i have a leak in my oil pan.. dunno if its the gaskit or not.. any on know if i gotta pull the motor out to change the pan and gaskit or is there enuff room to get it out with out pulling it out.? i have a 2000 vitara.. thanks

well, I have a 2000 grand vit so same thing with a V6 and different brakes pretty much. does not look like there is allot of room there to get the oil pan out because of the axle, cross member, exhaust and a couple other thingers. if you took the front axle out it may be easier to get to but that can be quite a task as well. mine looks like the oil pan has a leak but the oil level stays the same so it doesn't. guess I just spilled on it

good luck dude

 i have that same problem  it looks like a oilpan gasket but while i was underneath lookin up it is weeping from the valve covet area its not a big problem it just seems to collect all there at the in front of the oil pan.

mine looks like its leaking from the bolt the sides of the pan seem dry.. but the bottom is soaked and there is a bit on the cross member.. weather its a gasket or bolt the bolt hold is fuked up i still gotta take the pan off.. which i see is gonna be more headache then one would like.. thanks guys

the biggest reason the oil pans leak is due to the fact that it is installed with sealant "a". and unfortunately in order to replace or repair anything relating to the pan there is alot of removal of steering and drivetrain components in order to get the pan to seal right. the biggest reason for failure of pan seal is due to the garages not taking off the steering and diff. they try and get away with removing the least amount of parts while doing pan work. as a result the pan slides when you try and reassemble with the steering and diff still installed. it is near impossible to do but i see it all the time. another reason is you have to drop the upper pan enough and hold it with up in order to lossen and remove the oil pump strainer. this usually ends up in pretty significant damage to parts to the "unkowing" garage mechanic. there is also a very overlooked o- ring that never gets replaced in the process as well. the lower crankcase has a small o -ring that seldom gets replaced and it causes a leak as well. these are fairly easy to detect but you have to take all the components off as well in order to properly address this.

it is also imparitive that both (lower and upper) pans be reinstalled correctly otherwise leakage will resume shortly after road use.