djfuzzy

07 5.4l 4x4

So I'm taking the oil pan off to get a broken dipstick tube out. Got the crossmember off of the truck and the majority of the bolts are broken loose at this point. Problem I'm having is the front four (closest to the radiator).

Do I really have to drop the axle to get this done? Trying to finish up before thanksgiving celebration kicks off at noon.

And if I must take the axle down, is there a better way to do it than what my Haynes manual says, because it seems like a lot of steps.

djfuzzy

Actually looks like the steering rack is going to be the hard part. Dang

lariat05.4

There is just one support bolt for the the front axle. When taken out you can pull it down an inch or two which will give you clearance.

djfuzzy

You talkin about the one on the passenger side? I pulled that one and got a little wiggle room but now that I have the bolts out of the pan I got no room to slip it out.

lariat05.4

There should be enough. Did you drop the sway bar down as well? It helps to have someone pull down on the axle while you take out the pan.

djfuzzy

Yeah I have the sway bar pulled out of the way. I'm lifting the truck up by the front passenger corner but the axle is not lowering down far enough to squeeze the pan out. Wondering if for some reason the bracket is just barely holding it in place or something. Maybe take a pry bar to it?

Don't have anyone to help here for another few hours, everyone's still sleeping off all the turkey and booze from yesterday.

EBC-150

Yeah, I had to use a prybar to keep it held/wedged down. The bushing kept wanting to slide back up in the mount, probably from the 'twist motion' being applied to the driver's side bushing.

djfuzzy

Alright I'll give that a shot. Haven't had a real good use for this 3.5-ft pry bar since I bought it two years ago

EBC-150

Just a heads up, I tried driving the broken tube up through with a brass drift and hammer. The tube just mushroomed over and eventually broke, so I was left with the rusted piece still in the block. I could not drive that piece out for the life of me. It finally took a pneumatic hammer and punch to get it out, and that wasn't exactly easy. (Of course, nothing on these trucks is) I also had to clean all the remaining rust out of the hole for the new tube to slide in. By 'slide in' I mean I used a large pair of channel locks to pull the tube into the block. Just bite one jaw on the tube's flair and the other on the edge of the block and it should pull right in. There is just no way to get in there to tap it down from the top. I hope it goes a little easier for you...

djfuzzy

Thanks for the info. After having this truck for two years and having almost everyone of the 'common' problems on it I never expect anything to go easily as it should haha. Luckily I'm only fixing the dipstick thing so I can take it to get cam phasers repaired under warranty while I still have it. Petty sure they'd void the warranty if they found that I was driving around with the dipstick tube cut in two and held together with a piece of vacuum hose and metal clamps.