Removing oil pan on 3rd generation ('68) Falcon

Howdy, I'm going to be replacing the oil pump and pickup tube soon on the 200 in my 1968 Falcon. Will I have to lift the engine or do anything special to remove the oil pan? The car is my DD and I'd rather not unbolt the pan to realize I can't clear it between the crossmember and the pickup screen, and then have to take the extra time to figure out a way to lift the engine up.

Also, is there anything special I should be aware of when replacing the pump and pickup tube? I've never done any work inside of the engine before.

since the cross member on that car is integral, it makes things tougher. you can lift the engine up with a hoist to get enough clearance to remove the oil pump pick up tube so you can remove the oil pan without pulling the motor entirely.

you may also have to remove the oil pump as well to get the pan out.

when putting things back together, first glue the pan gasket to the pan, or use the ARP oil pan stud kit to help hold the gasket to the engine.

the hard part is going to be installing the oil pump if you have to remove it before pulling the oil pan. and the hardest part of that is reinstalling the oil pump drive shaft. a little grease will hold the shaft in place if needed.

Thank you!

If you have to remove the pump to clear the pan do your self a favor and remove the distributor and pump shaft too. Check the bearings while the pan is off. If you see copper they're done. low oil pressure indicates worn bearings more often than a bad oil pump. When the new pump is in and the pan on oil full prime the oil system using a 5/16 socket on the oil pump shaft and a drill or speed handle turn clockwise til you get oil pressure.
If you need help with any of these ask. That's what we're here for. Good luck.

Cobraguy, which bearings are you referring to? Or do you just mean any bearings I can see? I'd have to take the bearings apart to see if the inside surfaces are worn and copper-looking yes? My hope is that having a new oil pump will give me enough pressure that the engine at least isn't running with dry surfaces, to buy me some time until I can actually get into it. I know that's not exactly a kosher way of doing things, but I figure it can't hurt at least. And it will give me an excuse to get in and look at the bottom end.

I expect everything to be very worn. I don't know the actual mileage of the car, but it is at least 150,000 miles; maybe there's another hundred-thousand in there. I don't have an old pressure gauge, but it seems to have symptoms of low oil pressure. I think the pickup tube is leaking and sucking in air, because the engine is very sensitive to the oil level. If it is any lower than 1/4" over the "full" line on the dipstick the whole engine becomes dramatically noisier.

Also, I assume that I'd be priming the pump through the hole for the distributer?

Yes check any bearing you can get at, at least 1 rod and 1 main. If they are worn (copper showing) you can replace them in the car. They are not expensive. Yes prime through the dist hole.

Here's a lesson on bearings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHeO1h3U4GE

So, its a few months later now, and I finally removed the oil pan. Inside I found large flakes of what I assume are bearing, ranging from 2mm up to about 5mm, the largest is about a centimeter long piece. That explains why I felt like there was low oil pressure, though its odd that I never heard a knock from the bottom of the engine, only the top. I'm assuming there's about a 95% chance my crank shaft is trashed if there are that many large flakes of bearing in my oil pan. I'm about to check the bearings now to see which one failed. I'll ask this now though so there's a chance for someone to respond: in the slim chance it doesn't look like my crank shaft is ruined, how do I know what size bearings to get before I buy them?

At this point I would recommend checking all of the bearings including the tops, so you might as well plan on removing the crankshaft. You really should take it to a machine shop to be turned. If that is not in the budget and if you do not see any scars, scratches, or burrs on the journals of the crankshaft the you can put standard bearings in and the check the clearance with Plastigage. Good luck.

1968 Falcon":3mf859hw said:

In the slim chance it doesn't look like my crank shaft is ruined, how do I know what size bearings to get before I buy them?

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If it's never been apart before the back side of the bearing will have an oval with FoMoCo in it and if there is no other markings then that's a standard size bearing. If they are aftermarket bearings they will have Std. for Standard, an oversize bearing will be marked .010, .020, .030, etc for a crankshaft that's been turned undersize by that amount. Good luck

dont assume the crank needs work before inspecting it. remember the bearings are considered a wear item, and thus are expendable. so they tend to come apart easier. the crank on the other hand doesnt damage quite so easily. teh flakes could be from a defective bearing coating.

Thank you all for responding. So far I've only popped open four rod bearings, and no mains, but the next one I'll look for the FoMoCo that bubba22349 mentioned. I agree with you ags290 that the best thing would be to get the crank shaft turned, unfortunately I'm on a super tight college student budget. I have seen a few flakes of (what I assume is) another bearing's material embedded in the rod bearings I've looked inside of, and one was scratched, but the crank journals seemed clean on those ones. I'm going to cling to what rbohm said as a glimmer of hope, since this car will probably have to sit for quite some time if I have to do anything more than just replace bearings.