How to Replace the Oil Pan Gasket on a Ford Crown Victoria

The Ford Crown Victoria is a traditional front engine, rear wheel drive sedan, and one of the few remaining vehicles of this design today. In a longitudinal mount engine like the Crown Victoria has, the front frame crossmember runs directly under the oil pan which creates a challenge when replacing the oil pan gasket; you will need to lift the engine to complete this repair. It will take a reasonably skilled person at least a full day to replace the oil pan in a Crown Victoria.

Remove the air cleaner outlet tube from the air cleaner and throttle body. Disconnect the negative battery cable. Remove the wiper arms and the wiper pivot shaft assembly. Rotate the serpentine belt tensioner clockwise to release the tension and remove the drive belt. Unbolt the fan shroud and electric fan motor from the radiator of the vehicle and remove them from the vehicle. Use a snap lock fuel line disconnect tool to disconnect the fuel lines from the throttle body. Loosen and remove the exhaust gas recirculation tube. Unbolt the AC generator by removing the three bolts that hold it to the vehicle. Remove the generator from the vehicle.

Jack up the front of the vehicle and support it with jack stands under the frame. Drain the engine oil into a pan and remove the oil filter. Locate the right hand engine mount bolt that is accessible from under the vehicle (the second is accessed from the top) around the midline of the engine and remove it. Locate the two left hand side engine mount bolts towards the midline of the engine and remove them. Support the exhaust with blocking or a jack stand and remove the four bolts that connect the "Y" pipe to the exhaust manifolds. Follow the transmission cooler lines back towards the transmission and locate the line support bracket holding the lines. Remove the one bolt that holds the bracket and remove the support bracket. Locate the nuts retaining the transmission mount and loosen them. Lower the vehicle.

Remove the second right hand engine mount bolt. Attach the modular engine lifting bar to the top of the engine. Connect the engine crane to the engine bar and raise the engine about ten inches. Install the three-bar engine support and tighten the three mounting points. Release the crane and allow the engine to rest on the engine support. Use the floor jack to raise the vehicle and support it with jack stands. Remove the 13 bolts that fasten the oil pan to the vehicle. Remove the oil pan from the vehicle, tapping it with a rubber mallet if it is stuck to the engine. Set the pan aside. There will not be enough room to remove it yet.

Remove the two oil pickup tube bolts and remove the tube. Remove the oil pickup tube bracket from the engine by removing the one bolt. Remove the O-ring from the oil pump pickup on the engine and inspect for any tears or cracks. With the oil pickup tool removed, you can now remove the oil pan through the front of the engine compartment.

Scrape the old oil pan gasket from the oil pan and clean all of the residue. Inspect the pan for cracking or rust. If there are any problems with the pan causing the leakage, replace the pan. Use a gasket adhesive and stick the oil pan gasket to the pan to keep it in place while the oil pan is being mounted. Put the oil pan in place under the vehicle and re-mount the oil pickup tube and bracket, tightening the bolts. Place the oil pan in position and tighten the bolts finger tight. Tighten all of the bolts with the socket wrench from the center of the pan working outwards. Reverse the remainder of the procedure to complete the installation.