Dropping the engine Oil Pan? 2005 2wd, non GT

[topdawgn8]

Alright. I'm at my wits end on how something so simple could turn out to be so frusterating.Just to keep it simple, I have to replace my oil pan due to a wiley drain plug. I bought this Vibe about two months ago and was looking forward to its first oil change; however, the guy before me wanted to make sure the plug never came off (the oil filter too for that matter).I took out all 14 bolts + 2 nuts and proceeded to drop the pan, but it wouldn't budge. I attemped bumping it with the (removed) of my hand to loosen it...nothing. Started to pry with a screwdriver and put a tiny gash in the aluminum so I stopped doing that. Next I took a dead-weight mallet to the side in hopes of knocking it loose. Finally. I tried my ace-in-the-hole. A 5 lb sledge. The pan went nowhere.I called the pontiac dealer this morning (he said 12 bolts - 4 nuts...i don't know why mine is different from the manual.) in hopes of getting some guidance, but to no avail. Has anyone here dropped their pan and was there a way that worked well for you? I really don't want to stick a screwdriver or prybar in there in fear of marring the aluminum.Thanks for any suggestions!!!!!

[vibedrivermatt]

hey I just looked in an online service manual that can be found on this site. In the manual there appears to be only 16 holes in the oil pan so that guy at the dealer could have been wrong about there being 4 bolts.its in section 14-16 partial engine assembly.but sorry I dunno why that could be stuck on there so badly. If a hammer didn't take if off. uhhhhhhh .....?this may seem like a dumb question but you did drain the oil first right? Just my thought is if you tried to remove it without draining it could be held on by vacuum pressure.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by topdawgn8 »I took out all 14 bolts + 2 nuts I don't remember how many bolts vs how many nuts, but there's 16 total, so you got all the fasterners removed.The pan is glued on (with some serious hyperglue) and to get mine off I had to drive a screwdriver between the pan and the block at one corner. One mistake I made was to buy and install a gasket when I put it back on. There wasn't one there from the factory, just some selant glue, but I didn't know that until after I had bought the gasket, and I thought I'd use it anyway since I'd spent the money on it. I overtightened the fasteners, which deforemed the pan at each bolt hole and squeezed the gasket out of place, rendering it useless. Had to take the pan back off, clean all the surfaces again, and beat the deformations out of the rim. Put it on with just the rubber sealant, and no leak.So when you go to put it back on, don't waste money on a gasket, just put a bead of RTV sealant around the perimeter. A little scratch from prying the pan off isn't going to matter, you're going to be globbing goo on the thing, that will seal minor irregularities.