Removing an oil pan gasket isn't the hardest thing in the world but can definitely get time consuming. It's extremely important that the surface is clean and smooth so the the new gasket seals correctly.

​The gasket removal process easily took over an hour but it was time well spent.

25 years really makes things difficult when it comes time to remove the oil pan from the block. After a few minutes under the car, we decided to purchase a thin metal paint scraper and carefully attacked the corners of the pan in order to separate it. The trick worked like a charm.

Here's what the pan looked like. Notice all the reside caused by the oil leak.

One of the most common leaks in a high mileage car comes from the worn out gasket of the oil pan. Nancy was no different. As soon as we got under the car, we found an extremely dirty pan with a couple of missing oil pan bolts - definitely signs of an oil leak that was probably ignored by the previous owner.