2008 Prius oil pan

I suggest you let your wife know how difficult it would be to fix this problem and you should feel more appreciated.

SM-N900P ?

 

Maybe you could use a chisel and hammer to gently pound at the oil pan lip as needed for access to the bolts. Once the bolts are removed, you are supposed to use a special service tool (and a hammer to pound on the SST) to cut the FIPG seal without damaging the aluminum casting that the steel oil pan is bolted to.

Since you are not concerned about protecting the old steel oil pan, maybe a sharp putty knife assisted by a hammer would work, try not to gouge the aluminum.

Tightening torque is 80 in.-lb on the 9 bolts and 2 nuts.

 

One of the most important things is to clean out every possible piece of the silicone self forming material from the bottom of the bolt holes.

If there is any of this material or NEW material in the bottom, the screws will, in effect, act like a rotary piston to compress it like "hydraulic fluid."

The material has to go somewhere. That somewhere will SPLIT the aluminum somewhere around the screw and ruin the aluminum casting.

 

Not having the advantage of a close-up and in-person view of your pan & bolts, I would have to say if you can get a grip on the pan lip with some sort of pliers (such as Channel-Locks) to bend or flatten it out of the way enough to access the bolts or nuts, I would feel best about that. Something like a thin, semi-sharp paring knife could work on the sealant, too -- if you have room to get it in there. Make sure it is not angled such that you will cut into the aluminum. If you don't think that can be avoided, then don't do it. I don't know if there is room for a knife, though. It might be best just to shop for the special tool Patrick mentioned while you are buying the new pan. If you can cut or break the seal on 3 sides, you might be able to swing the pan down and then just pull it on off.

Don't overtighten the bolts. You can warp the new pan such that it won't seal. If you can find a bolt tightening sequence for these bolts, great. If not, you generally start with two on opposite sides and nearest the middle of the pan and tighten them all in a criss-cross pattern, working your way out to the end of the pan as you go. I like to do it in 2 or 3 stages, like tightening all bolts just snug or about half-torque, then all of them about 75%, then 100%. Since you are only looking at 80 in-lbs., maybe finger-tight, then 40 or 50 in-lbs., then 80.

Might as well change that oil filter while you're under there and put in new oil, unless you'd just had it serviced recently.