As If I didn't have enough problems, a forgotten torque converter bolt from when the replacement engine was removed from the donor car, and which the mechanic who swapped the engines had not seen, got loose and took out my oil pan and starter. The starter is easy to find, but the oil pan is expensive, so I am taking the one off the old engine while I get a replacement from a salvage yard. But now I have no clue how to get the darn thing to separate from the block after taking off all the bolts...

 

It's great to have spare parts (or a spare engine) to cannibalize when needed!

Did you hear the sonic boom?

 

Yes, it is. I figured it out, I just needed to run a razor up and down the seam on one side, and then with a large screwdriver over a rag to protect the metal, tapped the pan until it loosened up surprisingly easily. The last curve from Murphy was the oil dipstick. The handle of the dipstick had broken off, so the dipstick was still in there and it gave me some grief. The metal tube of the dipstick enters a hole in the pan and is held in place by a gasket ring. Took me a bit to figure that out, then gave it a good pull and got the pan off the engine. Got a replacement lined up from a salvage yard in CT, but my mech needs this one tomorrow.

I did not hear the boom. My wife did. She was at a bridal shower party for one of my half-Puerto Rican, half-Indian nieces, and didn't know if it was thunder or someone had let go of a mighty f@rt.