DEEP TROUBLE 1997 Volvo 960 Oil pan REMOVAL. HAS ANYONE DONE THIS!!

I have done the following.

1. Jacked front end up one ft.

2. Removed front wheels.

3. Removed back cross brace which is under trans. bell housing.

4. Jacked up engine as high as possible.

5. Removed a million #10mm bolts from oil pan

HERE'S THE PROBLEM!

THE PAN WON'T COME OUT!!!!! It hits the back of the oil pick up
tube AND,
It hits the cross member / steering rack .

Just bought it for my child. Oil light came on after 60 miles.....
The oil drain ports
are stopped up with this tar like black carbon goop. Its really
nasty.

What should I do. Dropping the steering /cross brace is major !

 

You have your answer you have to lower the x member to remove the oil
pan not fairly easy lying on your back not realy a do it your self job
I have been repairing volvos for a long time & this is my least favorite
repair to perform you can either lower the x member or find either a
local Volvo repair shop that will perform this or return to the dealer
Glenn

--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.

 

There is another option.

Get an engine crane / engine puller and remove the engine and / or
transmission from the car.

Not real difficult, if you have room and are indoors this time of year.

 

I'm with zencraps - the engine really isn't very hard to remove from this
state. Unless it is very different from the 740, the wiring harness
disconnects at each end and comes out with the engine. By the time you get
enough loose to clear the pan you are just about there.

"... all it requires is the *will* to do so." Dr. Strangelove

Mike

 

6. Remove jack stands and set car on ground. Loosen the bolts on either
side of the steering shaft lower u-joint. Lock steering wheel so that it
can't turn. You're going to separate the steering shaft and if it spins
freely you'll snap the clockspring for the SRS contact in the steering
column. A simple but expensive repair. Make and index mark on the rack
splines and one one the u-joint to simply reassembly.

7. Remove the rear two frame bolts that hold the engine crossmember in
place. Slacken the front two but don't remove them. jack the car back up
and set on jack stands. Put the transmission crossmemeber back in place.
Remove the nuts holding the motor mounts to the engine crossmember. Jack
up the motor as far as it will go. Separate the steering column at the
u- joint as you go. Find or make somthing to go between the motor mount
stands and the crossmember that will hold the motor away from the
crossmember. Loosen the fron two bolts for the front crossmember and let
the whole mess swing toward the front of the car. As the crossmember
swings the pan may just fall out on the ground, otherwise you have to
monkey with it a little bit. Once it's out do your thing.

N.B. The pan is installed with an anerobic sealant. Loctite 515 or
similar. Do not use any metal scrapers on the mating surfaces. Find or
make a plastic scraper. Use Permatex gasket remover to soften the
residue. It will take three or four applications. You can find a
disposable 2 or 3 inch touch up paint roller at the paint or wallpaper
store that uses the blow molded package for a paint tray. Squeeze some
sealant into the tray and lightly coat the roller. Roll a thin even coat
on the gasket surface of the pan before you put it back up. You don't
need much to create an effective seal and the roller method works very
well to evenly distribute the sealant. All the horizontal sealing
surfaces af the motor are assembled this way. Under pressure the sealant
will be fully cured after about six hours, but you really don't have to
wait that long before running the motor.

8. Reinstall the oil pan.

9. Jack up the motor and remove the spacer blocks. Lower the motor back
down onto the crossmember. Refit the motor mount stands, Refit the the
lower steering shaft u-joint. Tighten the front crossmember screws
slightly. Jack up the car from the front. Remove the jack stands. Lower
the car and let the crossmember rotate back into place. Install the rear
screws and tighten the fronts. Tighten the steering shaft u-joint,
unlock the steering wheel.

10. Refill the motor with oil. Use synthetic oil, 10W30, it doesn't
sludge nearly as much and it makes the lifters very happy. Keep the oil
change interval to no more than 5000 miles or about 4 months with
synthetic, especially if the car will be doing a lot of short trip
driving.

Bob

 

FIRST Thanks for your expertise.

YOUR ITEM #7.

I went to loosen one of the 4 engine crossmember nuts, and snapped off
bolt from its welding mark. Now the nut and bolt just spins freely.


HOW TOUGH IS IT OT RAISE THE ENGINE 6 INCHES! [ I told you I was in
deep. ]

 

What do I do to remove the big thing under the hood? Do I have to go
through the bell housing to unbolt the Transmission?

 

Paul:

I see this is one of several new threads and still wonder...did you
ever do the engine flush I recommended?

I still maintain that would have been the FIRST thing to do before all
else.

Regards,


Doc

 

O h yes! you are correct what I should have done was to flush it with a
pressurized machine flush. I did a 5 mim. flush out of the can ,and that is
what intensified the screen blockage. That's what I will do once I get the
goop out and the engine back together.

Thanks any other help or ideas!

 

Hello Paul:

Unless you want to remove the steering rack and drop the cross member
etc, removing the engine and transmission as a unit is the easiest way
to accomplish the job. That's only MY opinion and the way I would do
it, as it takes considerably less time and is a lot easier.

Regards,


Doc