Remove Oil Pan huge job?

[Cooper01]

I have a very small oil leak and I suspect it is from the oil pan, but will try to confirm yet again - it gets a bit messy under there! I thought it was power steering fluid at first and tidied all that up [was leaking under the reservoir], wasn't a hard job at all.

Has anyone removed their oil pan before? According to the Bentley manual I have to drop the sub frame, support the engine, and quite a bit of other work as well. Is it really necessary?

Thanks. Cooper

[Southernboy]

I read through the Bentleys, and it seems quite do-able. I think th only item you will need which is "unusual" is the engine support tool on topside. The subframe support could be easily managed with a decent hydraulic jack. The rest is simply undoing lots of bolts, a new gasket and sealant...some rags and cleaning fluid to remove any oil from the mating surfaces when re-fitting and applying the sealant. You will need a torque wrench to re-fit all the bolts to the correct torque, some decent lighting and secure jack stands. You may need a raising block to use the hydraulic jack under to support the subframe otherwise it may not extend far enough since the car will be raised on jack stands for you to work under it.... A useful suggestion is to use your mobile phne cam and photograph the position of any specifics before you remove them... it'll speed up correct re-assembly if you have as many references as possible... maybe even record voice notes to assist you.