Pin hole in oil pan

[karinvail]

I have a small pin hole in my oil pan from a gouge (not done by me!) - hubby thinks that next time we change the oil, that he might be able to just give it a little zap with the welder (rod type) and fill the hole. I'm more cautious and tend to think we should pull the pan off to do it so it can be cleaned up real good. Not that big of a deal, right? Just need a new gasket and some sealant?

[mtsmiths]

AW heck karinvail, you can do that safely ... just fill the engine with water!

 

See, easy, no fire factor now.

[phishy75]

JB Weld is your friend:brow:

 

Just make sure you clean up the surface really well with a degreaser first.

[85Sub4WD]

JB Weld is your friend:brow:

 

Just make sure you clean up the surface really well with a degreaser first.

ditto - a welder is NOT something you want to use around flammable compounds - namely anything that is oil in nature.

JB weld is not the best thing in the world - welding is the "right" way to fix it - but you must remove the oil pan and COMPLETLEY degrease it

[idosubaru]

definitely best to pull the pan and weld it. or just install one from a yard or someone parting one out for a couple bucks.

 

make sure the pan isn't dented such that it restricts the flow of oil to the sump. more likely on an auto transmission pan than oil pan, but best to check just to be sure that clearance isn't reduced.

 

i'd attempt to drill and tap the pan and install a bolt in the hole. or drill and insert a self tapping screw it was too thin to tap. if the pan was too thin then i'd go back to welding it. pulling the pan requires unbolting motor and trans mounts and raising/tilting the motor to get the sump to clear the baffles in the pan. pulling the pan is annoying and getting a good seal with the new gasket is equally annoying, if the current pan gasket doesn't leak i'd try this method first to see how it goes. ill go ahead and tell you others on the board will think this is a stupid idea.

[karinvail]

once again, I can tell hubby I was right, LOL.

 

JB weld I think will be my first try - if that doesn't work, then the drilling/plugging sounds like a decent option. Sounds like pulling the pan is last on my list - and if I have to do that, I'm gonna put on one that is undented/un-gouged.

 

Thanks

[Nug]

I welded a pan on a K-car that had a gouge and was leaking actively.

 

Shop vac is duct taped to oil fill, keeps oil from leaking out. I used a mig welder, but a quick little zap from an arc welder shouldn't hurt anything.

[beauregaardhooligan]

I vote for a SHORT self-tapping screw with some gasket material to seal it.

I've seen this work on gas tanks.

[Flowmastered87GL]

I vote for replacing the part. Oil is your cars lifeblood... dont skimp on keeping it in its home (the pan) Do it right and change the pan with a GOOD junkyard unit.

 

Or yank it, clean it REALLY well and weld it up.

 

I wouldnt trust any other methods on my personal car (the 87 GL)

[idosubaru]

avoid JB weld if you plan on keeping the car for an extended period.

[edrach]

I've pulled the oil pan on one of my cars; can't remember if it was EA81 or EA82; I think it was my '86 wagon. The point of this is that I didn't have to raise the engine. After removing the bolts (the ones above the cross member are a pain), I think I just had to rotate the pan 90 degrees to slip it out. Went back in the same way. I used some type of gasket gook to keep the new gasket in place. Check with Smart Service; I think they told me that's how to remove the oilpan. I'm a firm believer in getting another pan from Pull a Part, but you need to know they puncture the pan to drain the oil (don't ask me why) and then plug the hole with a rubber plug. So if you get an oil pan from them, know that you'll still have to weld a hole shut. Also, Pull a Part is a good place to test the technique for pulling the pan. Find out how to do it on another car before putting your car out of commission because of an unexpected delay.