I'm thinking you want to get some gasket contact adhesive, and put the gasket on the motor first. The reason is, you want those 2 tabs on the rear of the gasket to go into the slots provided. (that you cleaned out real good I hope). Another thing that will help to reinstall the pan, is to raise the chassis with a jack, up from the axle for more clearance. (of course that is assuming you have a 4x4) And as usual, we don't have ALL the info.

 

This is nitpicking but it is not an absolute must, because I got my pan off and on without removing it.

If I do it again I will remove the plate at least. It was a nightmare getting that dang thing back in.

I held the gasket in place with 4 of those mediumish black paper clips. Worked like a charm

 

Gotta pull the starter to remove the plate.

 

damn..... heyyou beat me to it, oh well haha.

 

So I removed the inspection plate and was able to get the pan back in place. Now I need to wait for the new bolts to arrive. I need to get a tap and redo some of the holes as well. The bolt size according to the dealer is .132-18 x .875. Anyone know what size tap I need?

 

i don't know what size it is, but i'd hesitate on running a tap up in there. just pick the best looking old bolt, squirt some wd40 up in there, and use the old bolt to chase the threads.

taps are very sharp and efficient at cutting metal. sometimes too much...

edit - oops, i just reread your original that you had a couple of broken bolts. .132 is an odd size. its about 3.5mm or 1/8 inch = .125

those bolts are not that small... they're probably about 3/16 (.1875)