(Completed) 2004 2.4L I4 RWD Oil pan repair or replacement

Ok so i've seen conflicting info all over a few forums on whether or not you need to lift the engine to replace the oil pan on a 2.4l 1st gen RWD.

The issue is that there is a crossbar right in the middle that the pan forms around. Apparently if you try to take it out it may just bind against the oil pump. My mechanic said i "might" be able to jimmy it out, but toyota recommends raising the entire engine at 10hrs worth of shop labor.

The leak is small so its not the end of the world (yet) but if anyone has done this repair plz help :')

 

The bolt on front X member will need to be removed
I don’t remember raising engine when I had to take my 2.4 OP off

here is that 4bolt Xmember



BTW
Book time is only 3.6hrs to remove and reinstall

Y

 

Oh nice!, i hope thats all im in for.

 

Yeah the rwd pan comes right off with that crossmember removed...

Toughest part is those back two bolts ..... you have to take the flywheel/flexplate dust cover off to reach em....

 

Hmm, i just hope those bolts have enough steel left to be taken out.... sure would love to have a lift right about now

 

You start soaking them days before.....get you an extractor set...

got a feeling you're gonna get more uses out of them

$26 XEWEA 14PCS Bolt Extractor Set, 3/8" Drive Impact Stripped Bolt Remover Extractor Socket Set for Removing Damaged Broken Rounded Off Bolt & Nut Remover Set with Storage Case,Father's Day Gift

XEWEA 14PCS Bolt Extractor Set, 3/8" Drive Impact Stripped Bolt Remover Extractor Socket Set for Removing Damaged Broken Rounded Off Bolt & Nut Remover Set with Storage Case,Father's Day Gift - Amazon.com

 

i went old school and got cork gasket from RA for $4
lots of people nowadays just use RTV

old mechanic showed me a trick for the cork gasket, spray with 3M adhesive(or similar) on pan side
makes so easy to bolt up bc gasket stays in place.

i think OS is talking about the rear bolts to this flywheel cover
they (10mm's) usually have been dripped on by oil....really easy to remove that cover to get to the back 3-4 OP bolts with swivel socket
i did run into some problems bc the tranny(?) hard line was not letting pan go down to ground
i just unbolted the clamps that held the line(set them back) and pan dropped NP

 

Ahh I already have a tube of permatex ready to go. I just ordered that bolt extractor set thx, Ive been replacing damn near every bolt ive taken off so far.

 

Those bolts……ugh
I have had very good results with old school hardware stores
In my area, Ace Hardware
1/2 an isle of metric fasteners
GL
Keep everyone posted!

 

Not sure where exactly your leak is but...

Many years ago my 2000 4WD single cab had a oil pan leak. It was corrosion induced on the side near the drain plug and was very thin metal and a small crack. Replacing it would have required removal of the 4WD in front....

So I repaired it with JB Weld. Drained the oil from pan, cleaned and sanded damaged location. Applied JB Weld and let sit for 24 hrs. Replaced oil and POW! I could not believe that stuff held for 3 years until the frame rotted and Toyota bought the truck back...

Worth a shot for $7 and a little time..

 

Ok thats wild 3yrs for a JB weld repair. the 4wd has the front dif right below it if im not mistaken. These guys are making me feel a ton better about being able to get it out, just have to get the front bar off as control showed. I am going to document it all ofc

 

Ok update, i finished the oil pan replacement and while it was irritating and took 2 days could've been worse i guess.
For starters on the level of rust i had a bold extractor set was A MUST i used them on probably 40% of all the hex heads (thx O'Silver_Taco), So was a can of PB blaster. I also cleaned out the local ACE hardware for metric bolts replacing them.

Recommendations:

• Pre soak fasteners with rust penetrant for minimum a day before.
• Have a heatsource handy, propane or acetylene.
• Have a bolt extractor set
• Have extensions with wobble sockets
• Have shallow 12pt sockets

Steps in order:

1. Un bolt the U braces for the foreward sway bar, it doesn't need to come off, just wiggle out of the way. (4 hex heads)
2. Remove the sub frame cross bar right behind the sway bar. (4 Hex heads and nuts)
3. Now you'll have clearance to drop and slide it out. Time to move to the back end of the pan (Start here bc you'll be stuck here later if it doesn't work out)
4. You need to take off the a sheet metal trans shield to access the last few bolts of the pan. It is held in place with bolts to the aluminum trans housing as well as cast iron structural braces on either side. In my case the galvanic cell of all those metals made the aluminum oxide build up in crazy chunks freezing all the bolts, i had to heat cycle them with a torch a few times to get them out,
5. Start with the cast iron stiffener arms on either size, (2 bolts in the lower engine block and 2 into the trans housing) Then the whole arm comes out, i dipped them in phosphoric acid they where so rusty.
6. Then once the stiffener arms and sheet metal undercover are off you can actually finally access the rear bolts!
7. Now you can actually start going after the oil pan bolts themselves, whoever did it last in my case got silicone everywhereeeee. There are 16 (M8 i think?) hex heads and and additional 2 nut+studs for some reason?
8. Now that all the bolts are out dont go buckwild.... the aluminum front and rear engine panels are very soft and you dont want to damage them with a pry tool. Between a putty knife on the iron section and beating the oil pan with a hammer it came loose from the silicone without too much hassle.
9. Drop the pan and slide it foreward gently, the oil pickup is sheet metal and protrudes down into the pan well. If the sway bar is still in the way just push it up a bit.
10. I had silicone all over the damn place so i used a bronze bristle brush and tweezers to get all of it off the gasket mating face.
11. Im going with the cork gasket bc its easy, well see how long it lasts. Some scotch tape keep it on when moving things into place back under the engine, just dont forget to take it off before bolting

Now its all in reverse ill leave some general tips below as well.

• I got alot of conflicting torque spec data on the pan bolt torque all of which felt way to high. I ended up using the lowest setting on my wrench which was hard hand tight by feel.
• Replaced 90% of all fasteners and applied anti seize, especially those in dissimilar metal joints.
• Acid soaked any steel parts going back in and put a protectant on after. I even painted the front sub frame crossbar before putting it back in.

Oil pan: $60

$61 A-Premium Engine Oil Pan Sump with Drain Plug Compatible with Toyota Tacoma 1995-2004, 2.4L, RWD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HMYWT3H?
Gasket: $8

$19 FEL-PRO OS 30642 C Oil Pan Gasket Set

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C2AM0O?

Bolt extractors: $17

$17 XEWEA Impact Bolt & Nut Remover Set, 8PCS 3/8" Drive Bolt Extractor Set Tool for Removing Stripped, Damaged, Rounded off and Broken Bolts & Nuts with Storage Case

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2WFNVCG



Overall 2-3 days of solid wrenching for a novice, alot of trips to harbor freight and some driveway oil spots.

 

Some ref manuals

 

Great freakin job!!!!!!

 

Nice! My oil pan I discovered has a few bolts blocked by the transmission. No way out.

For my transmission pan I used a cork gasket and it's leaking bad. Being as engine oil is thicker, maybe you'll be good. I'm going to pull it again and smooth the razor gouges (some hack before me) with sandpaper and send the cork again.

 

I have seen it looks like the 4wd has alot more in the way with the extra powertrain systems. Either way its not a quick sunday morning job thats for sure, and christ the shops around here charge 1-2k for this job.