I have ramps to raise the front wheels eight inches to level the coach
so I can work on it inside and out or prep it for a trip.

Oil Pan Removal

1. Drive the coach up onto ramps or jack it up to provide room to work underneath.
2. Drain the oil, replace the oil filter and remove the dipstick.
3. Disconnect the battery ground from the batteries.
4. Remove the 2 engine to transmission support struts.
5. Remove the 3 screws from the torque convector inspection cover.
6. Remove the starter motor heat shield and then the starter motor held in place with one bolt and a nut on a stud. Lay it on your chest so you don’t have to disconnect the electrical connections.
7. Remove the torque converter inspection cover which is now free and set it aside.
8. Re-hang the starter motor loosely to get it out of the way.
9. Remove the oil-pan bolts. Note that the 2 front bolts are different from the others.
10. Remove the oil pan. I used a sheet-rock knife, flat end 1-inch putty knife and a screwdriver to pry it off being careful not to distort the pan or scratch any surfaces. With a little patience you can get it loose.
11. I had to jack the Engine up 2 inches to be able to get the oil pan past the transmission. My driveway is slanted so I leveled the base with a 2" by 8" by 1.5 foot plank and a board. Next came a stack of 3 pairs of 4 by 4s about a foot long and an old house jack. Place the jack under the pulleys and vibration damper with a block of wood between them and the jack. I used a 3/4" by 3" by 5" piece of plywood to straddle the pulleys and vibration damper to spread the force so nothing would get bent and the wood would not split. There is not a lot of room between the vibration damper and the axle which is why I used 3/4 inch plywood.
12. Remove the 2 nuts on the bottom of the engine mounts and mark the lower bracket by the bolt so you can make sure it does not shift when you put it back.
13. Raise the Engine with the jack making sure that the generator (or anything else) has room above. Keep moving the fan to make sure it doesn't bend a blade on the shroud.
14. Jack the engine up until you have room to remove the oil pan which was 2 full inches for me.
15. Clean and degrease the oil pan and the bottom of the engine block. I used a razor-blade scraper, a flat blade putty knife and a brass brush along with solvent.  Make sure you wear silicon gloves to protect your hands and wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from the solvent.

If you are installing an oil temperature gage, take the Oil pan to a welding shop and get the bung adapter welded into the oil pan. Locate a spot on the side of the oil pan in the deep end below the oil line that will not interfere with the connecting rods and drill the hole before you take it down to get it welded.  I also took my Transmission pan down at the same time. 

Oil Pan Installation

1. Make 4 alignment dowels or studs by cutting the heads from 1.5 inch bolts and then cutting slots into the top of each one so you can use a screwdriver to back them out later. Make sure you test that the screwdriver will fit before you install the studs!
2. You should now install the 4 studs into the end holes of the motor block.  They will help align the pan and keep the gaskets in place while you assemble everything.
3. Before applying any seals or gaskets, practice putting the oil pan in place. You may have to rotate it to the left and right to clear the connecting rods as you slide it forward. If you don’t have enough room for the pan to slip into place without touching anything, especially the end seals, crank the engine up more. I cranked my engine up a total of 2 inches.
4. Install the End Seals into place. The front end seal has a large hole on one side and a smaller one on the other side so make sure you push the end guides through the proper hole. Snip the rubber end guides (where they stick out of the oil pan) about an 1/8 of an inch or just enough to allow enough clearance to get a wrench over the two bolts in the front of the engine block. It is not necessary use any RTV sealant on the end seals. There was none on the block or pan when I removed it. However, I used a little at the top of the front end seal because it was not as tight as I thought it should be.
5. With all 4 studs in place it is time to apply the gaskets to the surface of the engine block. I applied the RTV Ultra Black Silicon Gasket maker to the gasket and then using latex gloves spread it evenly across the entire surface of the gasket. Note: the 4 studs will keep the gaskets tight against the end seals.
6. Place each Gasket onto the engine block over the studs and pressed it into place checking the alignment over the bolt holes.
7. Apply a dab (1/8" bead or so) of RTV sealant where the end seals meet the gasket on the surface of the engine block and the gasket. It is not necessary to apply RTV sealant to the face of the gasket or the end seals except on the 4 corners where the end seals meet the side gasket.
8. Move the oil pan into place being careful not to disturb the end seals or the gasket. You may have to rotate it to the left and right to clear the connecting rods just as you did when you practiced. Slide it up over the 4 studs onto the engine block.
9. Important! Make sure the gaskets or end seals did not move when you installed the pan. If they did, remove the pan and reinstall the seals. I didn’t check and had to remove the bolts to reinstall the front seal!
10. Apply the bolts finger tight into the engine block to hold it in place. Remove the 4 guide studs and install the last 4 bolts. Starting at the ends and alternating from side-to-side towards the center tighten the bolts until they are snug where the gasket meets the block. Do not torque them down at this time. After a half hour or so, starting at the ends again and alternating side-to-side towards the center, torque the bolts to maximum of 10 foot-lbs. The specs from Chysler say 200 inch-lbs. (16.6 foot-lbs) but that is too much for a cork or composite gasket. The original gasket had a metal-core with cork on each side.
11. After everything has set for an hour or two after installation you can add the oil. I let it sit over night just to give it plenty time to dry. After the RTV sealant has dried, the gasket is less likely to split or distort.
12. If you want to torque the oil pan to a max of 16 ft-lbs, wait 24 hours until the RTV has set so you won’t split or distort the gasket.  I left mine at 10 foot-lbs for the first several short trips.
13. Remove the starter motor and lay it on your chest so you don’t have to disconnect the electrical connections.
14. Install the torque converter inspection cover loosely with 3 bolts.
15. Install the starter motor held in place with one bolt and a nut on a stud. Then install the heat shield and tighten torque converter inspection cover’s 3 bolts.
16. Install the 2 engine to transmission support struts.
17. Lower the engine with the jack.
18. Replace the 2 nuts on the bottom of the engine mounts.
19. Connect the battery ground to the batteries.
20. Take it out for a run it and get it up to temperature, then check for leaks. After it cools you should check the torque. You will have to remove one of the transmission support struts to check the torque.  After several short 25 mile trips I put my rig back up on blocks and checked the torque.  Several bolts had backed off slightly so I brought all of them down to 15 foot-lbs without any problems.  
    
    I could not get the torque wrench onto the four bolts by the front seal -- two on each side -- probably because the engine was no longer jacked up 2 inches.  Experimenting with my 5 inch long 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrench I found that 15 foot-lbs was about all the force I could exert one-handed lying on my back with that wrench.  So I torqued the last four bolts down by touch.

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