Home Oil Change and a bunch of other random questions

[Waterloo]

When you drop that pan, follow the instructions on QuickServe, I would take photos with the phone too prior to starting. Note where any lines are attached at the pan, and which bolts go where. There should be a mix of normal and studded bolts under there.

Now, this is crucial, do not use a zip gun, stick with a wrench, or say a powered ratchet, do not use anything that is too aggressive under there to remove these pan bolts. The areas of real concern are the front and rear structures, as they are aluminum and if you start exerting force in those areas, you will be breaking out the Heli-Coil kit, as that aluminum is soft and you will strip the threaded holes out.

Also, when you torque those bolts in the aluminum, go lightly, you may find that you will be not torquing those bolts to the specs cummins calls for. Just tread lightly up there.

And the RTV for the corners of the pan/block. You will see where the structures meet the block, use a nice bead in those areas and you should be fine. If you reuse the pan gasket, you may have to add a bit more RTV, maybe a small bead along the front and rear structure, much will depend on the condition of the old pan gasket and how aggressive they were prior with the RTV. I had no luck reusing my gasket, as the RTV was welded to the rubber on the gasket. Make sure you can get one locally, just in case.

And when you drop the pan, before you can actually remove it, you will need to remove the oil pick up tube and the bracket that holds it all in place along with the block brace. I believe those were 15mm bolts, if not they were 13mm. There are three that hold the pickup tube in place, you need to remove the three bolts, allow the oil pickup tube and bracket to drop into the pan and then you can remove the pan from under the truck. The block brace is self explanatory, I believe four bolts held that in place. A long 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar may be required to remove those bolts.

If you are checking for coolant in the liners, I would let the truck sit overnight, and then start the procedure of barring the motor, let some of that oil drain out prior to getting under there, as it can get very messy. You will need two people, one to bar the motor, and one of you under the motor with a good flashlight. Wear a junk shirt, and have rags on hand to wipe the oil off of your face.