Is it possible to remove the oil pan without lifting engine?

[Kaiser man]

I'm trying to get my '48 started(been sitting since 70's)
I decided to check for sludge before attempting to start it ,and I can feel some with my finger in the drain plug hole.

So I want to know if it possible to remove the oil pan to clean the sludge WITHOUT lifting the engine on a 226 because i don't have an engine hoist and can't afford to buy one?

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If I can't remove it without touching the engine, then how safe would it be to attempt starting it with some sludge in the oil pan and a new oil filter,(if i shine a flashlight in the hole i cant see any sludge on the bottom of the pan,just feel it around the hole with my finger when making a U shape).

[joefrazer]

Yes, you can remove the pan without removing the engine. Loosen the pan bolts and let it drop as far as it will go so that you can access the cotter pin holding the oil pump float in place. Remove the pin to allow the float to drop into the pan. Turn the wheels so the center link is out of the way and you should be able to slide the pan out. You'll also need to remove the clutch inspection cover. Sometimes, it may be necessary to lift the engine an inch or two to make this work. But, the engine doesn't have to come out.

That said, if the oil didn't have water in it and only appeared dirty, I would opt for just cleaning out as much sludge as you can thru the drain hole. Get some good carb spray and shoot some in the drain hole and see what comes out. Oils used back in the day had a lot of paraffin in it and as a non-detergent mix, tended to sludge more than modern oils that suspend the particulates for the filter to trap. If there isn't much in the pan, add fresh oil and see what happens.

[kfnut]

IF you just want to clean the old stuff sitting in the bottom of the pan , pour in a little diesel fuel and push the car back and forth to stir the diesel in the pan . Then drain the gunk out . You may do this a few times to get it clean . I have even put in a gallon and one half and started the engine and let it idle for a few minutes to clean the oil galleries and such . I have done this several times on older vehicles but never had the need to do it on a Kaiser product . A friend had a Ford of the seventies that was all gunked up and had low oil pressure . He tried it and drove it around a little . I don't recommend that . It worked and his engine cleaned up and had better oil pressure . Please understand , I only recommend the first procedure to clean the pan .

[boatingbill]

My friend had an old 51 Studebaker that had sludge in it. A mechanic back then told us to put in a new oil filter and 4 quarts of oil
and a 1 quart of kerosene. He said start the engine and let it idle only with no load on the motor, We ran it for 5 minutes until the
temp started to move and the oil pressure started to drop. We shut it off and drained the oil. You should have seen the gunk that
came out. A fresh filter and oil and we drove it 100 miles and changed oil and filter again to remove residual kerosene. He had the
car for years and it was running fine when he sold it. Don't use any harsh solvent cleaners as they will attack the seals and you
will have a oil leak everywhere.

[boatingbill]

Are you sure you are not just seeing the inside of the rusty oil pan? Take a tape measure and
measure the outside and the the depth of the inside of the filler neck and see how they compare.
A wire brush taped to a mop handle can clean the inside of the filler neck if that is all it is. Pouring
a gallon of kerosene in will flush it out the drain hole. If all this fails, you may have to drop the pan.

[Kaiser man]

Thank you guys

I just ran into a BIG problem,I decided to shine a flashlight down the oil filler neck,and it is filled with rust,so much loose rust in it that the hole is BLOCKED with rust ,Is there anything at all that I can do,or is a rebuild necessary.For some reason I cant paste a picture.

[Kaiser man]

I measured the outside at about 9 inches,and i can only get the tape line in a little under 9 1/2 inches, it is blocked by all the rust,looking through the drain hole on the pan it looks rust free,with a light coating of old oil.

[kfnut]

Can you pull the oil fill tube out to get a better look ? It should come out with a little wiggling .

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The installation was not designed to allow the pan on a 226 to be pulled without lifting.  It was one of those things that the engineers felt would not happen unless you were replacing bearings, crankshaft, etc.  However there are various approaches to flush the pan through the drain hole as already noted.

[Kaiser man]

I was about to start cleaning the sludge by the ways mentioned,but then I thought that if I did clean it ,wouldn't any loose sludge that didn't come out the drain hole block the pickup screen etc.?

Just wondering.

[brian.b]

I asked the same thing here when i first started my 48 and i did the kerosene thing ran it for a few minutes then drained it and filled with cheap fresh oil from the dollar store ran it for about a day and drained that and replaced with good oil no problems and my oil looks as clean as new.......

[Hollenway]

I'd suggest investing in an engine cleaning brush like the one shown in this picture......  You can bend the 34" wire handle
around in different positions to clean the bulk of the crap off the bottom of the pan.   If the engine has a lot of serious
rust inside - then you might as well save yourself some time and just pull the engine and do it right.   The 226 engine
is a very forgiving piece of machinery and many times after cleaning out the goop and crud in the pan things will
be fine.   But do try to flush out as much residue from the engine before you try to start it - as it won't do the oil
pump any good to pump contaminants through the oiling system.   When working on a car that is a hydra-matic ( yours isn't... )  - clean the transmission pan before you attempt to start the car....... as the same holds true for the transmission fluid.   When these cars sit for long periods of time the crud settles to the bottom - and if you can work it loose with one of these brushes and flush it clean -  it's always a good idea to try the cleanup before you crank the engine.   Best of luck with the project !!!