Oil Pan Baffle Install

[Woodsman44]

I thought I’d create a DIY for installing the Improved Racing oil pan baffle on a 1LE LS3 (Part # EGM-205) since I completed the task this past weekend. No pictures and little detail but some helpful tips that would have saved me time. This was 2 day job for me not including the alignment but this write-up would have saved me at least half a day. I tried to put some time estimates in each step.

Tools needed other than the usual:
• Harbor Freight engine support for $80 http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb...bar-96524.html

• Torque wrench that’ll go as low as 8 ft lbs.
• 24mm and 21mm sockets
• Ratchet straps or extra chain. Chains probably need to be about 4 feet each side.
• Zip Ties – the longer the better


1. 15 min: Loosen the front wheels, jack up the car with jack stands on the pinch weld and remove the front wheels.
2. 15-60 min: Drain oil, remove oil filter, remove oil cooler (oil cooler removal thread: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=381050). If you have a factory oil cooler then I believe you’ll need to drain the radiator coolant as well. I have the Improved Racing adapter with aftermarket air-to-oil coolers so I just had to remove the adapter as it’s connected to the oil pan.
3. 30 min: Disconnect the front struts from the knuckle and front sway bar links. I installed Moreno Motorsports caster/camber plates at the same time so follow the first part of their camber/caster plate install instructions on their web site for this step as I’m missing some details here. Make sure to mark the strut to knuckle alignment with a sharpie or you can screw in a camber adjustment bolt into the knuckle so you’ll have roughly the same camber when reinstalling. Here's more info on the camber adjustment screw: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202016
4. 45 min: Remove front bumper. The link in step #2 discusses bumper removal. Once removed, remove the 2 plastic retainers that connect the lower radiator cowl to the lower bumper bar.
5. 10 min: Support the radiator. There are 2 plastic “loops” on the top of the radiator. I used a series of zip ties through these loops then to the hood latch area to support the radiator for when the cradle drops.
6. 10 min: Disconnect the steering shaft. Make sure to tie up the steering wheel so it doesn’t rotate once the shaft is disconnected. There’s one bolt where the shaft connects to the final R&P shaft that needs to be removed in order to disconnect the steering shaft.
7. 60 min: Support the motor. I set the engine support on the strut tower with the support “feet” straddling the factory strut plate. I also put one of the bolts back in on each tower from the factory 1le strut tower brace to prevent the engine support feet from slipping to the outside. The engine support comes with chains to loop around the motor mounts which weren’t quite long enough. I supplemented one with a longer chain and used a ratchet strap on the other side. Both worked fine. I’d recommend using an unwrapped coat hanger for pulling the other end of the chain/strap back up to the engine support. I only removed a couple spark plug wires for clearance. Everything else was fine with headers.
8. 15 min: Disconnecting motor. You can disconnect the motor mounts either from the bottom of the cradle (easier) or from the top of the motor mount. You’ll need to disconnect the motor mount from the top side on the driver’s side and from the bottom cradle side on the passenger side. The motor mount on the driver’s side will get caught on the R&P shaft when you try to drop the cradle if it’s still connected to the motor. You need about 1.25 feet of socket extensions and your angle joint to get to the one motor mount nut (18mm I think) but it’s pretty simple. Also, make sure you loosen the bottom nut on the driver’s side and the top nut on the passenger side mount a few turns while you’re at it to help later when mounting the motor back to the cradle. More on this later.
9. 30 min: Raising the motor. I used a 10” 4x4 piece of wood and my jack under the oil pan to raise the motor. Once I could see the intake manifold hitting the firewall, I tightened the engine support chain and ratchet strap and removed the jack. Lower the jack slowly to make sure everything is solid.
10. 30 min: Lowering the cradle. I didn’t completely remove the cradle (brake lines and ABS sensors are still connected) but had to lower it quite a large amount to get everything out. There are 3 bolts on each side that hold the cradle to the frame. The rear bolts are 24mm and the others are 21mm. I first removed the front bolts all of the way and then put them back in a few turns as you’ll leave these in to support the cradle. Then I put a jack under the rear of the cradle (putting the jack in from the rear/side of the car, not the front) and began loosening the rear and middle bolts completely. In the end, you’ll need the rear of the cradle hanging down about 8-10 inches with the front of the cradle still loosely connected to the frame with the front bolts. When lowering the cradle, verify that your radiator supports are working.
11. 90 min: Removing the oil pan. Make sure you have backup jack stands or equivalent supporting the cradle in case something goes wrong while you’re under it. Begin removing all of the bolts. Should be fairly self-explanatory but there are some bolts that connect brackets to the pan which are a little annoying to remove. Once they are all removed you might need to convince the pan to come off the block but I just pulled on it a little with my hands and it popped off. You’ll then have to wrestle a little to get the pan to clear the AC line and wires. Make sure the gasket has come completely loose from the block before wrestling with the pan so it stays intact for reuse.
12. 10 min: Install the oil pan baffle per Improved Racing’s instructions.
13. 60 min: Reinstalling pan. Clean the RTV from the block and the pan gasket on the 4 corners and make sure the surfaces are clean. Add a little bit of high temp RTV to the 4 corners before reinstalling. Torque the pan bolts to 18 ft. lbs. for all pan bolts except the 2 smaller rear bolts, which are 9 ft. lbs.
14. 30 min: Reinstalling the cradle and motor mounts. As you’re beginning to raise the cradle into place, be sure to guide the motor mounts into the proper holes and the radiator supports into the proper holes. You should have loosened the opposite side of the motor mounts in step 8 which will allow for you to move the mounts as the motor is on an angle from being raised. Once the motor mounts are lined up you can lock down the cradle and tighten the motor mount nuts.
15. 120 min: Put everything else back together and fill with oil. RTV normally says 24 hours to cure though I've never had problems using it after about 5 hours or so. In this situation I waited until the next day because I wasn't in a rush. Flooring the clutch and gas pedal when trying to start the engine will turn the starter but will prevent the engine from actually firing up. Do this a few times, maybe about 10 seconds each, to get some oil pumping through the engine. This is even more important if you have aftermarket oil coolers.
16. Get an alignment. Give it hell at the track

Let me know if you all have recommended changes on any of these steps based on your experience.

[AG1LE]

Thanks for the write-up! It's a big job - I may plan to install upgraded motor mounts and a tubular cradle at the same time.

[SPCBA]

Wow man. Great writeup and kudos to tackling that job yourself.

[Woodsman44]

Thanks, guys. It's not a very technical job but certainly a lot of steps. I bet you could shave some serious weight with a tubular cradle.

[Synner]

Only additional thing I did was deburr some sharp edges on the baffle. Still in progress as I'm doing additional concurrent mods and my back pain and work schedule have slowed me down.

I also welded my own stand since it's cheaper than the HF piece and much stronger if you have the capability.

[JCunningham]

one thing is the GM shop manual says DO NOT RAISE THE MOTOR BY THE OIL PAN. the oil pan can flex and bend the pick up tube.
Someone did come up with a tubular cradle but havent heard anything about it in a long time.
You can also remove the oil bypass valve in the LS3. You need a M14x1.50 oil pan drain plug with copper washer. and might as well wile your in there do a crank scraper. http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=33532