Oil Pan Gasket 1978 20R

[MontanaChinook]

I'm having a very hard time finding any info on this. With 79+, I've seen what the process is. On a pre-79, anyone have experience replacing the gasket?

I'm going to have the head off anyway, and I was hoping I could get away with just loosening or removing the engine mount bolts and jacking it up a bit. But I'm not sure if I'll get enough clearance to clear whatever needs clearing to get the pan out.

I have the 20R FSM for the engine, but since it's specifically engine and no other parts, it doesn't say anything about what needs to happen to actually get the oil pan out. It just assumes the engine is out of the truck, or something.

[zero]

I've never had the oil-pan off of my 2.2 in my 1978. Here's what the factory Hilux manual says:

If a hoist it attached to the engine lifting hooks and it's weight taken by the hoist, the engine mountings can be removed and he engine raised an inch or two. Disconnect the steering relay-rod, drop arm and idler-arm rods to permit the following operations to be carried out:

a. Removal and refitting of the oil-sump (detach strengthener brackets first)

b. Removal and refitting of the oil-pump
c. Removal and refitting of the pistons./connecting-rod assemblies
d. Renewal of crankshaft main bearings

[5Toyota]

I wonder about the grill and raditer . might need to remove. why do you need to remove the head. I have done head gasket with out doing anything to the oil pan

[fred heath]

We have the same drive train.

I replaced my oil pan gasket. It's much easier to do it while the unit is on a lift.

It was awhile ago, but seems I only had to release one side of the relay rod (rod that crosses under the pan) and lower the pan.

You definitely want to have as much height as possible.

Find a lift if you can. The alternative involves removal of much of your suspension.

[MontanaChinook]

Ok, thanks. I know my suspension is different than the later models, since I have coil-over springs on front, so I just wondered if maybe something was different enough that I could get away with removing less...I found the later model method and watched a video. Just couldn't find anything for the pre-79 with different front parts.

With the temps right now, if it still involved a hoist and removing some steering/suspension stuff, I'll probably just skip it. It never leaked bad enough to drip. It's just that my oil pump started leaking, so I'm working on it. If I'm going to fix that leak, I figured why not take care of them all and clean it all back up in there. But it's not a big deal.

Head is coming off because it might need a rebuild, or at least some attention. I started burning a bit of oil over the summer. Not enough to be a problem but enough to send big plumes of smoke out the tailpipe here and there. Just like with the leaking oil pump leaving oil drips on the road and peoples driveways...I don't like either. I'm ok with old beater vehicles, but not ones that are really noisy or leaving oil on the ground or putting plumes of smoke out.

I'm just starting to get serious about hitting the road again next month, so I'm starting to take care of the issues that started to come up last summer.

Thanks for the help.

[fred heath]

Zach,

You can change the oil pump without removing the pickup tube.

I know the manual tells you to remove it, but the pump goes in fine without removing the oil pan to get to the tube.

[MontanaChinook]

Yes, thanks Fred.

I know I confused things by talking about all the repairs I'm doing.

I only mentioned the oil pump and head to say "I'm doing a bunch of stuff to my engine. So while I'm there I was thinking of doing this, too".

My oil pan leaks a little, so I figured I'd take care of it. But if it means hoisting the engine and taking apart steering and suspension parts, I'll probably just do the head and oil pump and leave the oil pan alone.