it. Put it on stands.
2. Drop the exhaust:
   1. removing two bolted-on springs. Try to take note of how tightened the bolt is since you'll want to put it back later.
   2. undo the O2 sensor cables (leave the O2 sensors on the actual exhaust pipe - just disconnect the wiring harness) and pop them out of the wire-guides.
   3. use a flat-head screwdriver to pry the exhaust pipe off of the rubber hanger.
   4. Catch the pipe before it hits the ground - let it lay there and try not to hit your head on it
3. Remove the two brackets that connect the oil pan to the transmission - that's four 10 (12?) mm bolts and two 14mm bolts.
4. Remove the 9 nuts and 8 bolts that hold the oil pan on the engine block. These are all 10mm I believe, you'll need a long socket to get to them.
5. At this point, some people report that the oil pan just falls off. Don't let it smack you in the face. I wasn't so lucky, mine still had plenty of hondabond doing it's job. I had to tug on the thing for about 20 minutes before it popped off. The method that worked for me was to get a large wrench in those corner tabs of the pan, the back passenger-side tab was most accessible for me, and just yank. It'll come eventually. Some people suggest tapping/slapping the pan with a rubber mallet, but it didn't seem to help in my case. Once you get one corner, just keep working both corners until it's off. Carefully maneuver the oil pan down and out - this is why we dropped the exhaust pipe.
6. You should be looking at the inside of the engine. Nice, good job. 3 points - 4 points if you haven't bloodied your knuckles. You've made it through the hard part.
7. Clean the engine block by gently scrapping away excess honda bond. I used a box cutter but any good razor will do. Don't gauge into your block though
8. With most of the hondabond off, clean the engine block with brake cleaner or the like. I sprayed brake cleaner on a microfiber rag and ran it round the block for a while. It took me maybe 45 minutes to clean the block. Be thorough, your new hondabond won't bond if it's dirty and you'll have to do this all again next weekend.

Reassembly

1. If you're using the same oil pan, clean the edges the same way you cleaned the engine block (see steps 7 and 8 above).
2. With a cleaned old pan or a new pan, apply hondabond to the lid - use a thin (about 2mm) bead around the entire surface where the pan will bolt onto the engine block. Apply the hondabond around all of the holes for the bolts. Start a mental timer, hondabond skins in about 15 minutes and you want the pan in place before it starts to harden at all.
3. Put the pan in place, careful not to get hondabond on other components (especially engine components).
4. Start placing some nuts onto the engine block to secure the pan. Do this slowly and carefully - alternating around the block. There's a specific order honda suggests, but the point is to do the center of the front, then the center of the back, one on the left, one on the right, and so on, to keep an even pressure on all sides of the block.
5. Just get everything finger-tight at this point. Once all of the bolts are one, give them each a quarter-turn with a wrench - again alternating front-back/left-right to apply the pressure evenly.
6. Honda calls for 8.7 ft/lbs for these bolts. I went with "about a 1/3 turn of the wrench after it was hand tight" ft/lbs. Less exact, but the cheap torque wrenches that I saw don't seem to read <20ft/lbs very accurately or easily.
7. Once the oil pan bolts are on, put the transmission brackets back on. I was worried about which went where, but you'll find that one will only fit where it is meant to be because they're different forms.
8. Put your exhaust back.
   1. Put your exhaust gasket back on the manifold if it fell off (mine did)
   2. hang the exhaust pipe back on the rubber hanger (no screwdriver needed, just push).
   3. Line up the exhaust pipe onto the manifold, hold it in place with your left hand and use your right hand to screw the bolt/spring into place. Get it somewhat tight then do the left-side bolt/spring.
   4. Tighten with your wrench - I don't know the torque desired here but you don't want to compress the sprint 100% nor let it be too loose and floppy.
   5. Reattach O2 Sensor wiring harness, and thread the wiring back into the hooks where it's supposed to be.

 
Rep Power: 218

Sweetness. *high five*. Good stuff, dude.