mrphyalc

Body Shop show 8.3 hrs labor to replace oil pan on my stock '03 350Z. Does this sound right?

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

It depends. Are we talking about the lower or upper oil pan?

mrphyalc

Obviously. Appreciate the info.

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

No, it's not really obvious. The lower pan is what I would call the cover. That's the square metal pan at the bottom that covers the lower end. Shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour to remove it.

The upper pan is basically the bottom half of the engine block. I can see where that would easily take 8.3 hours.

These are the steps listed by the FSM to remove both pans.

To remove oil pan (lower) only, take step 5 and step 6, then step 19. Step 1 to 4 and 7 to 18 are unnecessary.
1. Remove hood assembly. Refer to BL-13, "HOOD" .
2. Remove tower bar. Refer to FSU-20, "TOWER BAR" .
3. Remove engine cover with power tool. Refer to EM-16, "INTAKE MANIFOLD COLLECTOR" .
4. Remove air duct. Refer to EM-14, "AIR CLEANER AND AIR DUCT" .
5. Drain engine oil. Refer to LU-8, "Changing Engine Oil" .
6. Drain engine coolant. Refer to CO-9, "Changing Engine Coolant"
7. Remove undercover with power tool.
8. Install engine slinger to sling engine assembly for positioning. Refer to EM-103, "ENGINE ASSEMBLY" .
9. Remove front suspension member. Refer to FSU-19, "FRONT SUSPENSION MEMBER" .
10. Remove drive belts. Refer to EM-12, "DRIVE BELTS" .
11. Remove alternator. Refer to SC-21, "CHARGING SYSTEM" .
12. Remove starter motor. Refer to SC-10, "STARTING SYSTEM" .
13. Remove idler pulley and bracket assembly. Refer to EM-55, "TIMING CHAIN" .
14. Disconnect oil cooler water hoses, and remove oil cooler water pipe mounting bolt. Refer to LU-10, "OIL COOLER" .
15. Disconnect A/T fluid cooler hoses, and remove A/T fluid cooler tube (A/T models). Refer to AT-264, "TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY" .
16. Remove crankshaft position sensor (POS).
17. Remove oil filter, as necessary. Refer to LU-9, "OIL FILTER" .
18. Remove oil cooler, as necessary. Refer to LU-10, "OIL COOLER" .
19. Remove oil pan (lower) as follows:
a. Loosen mounting bolts with power tool in reverse order as
shown in the figure to remove.
b. Insert seal cutter [SST] between oil pan (upper) and oil pan (lower).
c. Slide seal cutter by tapping on the side of the tool with hammer.
Remove oil pan (lower).
20. Remove oil strainer.
21. Remove transmission joint bolts which pierce oil pan (upper). Refer to MT-19, "TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY" (M/T models) or AT-264, "TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY" (A/T models).
22. Remove rear cover plate.
23. Loosen mounting bolts with power tool in reverse order as
shown in the figure to remove oil pan (upper).

Insert seal cutter [SST: KV10111100 (J37228)] between oil
pan (upper) and cylinder block. Slide seal cutter by tapping on
the side of tool with hammer. Remove oil pan (upper).
24. Remove O-rings from bottom of cylinder block and oil pump.
25. Remove oil pan gaskets.

mrphyalc

Didn't know if I was using the forum correctly. By "obviously" I meant my novice status, ie. reading "The Top 100 Questions." Wow, your information is great...been searching for over 3 hrs for a basic answer, and found this. Exactly infomation we were looking for...Thanks!

tware

iTrader: (12)

What happened to your oil pan? Did you crush the pickup? Denting the pan and pickup is $150 in parts.. and maybe an hour in labor. at most. As stated above, busting the upper pan is really pretty major. It's almost the procedure for pulling the engine itself. I've heard of a shop quoting the upper and lower pan labor when only the lower pan needed replacement. Thats beyond belief that a dealer would do that, but it's possible, so make sure you know what youre paying for.

halfass872

iTrader: (35)

If it's your lower pan (The black part with your oil drain plug on it) you are gonna need a good putty knife and a hammer.

The "rtv" the factory uses is the strongest $hit i have ever seen!! At one point i though it was factory JB welded on!!! I ended up having to buy a new one when i took mine off. There was a point i thought i could just pull it down, but the other half was still RTV'd on so tightly it bent the lip around the pan. And i couldn't get it hammered pack straight to a point that i felt there would be no oil leaks.