1997 Suburban 5.7L 4W: oil pan replacement

I am trying to replace a leaking (due to corrosion) oil pan in a 1997 Suburban (5.7L 4W). I am doing this myself due to economic factors and have hit a dead end. I am not an automotive expert and I do not own a service manual for the vehicle.

I have removed the following, which allowed me to get to all of the bolts holding the pan:
- 2 torsion/torque rods from transmission
- oil filter adapter (filter screws on to this aluminum housing)
- can shaped device attached to transmission on opposite side of the oil filter adapter

All pan bolts have been removed and the pan is now "free". I can't however drop the pan due to interference from the front differential. Simply put, there is not enough clearance to get the pan free.

So, what next? Do I lift the engine or drop the front differential, or (hopefully) is there something obvious that I'm missing.

Any/all help is truly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kevin.

I am trying to replace a leaking (due to corrosion) oil pan in a 1997 Suburban (5.7L 4W). I am doing this myself due to economic factors and have hit a dead end. I am not an automotive expert and I do not own a service manual for the vehicle.

I have removed the following, which allowed me to get to all of the bolts holding the pan:
- 2 torsion/torque rods from transmission
- oil filter adapter (filter screws on to this aluminum housing)
- can shaped device attached to transmission on opposite side of the oil filter adapter

All pan bolts have been removed and the pan is now "free". I can't however drop the pan due to interference from the front differential. Simply put, there is not enough clearance to get the pan free.

So, what next? Do I lift the engine or drop the front differential, or (hopefully) is there something obvious that I'm missing.

Any/all help is truly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kevin.


the motor mount bolts need removal then lift engine so you can get clearance..be carefull not to crush anything...

I can't see from here how bad this pan rust is BUT on a ford rust bucket wagon I used marine tex...this is an epoxy that is used in this type of problem area... sand , clean with solvent and apply epoxy with a fiberglass cloth or steel mesh ..give 24hours to harden and use a heat source like hair dryer or heat gun to speed up this process.

this worked for many years...good uses for other junk that needs patching...this is probably something you can do and its much faster and easier...

then give pan a good coat of enamel paint and don't use the spray can as this will quickly wash off

Take a good look at it.
You may have to drop the front rear end to get to it good.

Sorry to say that the front differential has to be dropped. It's the best way to do it. I doubt that you can get the motor high enough not to mention the damage to alot of things trying that.

Welcome to AF and good luck.

I took out some of the bolts for the front diff. and just dropped it enough to get it out. I had the same problem. I know I left the driveshaft connected and I think there were only 2 or 4 bolts to remove.