spruden

I decided to get an early start on track prep for next season and install the FVD Motorsport Oil Pan during my pre-winter oil change.

I ordered the pan directly from FVD and also got their install kit.

Drained the oil, which as you can see from the metal-free magnetic drain plug, was uneventful. The original pan came off easily - I used a pry bar with a very light touch to break the seal and lower the pan to the floor.





Clean magnetic drain plug - no debris in sump.

It's amazing how little wear is visible when looking into the open sump. Especially considering 80k miles on the clock and some "spirited" track duty. The pickup tube looked new once I removed and cleaned it, etc...







Very little signs of wear, all clear.

One of the great things about working on cars is usually things only come off and go back together one way. Not so for aftermarket parts with metal to metal surfaces and liquid gasket material. Cleaning the surfaces with brake cleaner and denatured alcohol worked well.

As you can see, the baffles are much more stable and rigid on the FVD pan - this means that you can't simply lift it into place.





As mentioned in this thread - the most difficult part is getting the (US) driver's side to fit. The supplied instructions from FVD are a re-print of that thread - for those doing this in the future the "sliding the baffle in at a 60 deg angle and then straightening it out" portion didn't help me much.

Here's how I got it to fit (and as you'll read I got good at it the 2nd time around):

1. Test fit it several times to get the process down
2. Begin lifting the pan straight on
3. Slightly tilt the pan toward the (US) passenger side until it almost touches
4. Apply firm pressure toward the passenger side as you push the driver's side of the pan up
5. Firmly push the entire pan into place while just sliding it into alignment

I originally used the Loctite 5900 and carefully followed the factory service manual procedure (correct size uninterrupted bead) and fastened everything up. I let the loctite cure and then filled the car with a few quarts of oil and let it sit overnight to check for leaks. Of course, it leaked.

Fast forward a day and I got ready for round two. I went wrong thinking that the loctite 5900 was the way to go - in my opinion it's just too error prone and difficult to use especially when you need a geometry lesson to angle and install the FVD pan. For the second try I used the method Jake describes in this . The loctite 518 is a much simpler product to apply and use. Round two was a success.






Note the red loctite 518. Much easier than the OEM product.

This really is a simple procedure - once you get the lift and shift method down for fitting the FVD pan in place. The product itself is very nice - extremely well made, packaged, shipped, etc... The loctite 518 is dead simple to use.

Sneaky Pete

WELL DONE

Paul Waterloo

Thanks for the post, I will be installing my pan when I do my next oil cange which is either before it gets too cold or once it gets warm again.

DBJoe996

I'm jealous! Now that is an oil pan! Good write up, thanks for sharing.

Flat6 Innovations

Dang, I need to pull that video off youtube.