Oil Pan Update

This is where I left off the previous thread. I wanted to add a few pictures to this thread to let anyone interested take a look.

To anyone that was wondering what it would cost to get the pan gasket changed heres an idea;

Dealership: Remove and Replace pan gasket, align pan on reinstall, everything back together $ 690.00
CAD taxes in.

Independent Shop: Remove and replace pan gasket, align pan, remove and replace differential out shaft
seals $705.45 CAD taxes in

My Shop Price(Myself): Remove and replace pan gasket ($20.00 GM OE gasket, my price), remove and
replace oil pump, new, improved unit($75.00), remove and replace oil cooler lines,
oil adapter gasket and o-ring($65.00), remove and replace and go through the
whole front differential(tear it down), change output seals, clean it all up put it all
back together (2 output shaft seals @ $12.00 each). Labour....priceless..................:smokin:

Well I did go with the standard Melling 55 pump. I went to an engine shop I have did business with before, and I asked for opinions on pumps and stuff. I have a lot of confidence in these guys and they are really good at their work. Basically they told me go with the standard pump because it is good enough, and that recently Melling redesigned their standard pumps for better performance (effecieny/volume) and it will do the job. Got the pump and it was indeed a little larger than to old one. I also went ahead and changed the oil lines to and from the oil adapter to engine block. They were very easy to do at this point.

Everything came apart rather easy, not too much trouble with anything. The instructions in the Haynes manual, after I looked at it were right. The ones on the AutoZone website are correct too, but just a thing to note is the front differential. It mentions to roll the differential out of the way for access to the pan. I don't think this can be done without contaminating the engine with dirt/grease. You must not get dirt on the engine internals. It could very easily make its way on the bearings, cylinder walls, and damage them. So being very careful and working slowly is the key to getting this done right.

For either of them, you have to follow the instructions. It mentions to remove the idler arm, pull pitman arm of the steering link, obviously the differential. You cannot skip, any of this(I tried), the differential is a tight fit, and getting all these parts out of the way, must be done, or you'll be there for hours with no progress.

Heres a frontal view of the bottom of the engine. All in all, it looked good, everything looked clean and tight.
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4092/picture001ti3.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture001ti3.jpg)
The only thing that did give me trouble was the two nuts that are only accessable through the two bellhousing holes for the pan. After I figured(saw) them took them off, all was well from there, pan came right off. I have a picture of this, but again I cannot find it. I will update if I find them.

I was surprised to see a large amount of sludge at the bottom of the pan. It was a good 3/4" thick, and you could see where the pick-up dish was in the pan.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5982/picture005ae1.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture005ae1.jpg)http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/241/picture004sm9.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture004sm9.jpg)


I took a couple of pictures of the old oil pump. You can see the wear on the pump, by the shiny surfaces, where the gears rotate.
http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/2927/picture009pk7.th.jpg (http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture009pk7.jpg)http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7673/picture007qg1.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture007qg1.jpg)http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/3333/picture006jp1.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture006jp1.jpg)http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5844/picture008yy2.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture008yy2.jpg)

You could see also the synthetic oil was working on it, and the sludge was getting removed. It took me a good 2 hours to get the pan cleaned, in like new condition.
http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/8646/picture010ru5.th.jpg (http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture010ru5.jpg)

At this point, I installed the pump and pan, and all was good to this point.
I ended up taking the front diff apart and cleaned it right up, checked bearings/races, installed new axle seals. It was dirty with tons of metal in the oil. It was clear that the front diff oil was never changed since new. After getting through it, put it all back together and threw it back in the truck. I had pictures of this too, but I currently cannot seem to find them either.
Cleaned eveything up at this point, suspension parts, control arms, everything was cleaned up.

http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/4493/picture013al3.th.jpg (http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture013al3.jpg)http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/2462/picture011ke8.th.jpg (http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture011ke8.jpg)http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/9656/picture012dz7.th.jpg (http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture012dz7.jpg)

In case anyone would like to know where the crankshaft sensor is, the middle picture up top, follow the connector up/to the right. The hole is where the sensor is suppose to be, obviously not installed in the picture.

The third picture to the right, is a picture of the front differential position sensor/indicator.

At this point all rubber bushings were cleaned and I applied some rubber conditioner to try and keep them as soft as I can.
Everything came together good, got it together, started it up, and right off the bat, noticed no start-up noise, and oil pressure was much better, an average of 10 pounds better through all operating temperatures. At idle warm, it sits at about 35-40psi, cruising about 55psi cold start is about is about 60psi.

Here it is right after everything is together and its idling in the driveway. All cleaned up, and ready for a spin around the block.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9053/picture018qx8.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture018qx8.jpg)

What year, size and Vin is that engine?

What year, size and Vin is that engine?

'98, 4.3L(W)