Guys,
Again, thanks for all the advice.
For those that have commented on why the pan is hard to pull...the CSX cars do not have a cross member under the pan or anywhere near the engine for that matter. The chassis tubes that run the entire length of the car are close to both sides of the pan. The drivers side has between 2.5" and 3" of clearance to get your hands up to the pan bolts and the passenger side has about 4". I tried removing and reinstalling the pan last year when I had an
oil pump failure. I was only marginally succsesful at getting the pan back on...it leaked pretty bad after a long session on the race track. I know what you are thinking...lousy mechanic skills. Well, it is hard!
You've got to put silicon on the pan, then put a gasket on the pan, then more silicon, then the windage tray, another gasket with silicon, then get a few bolts in the holes to align all the peices and then you've got to get that whole assembly up and in place making sure that the pickup tube gets BOLTED to the windage tray. Oh and by the way, the silicon will setup in 8 to 12 minutes or sooner! Then you have to get all the other bolts in fighting gasket and windage try alignment on every one of them. All of this while sticking your hands in a 3 to 4 inch area around the t-pan.
I'll pull the motor when the snow flies!!!
Be safe and happy motoring.
Scott...