I have been dreading replacing my oil pan for about a year now, but thanks to Art's Web site and previous posts on the Brickboard, I was able to tackle this job. Luckily, it was almost 80 degrees outside today in Dallas, Texas. Probably one of the last warm weekends left before Winter.

I had been using an IPD magnetic drain plug for about 10+ years, however recently, it had been difficult to install and remove. I guess I should have taken that as a hint, but I was too dense. Well, finally, about 18 months ago, I stripped the threads on my oil pan when I was removing the drain plug, so I have been using one of those toggle bolt type plugs that has a rubber ringed plug on the other end.

I have wanted to do this, but have been dreading the 4+ hours that it would probably take to complete this job. I was able to score a very nice used pan from Swiftjustice 44 over on the Turbo Bricks Web site, and I freshened up the inside with some 400 grit sand paper, so it looked like new. I also cleaned up the outside and painted it a nice red color, so my car almost looks like it did when it was brand new!

I made a list of all of the steps I wanted to follow, and lined up all of my parts. I pretty much followed Art's instructions, and everything went quite well. The entire job took 10 hours, however, I also did a lot of other work.

-Replaced the old drain hose from the oil trap to the oil pump
-Replaced the two seals on the oil delivery pipe
-Replaced my motor mounts
-Replaced air filter
-Oil + filter change
-Cleaned the AMM, IAC, flame trap and throttle plate (I have to pass a state emissions test on December 1, 2011, so I wanted to clean everything)
-Replaced the distributor rotor, cap and spark plugs
-Front brake job... My right front caliper is sticking, so I may need to replace it. (I did a rear brake job last week)

One thing I did notice was that I had to pry my front cross member down, in order to remove/replace my oil pan. In addition, my 1/2" impact gun could not remove the cross member bolts, so I had to pull out the 3/4" unit, and there was no issue once the "Big Boy" was placed into action.

If I have the energy tomorrow, I plan to change the transmission fluid.

Thanks again for your step-by-step pictorial Art.

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If it needs to be maintained, repaired or replaced on a 1990 240, I've probably done it. '90 240DL, 313,750 miles, will she make it to 400K ?? >>You haven't really worked on a car until you draw blood<< :-}