I have a 2007 S6 with the v10 and it has had an oil leak for a while now. Im finally getting around to fixing it since im doing an oil change anyway. The problem is the oil pan gasket and i started going about replacing that but i cant for the life of me get it off. The RTV is holding it on there too tightly. I have tried prying it off, heat, a ton of different chemicals, and even a rubber mallet but none of them have worked. I have been at it about 5 hours now trying to get it to come off. Any ideas?
The gasket is definitely tough. I had to use a rubber mallet and flathead to wedge my way in and around. I found the best entry was on the passenger side towards the front of the car. Once you get the flathead in, just work your way around.
As far as getting it back on, get some allthread from a local hardware store and cut into four or six 2" lengths to serve as guides (m6x1.0). Gasket the block, not the pan, and use the reinzosil (sp?) in a toothpaste tube, not the henkel/loctite stuff that’s in a caulk gun like tube.
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Audi gives you a recess between the upper and lower pans on the passenger side just behind the drain hole.
My preferred method is to break the seal in the corner by tapping the blade of a utility knife in lightly with a hammer. Once you get it started then you can apply light pressure with the screwdriver to take the pressure off of the knife blade. The blade can then be slid most of the way around in both directions.
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Thanks for the ideas but i did already try these and ended up gouging the block pretty bad. I can only get to one of those pry slots though because the engine is still in the car, so all the hoses and such are in the way. In the morning when its not 10 degrees im going to just take a sledgehammer to it and buy a new one if it punctures. I have had it with this car and i just want to get it in sellable condition.
I used a paint scraper. I tapped with a hammer until I got it started, then, once in, worked my way around the perimeter. I had no issued and didn’t damage anything.
In these cold temps your going to have a lot of things working against you. You said heat. That is going to be the key but you need to use a lot of it and I mean a lot. and its hard to really get the RTV to soften up and let go in these really cold temps.
You need to spend a good 1/2 an hour just on the heat alone. You need to really warm up the pan fron the side best you can and work it around the face. Warm up the 5 inches or so on either side of the best point to wedge in a flat head. It’ll take a good 15 min of heat work also have a 5lb sledge and a 2x4. Use the 2x4 as a blunt buffer for the hammer pound that around on the corner as well. heat and slowly work the flat head in. Then slowly work in one direction sliding in another flathead. from there keep going until you can put in another and another and another. don’t pry the pan just use the flat head to ever so slightly get the pan to separate working the wood and hammer against the side of the pan to help work it free.
I know it has been a while since I made this thread but I wanted to follow up by saying thank you for all the ideas. I ended up getting an aluminum ruler and slightly sharpening one end than using a rubber mallet I hammered it between the pan and the block. It was soft enough that it didn’t scratch anything and was bendy enough that it fit in the tight spaces since the engine was in the car. The oil leak turned out to be where a previous owner left a massive screwdriver gouge in the block and the RTV just didn’t quite seal it back up. Also, I found that Lineman pliers for electrical work fit perfectly on the little lip of the oil pan and I was really able to pull down on it with all my body weight.
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I did the aluminum ruler trick and it worked like a charm. I got a $4 HF aluminum ruler, lightly sharpened one end, rounded the edges, and made sure it was smooth. Once you get the passenger end separated with a putty knife (also rounded edges) you can slip the ruler in the end, and using a small dead blow hammer drive it all the way to the other side. Slowly, take your time. I did that on each side and then the pan popped right off. Thanks for the idea. Thats what I love about this forum.
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