With the engine and trans out of the Gremlin it was time to get the oil pan cleaned up and painted so I could put it back together with fresh gaskets. Now, cleaning 40 yrs of grime off of engine parts is not my idea of a good time. BUT, I could not bring myself to just slap the oily parts back on. PLUS the whole point of this adventure was to stop the oil leaks and without cleaning the motor I wouldn’t be able to tell if any oil was old or new.
But first i got a piece of wood and a hammer and bashed out a big dent in the pan. Then I got the scotch brite pads and the engine de-greaser and one of my grinders with a wire wheel on it and just generally made huge messes for a while. I started with the oil pan and transmission cross member. When I finally got them clean I painted the pan gray and the xmember black. Then it was time for reassembly. I started with the oil pan gasket but hit a snag. One of the bolt holes in the aluminum front cover was stripped. luckily I had the correct helicoil set on hand and was able to fix it on the spot.
With that repair made I was able to put the new one piece gasket down and bolt the pan in place. Before I did though I put a line of rtv in each corner. It was about this time I realized that I really should have left the whole motor assembled and degreased the whole thing as a unit before pulling the pan. Oh well. Live and learn. So now with the pan on I’m trying to de-grease the block and not get the pan dirty. Not easy. Well that’s it for now. More cleaning to come.