whats involved in dropping oil pan?
 

Im thinking about pulling the oil pan to have a look at big end rod and main crankshaft bearings. This is in regards to the dreaded tick and metal flakes Im getting in the oil. Any tips, tricks or need to knows when removing and putting back the oil pan? I have overviewed the rave, just interested in what people who have actually done it have experienced. What gaskets needed, what parts are in the way and have to be removed, total time to do job ect..
thanks!

I haven't done this on my D2, but I did it on the D1.... which might be completely different.... but the problem I had on the d1 was the engine block, which isn't very different at all. The main caps are cross bolted, two bolts go in from the bottom and two go in from the sides. This means that everything has to fit together tightly (because aluminum doesn't like to flex too much). I found it very difficult to remove a main cap.... I've actually still got the bearings, turns out I didn't need to replace them. The rod cap was pretty easy to remove.

Thanks, was it very hard to get the pan reinstalled without leaks? What reason for you ckecking your bearings?

To get the pan off:
Jack the body (not the wheels) as high as you can, you need clearance between the oil pan and the front axle.
Remove the front cross member.
Remove the front drive shaft to give yourself extra wiggle room, this is not required but makes life easier. Otherwise you need to wiggle and twist the pan around the cat to get it off.
Detach the tranny oil cooler pipes running along the oil pan as rave says, but do not remove the oil cooler line from the tranny. This way you do not loose tranny oil and there is enough slack in the lines to get the oil pan off.
It's a messy job, you will get oil dripping in your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, ears....

Remove the spark plugs and use a big ratched on the main pulley bolt to rotate the crank so that you can get to each rod.
The rear main cap is a bitch to get off and back on with a good seal, I would consider not touching that one - unless you install new bearings.

It took me about 4 hours to drop the oil pan and pull the rod caps and plastigage them, I did not do the mains.

Well, the D1 had a cork gasket, and I think the D2 has a rubber gasket. I don't remember there being any problems with leaking.... as for why I wanted to look at the bearings..... well.... I thought I had an oil pressure problem. The light came on at idle. I actually dropped it off at a shop to have them change the oil pump gears IF after testing the oil pressure it was low. (they owed me some labor because I did some computer work for them). Supposedly they tested the pressure and it was low. So I had them put gears in the cover. When I got it back the light still would come on. I figured if the pump is good, it must be mains and rods. So I bought the bearings, and pulled a couple of caps and everything looked fine. I put it all back together and went and bought a cheap harbor freight oil pressure gauge and tested it myself. Everything was fine.

It turns out the cheap-o oil pressure switch I replaced to correct an oil leak was bad. I bought a new one, and no light.

I learned a very expensive lesson about trusting other people to do work I can do myself.

thanks for all the replys! I hope to tear into next week and see what kind of shape the bearings are in.

Hey man I sent you a PM, I just got your message. I've done this start to finish so call me if you need to

I removed and installed the oil pan without jacking up or removing anything. This was done during the front cover gasket and front seal replacement. I worked off my back on the ground with plenty of clearance. If you have the notorious Rover tick it is coming from a collapsed lifter. Bottom ends on the D2 are virtuously bulletproof. Again, ticking is from lifters, oil from exhaust is from bad guide seals. If you are to do a head job get valves reseated with new valve guide seals, mill heads. If you wish to replace bad lifters do not do without replacing the cam (new lifters will destroy the lob of the old cam). If the tick is not bad let it go, many LR owners have this tick at relatively low mileage, it's a LR thing. Mine started ticking two days after purchase and has been that way since. Do your research before tearing into her, she can be a cold hard bitch if you piss her off. Good luck and keep us posted.

You should do your research. It's been done over an over again.....at least a portion of the ticking problems are compressed piston skirts/piston slap. That firmly rules out a bulletproof bottom end, even a "virtuously" bulletproof one.

First google hit.

ditto
 

Thats a fact my grenaded...04 POS...;)