How do you remove the oil pan on a 2003 Nissan Xterra?

Answer 1

The fastest way is to remove the front differential.

with the car up, and secure, remove the front skid plate,

then remove the differential crossmember in the middle of the truck.

remove the two bolts on the front crossmember to the differential,

romove the four bolts holding the driveshaft to the transmission,

now with a jack under the differential,

remove the left, and right side differential to cv axle bolts.

there are six on each side in groups of two.

once these are removed, drop the differential down,

then the rest is easy.

Remove the three bolts on the idler arm bracket to the frame, and move the steering linkage out of the way.

remove the starter,

remove the two motor brackets,or gussets whatever you choose to call them. one left, one right.

Remove the 18 10mm bolts holding the oil pan, and it will drop straight down.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

A tip, do not let the differential drop down to the floor, because it is a pain getting it back up onto a jack to get it positioned for installation.

Tools you will need,

Jack, jackstands...

large breaker bar,

10, 12, 14, 17, 19 mm sockets, and wrenches,

a lot of patience.

I change one this weekend, and it took about 7 hours.