Oil pan change folowing turbo install

Quote from slingmyway

Hi guys,
I'm new to this but I have a question. Following an Alpha turbo install, I have an oil leak and it seems that the reason is that when the pan was done (turbo oil intake) it warped a bit and now I have an oil leak. The dealer tells me it's 7-8 hours work to get the pan off and back on because he needs to lift the engine to do it. Have any of you done this before? And if so are they BS...ing me? Oh and I have to pay to get the pan flat and that's another $400... Please let me know if you have suggestions or solutions. Thx

Big time bs! You only need to lift the engine a bit. There's a few things you will have to remove, but it's really just a couple of pipes that are attached and will stop the engine from lifting. The engine mounts are easy to access and all you need is a jack to raise up the engine enough to wiggle the oil pan out. It's more difficult with the full install done, but is totally possible.

Do you know what warped the replacement pan that @Turbosling sent you? Are you able to figure out where you are leaking?

Okay. That's the oil return from the turbo. The turbo pulls oil from the block and drains back to the pan. You can pretty easily get a leak at the Bung where that braided stainless cable goes back in. You may need to seal those threads better. Now if you can actually see a leak around the edge of the pan you can probably seal that from the outside. It may not last forever, but it just might. If it's oozing while the engine is sitting then you may not be able to try and seal it with oil in the pan. If you try to seal it with black rtv or something make sure the area is completely clean. Don't be afraid to slop that stuff on either.

There may be better idea from forum members!!!

If you decide you'll have to swap the pan, talk to Turbosling. What you'll need to do is identify any hard pipes or attachments to the engine. Remove them. You'll have to loosen the engine mounts (very easy they're just bolts on the frame). Take a jack and raise the engine up just a bit. You're going to have to undo all the bolts on the pan then take a razor and cut away the black rtv sealing the edge. There will be a lot! Once you get the pan out make sure you use a rotary scrubber to grind off all the rtv that's on your engine. Once it's clean wipe it down with alcohol. Really slop the rtv on your new pan and mush everything in place. Do your bolts again and you should be solid.

Flat rate to drop the oil pan, remove the cylinder head and replace a connecting rod is 10 hours if memory serves me correctly. For them to charge 8 hours is either their way to say they don't want to do it, but they want to make a LOT of extra money if they do. Or their technicians have no clue as what's involved with doing an automobile engine repair like this. Either way, are you sure you want them to do it?

Quote from slingmyway

How much time do you think you could do it in? I just want to see how much time the dealer is trying to squeeze extra out me . Thx

Me personally three hours. That's being generous assuming crap will not work perfectly first try.

That's also using my very very limited tools.

Quote from slingmyway

Hi guys,
I'm new to this but I have a question. Following an Alpha turbo install, I have an oil leak and it seems that the reason is that when the pan was done (turbo oil intake) it warped a bit and now I have an oil leak.

.

Who installed the oil pan the first time ?

.

Quote from slingmyway

It was OCP (Ocean County Powersport in New Jersey) under the recommandation of Alpha directly. I drove down from Montreal to have it installed since no one here is Alpha authorized and knows how to do it.

Sounds like you need to contact them directly. They should fix their mistake.

I agree with @Cameron Roberts less than 3hrs. You do have to remove the radiator reservoir to lift the engine high enough. Cleaning the old sealant off takes the most time. I used about 5 utility knife blades to clean mine off. Depending how warped it is, if it's not a big leak, probably not very warped. The sealant may just need to be a little heavier there. Just don't go heavy by your oil pickup area(s). Its not the funnest job, but not hard at all.

For a new oil pan you could always source a junkyard one and have a local welder match bung location. Junkyard pan will add an hour of scrubbing inside clean to your time.

Quote from slingmyway

It was OCP (Ocean County Powersport in New Jersey)

Quote from Cameron Roberts

Sounds like you need to contact them directly. They should fix their mistake.

Yup .... that's what I was getting to ... quite a few reasons why the oil pan can have a leak after being re-installed...the least of which would be a slight flaw in the mating surface ..that's the whole reason they use RTV sealant..

And then there is the $400 to fix the oil pan ..

A brand new pan from Polaris is only $144 ...less from other sources..... of course its not set up for the turbo oil return line but just gives you an idea of its worth ... in the unlikely instance where Alpha actually sent you a pan with a flaw then the installer didn't notice it..... resurfacing a spot the mating surface once its off just takes a flat file and a few minutes ...

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Sadly I had a thread once upon a time showing all the steps of lifting the engine and removing the pan. And even grinding the rib on the outside of the pan for more streamlined way to put the pan back on...

Let me see if I can get you some pictures posted of some of the items to remove...

Quote from slingmyway

Felt I needed to add this to finish this thread! I just received a bran new oil pan from Henry at Alpha. I had told him about my problem and he steped up to the plate and made it right. I still have to caught up the time to get the pan installed (I'm not set up to do my own work at home) but at least I'm getting the support of the Turbo manufacturer I selected and THAT makes all the difference! Thx Henry.

Sling, it's Marc from the Slingshot Quebec group. Don't pay the dealer for nothing, I will go and do it at your place, it's super easy to do if you have the replacement pan.

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