So I had to request the second Tow of Shame to get the Falcon back home. This all started about 2 months ago when I pulled my oil pan to replace a leaky rear main seal on my 289. When I put it all back together I could not find the hose clamp for the Vortech Supercharger oil drain return line. I gave up looking and just put a new one on thinking that it had fallen off and I swept it up and threw it away. I was right about it falling off, but it had some how fell into the oil pan. I have been chasing a strange noise that would come and go, and now I know what it was.
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| Hole punched in oil pan from a loose hose clamp Doh! |
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| What is left of the hose clamp |
I ordered a new oil pan form Jeg's. I would need to punch an hole in it for the oil drain line from the Vortech Supercharger. You have to punch the hole vs drill it so you will have some metal to tap for threads.
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| New oil pan for the Falcon's 289 from Jeg's |
I was worried about bending the new oil pan while punching the new hole in it. I measured the width of the pan and cut a piece of PVC pipe to wedge into it for support while hammering on a punch.
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| Support pipe to keep from bending my new oil pan while punching a hole |
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I marked where the hole needed to be per the Vortech Superchager install manual and started with the biggest punch I had, which was still to small.
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| Punching a hole in my oil pan for a Vortech Supercharger |
I needed to make the hole larger and end up using a cheapo stepped drill bit I had from Harbor Freight.
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| Enlarging the hole in the oil pan to the proper size |
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Finishing off the hole so I can use a 3/8" tap to thread it. I would hammer one step on the bit and then check to see if the tap would fit. You need to make sure you don't make the hole to big or you will have leaking problems.
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| Final size for the hole |
The next step it to use a 3/8" by 18 NPT tap to thread the hole. Take you time and make sure to do it right. You only have one shot at getting the threads done right.
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| 3/8" 18NPT tap for threading the hole in the oil pan for Vortech Supercharger |
I didn't have a handle that would fit a tap this large, so I used a ratchet and socket, which actually worked really well.
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| Threading the hole in my new oil pan for the Falcon |
Here is the finished product. You can see how punching the hole rolls the metal to allow you to get some nice threads when you tap it.
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| Completed hole in oil pan for Vortech Supercharger oil return line |
The last step is to install the fitting into the pan. I used a liberal amount of Blue RTV and screwed the barbed fitting into the place.
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| Hose barb fitting for oil pan |
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