what's the preferred method of cleaning the oil pan? i soaked in mineral spirits, now i'm wire brush + razor blade and it's taking forever....



i'm so worried about trash being in the pan after cleaning, how do you guys prevent/fix this?

 

When I had mine off I cleaned up the sealing edge on a wire wheel, sand the inside with a fine grade wet/dry paper, then two coats of quick dry semigloss black, then the outside with a flat or matte black.



I give the inside a wipe with a clean cloth and engine oil, then blow dry with compressed air, then re-install.



Peter

 

With the pan out, I used tons of brake cleaner spray and machine shop compressed air.

 

That makes them so preddy

 

just a side note: you are planning on using black silicone to seal it afterwards correct? The stock mazda gasket just doesnt cut it.

 

your oil pan must not have a baffle in it



mine does...makes it REALLY hard to clean

 

Soak in parts cleaner OR send it to an Automatic Tranny shop and have them send it thru their high temp parsts wacher

 

I just use a whole lotta brake clean, damn I LOVE that smell; WTF was I writing about?

 

i'll be powdercoating it with this:

 

Razor blade for getting gasket material off (silicone or paper), scotch brite and brake cleaner thereafter to get the surface clean....



B