# 1996 sentra oil pan bolts



## harlansnissan (May 22, 2015)

Hi, and thanks in advance. I have a 1996 nissan sentra 1.6 liter with automatic transmission which is leaking oil from around the oil pan. I planned to to replace the gasket, but when I got under there with a flashlight i can see two nuts which seem impossible to reach with any wrench in my posession. I'm talking about the two nuts (the rest are bolts) which are right up against the transmission casing. Anybody who has done this job... how did you reach those nuts? I dont want to get halfway done and realize i cant finish, since I live in a remote location and have no other transportation. I also cant afford to replace the oil twice. Any suggestions?


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## Jopet (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi there. There is a metal plate cover on that part of the transmission that you can remove to access those bolt. I remove my oil pan a couple of years back when I did my timing chain.
Unfortunately I could not remember how to remove the plate. I thinks its just a couple of 10mm nuts. I believe you can figure it out when you look at it. The plate just slides out and slide back in when you're done with the replacement of the oil pan gasket. 
I believe you will need to remove a sort off support on the fire wall side of the engine to get to a couple of more bolts of the oil pan. I could be wrong.
Lastly, make sure to clean off the mating surfaces carefully. Bolt down the pan from the center bolts first going out. Tighten firm on all bolts first then torque to specs.
Hope that helps.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

A lot of times when there is oil around the pan gasket (actually, it's sealant), it's not from the gasket, but the front crank seal. The oil gets flung out as it contacts the crank pulley and the oil runs down along the seam between the block and the oil pan. As mentioned, remove the inspection cover and you can remove the rear pan bolts. I use 1/4" drive extension with a 10MM universal socket.


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