2001 Dodge ram VAN 1500 VAN
It all started with a new radiator.
Hey I should do my timing chain since I got plenty of room, oh while I'm at it, I'll fix rear seal leak and might as well change oil pump while I'm down there (100k miles).
So after dropping the pan it was clear there's no way to get it out fully to change rear crankshaft seal and oil pump.
Infact, even the known lifting up engine a few inches wouldn't even come close still to being able to remove oil pan (since it's built different in ram VAN vs truck)

I can across this and seems the most reasonable method sorta lol

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-ram-van/379087-1998-dodge-b3500-van-oil-pump-replacement.html

Unsure of where they jacked up the engine and how.
If anyone has any words of advice I'd love to hear it.
Would prefer jacking up vs renting motor hoist but will if I need to (also not sure where to hoist it up or how I'll get it home) so rather jack it up.
I did start to jack up the front on the harmonic balancer like many people mentioned but I don't believe that's a very good idea.
Also with both motor mounts loose, the whole chassis started to lift so presumed it was a bit stuck on motor mounts?
Do I need to loosen up or remove transmission mount for more play when jacking up motor?

Any insight to adding on to that post I linked or other great top secret method you crazy Mopar geniuses have came up with would be great.

Parts are off and new parts sitting waiting for installation after weeks of researching to find out pan removal not anywhere close to a ram truck.



Can see how leaky my rear main seal is all over flex plate.

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Here's some big holes near engine mount 3 on passenger shown and 4 on driver side. Maybe can utilize those for jacking up engine or holding it up when dropping crossmember? (Since engine mounts are attached to crossmember) I presume those were for moving around engine at factory or something?
For the life of me it's always ram truck information, so hard to find ram Van instructions. I'm mostly able to follow the service manual for many things until I'm not.

 

1. Did you loosen the motor mount bolts or remove them?
2. Did you remove the air cleaner assembly?

If you still don't have enough clearance you might have to remove the intake. When I R&R my engine, the intake had to be off, or it wouldn't fit.

 

I did loosen motor mount bolts. Plenty of clearance to jack up motor a few inches so not sure why it was lifting up chassis unless mounts where stuck? Was afraid to jack up on harmonic balancer much but idk how else or where to do it. However, i still wouldn't be able to drop oil pan without dropping cross member.
I don't want to rent hoist and pull engine just to repair a leaky rear seal, at least not until i decide to do some major engine work.


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I jack 'em up by the pan, then toss some wooden blocks of the appropriate size between the engine mounts, then drop the pan..... Of course, that was not on a dodge van......

 

Whats the method to jack up on the pan? Where with what?
If i can jack it up enough it up enough to wedge some wood somewhere and drop cross member id be golden.

 

I place two equally sized pieces of 2x6 on my floor jack, one in each direction so that the grains are 90 degrees apart. Slide it all under the oil pan and jack it up, just enough to start taking some weight. Remove the doghouse and the air cleaner assembly. Then loosen the transmission mount bolts about halfway out. From there, unbolt the top or bottom half of each motor mount, whichever is easier to get to. Now you can start jacking the engine up. Keep an eye on the fan, wires, and hoses to make sure you aren't stretching anything, if there are any, loosen them up to gain slack. Keep jacking it up as high as you can get it, then insert blocks of wood between the block and the crossmember. Lower the jack until the blocks of wood take the load. Remove the jack and the 2x6s, then start removing the pan. Keep in mind, the oil pump pickup tube goes to the bottom of the pan. That is what you'll get hung up on if you can't lower the pan enough to get past it. It is possible to gain more clearance above if you remove the belt and unbolt the AC compressor. You do not have to disconnect the hoses, just pull the compressor forward enough to get it out of the way of the firewall.