Oil Pan replacement

[0260n3]

few questions for the experts, I have comptech headers on my car, and I need to replace the oil pan due to slight dent underneath.

1) is replacement of oil pan necessary with about 1 inch dent?

2) there is no leaks or anything around the pan, does the dent affect anything, oil pressure, extra oil usage...etc?

3) Can the pan be repaired by pounding it out from the reverse side? or it has to be replaced?

4) I was told that in order to get to the oil pan, one needs to remove the header, which ofcourse raises the labor involved. Is this true?

appreciate any opinions or suggestions,

TIA

 

[DutchBlackNsx]

1) is replacement of oil pan necessary with about 1 inch dent?

No, no replacement is nescesary, though taking the dent out, requires removal.

2) there is no leaks or anything around the pan, does the dent affect anything, oil pressure, extra oil usage...etc?

You should be carefull with this. The dent could block the intake of the oil, but i think there should be more then a slight dent to do this. Just watch your oilpressure. There is also a provision on the oil pickup which prevents this (most of it).

3) Can the pan be repaired by pounding it out from the reverse side? or it has to be replaced?

See 1)

4) I was told that in order to get to the oil pan, one needs to remove the header, which ofcourse raises the labor involved. Is this true?

With the original headers, you could take the pan off, but i doubt it with the Comptech headers very much.


If you do it,, make sure that you use a new seal for the oilpan, BUT make sure you don't tighten the screws of the oilpan to much.
Please refer to the manual for more information for torque settings.


HTH
Mich

 

[PettittsAuto]

Yes you do need to remove the header to get the oil pan off the engine. If the dent is in the center of the bottom of the oil pan and is not near the plug area you should be able to use a piece of wood and pound it back down from the inside. This does need to be fixed because the oil pump pick-up is very close to the bottom of the pan. If there is a one inch dent it is probably right up against it or it has hit the pick-up also.

Bruce

 

[Lud]

The other advice you have received so far is correct. I would be worried about the pickup as it's really "right there." Even if the pickup itself isn't being blocked, it is now trying to pick up from the shallowest point in the pan, so when cornering hard it could conceivably suck air.

The bottom of the oil pan is not very strong, so if you can fashion a tool with a long, curved handle and a nice flat end, you may be able to stick it in the oil drain hold and leverage it to press down on the oil pan from the inside and push the dent out. It just depends exactly where the dent is and how tough it is.

If you were going to do it, a nice 24" prybar with a handle like this would be a good place to start

. Then you can bend it to a sharper angle as needed to apply the right pressure to wherever the dent is. Your prybar will never be the same again, but it's a lot cheaper than pulling the headers off if it works for you.

I am not necessarily recommending you do this because it is pretty easy to damage the drain plug threads if you don't leverage it just right, but it can be done. Using something to protect the threads is probably a good idea as well. Hope that helps.

 

[matteni]

I agree and would not try to repair but replace especially if you do much track work?

If so I would consider:

Oil Drain Plug (magnetic) http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1066

and a high capacity oil pan: http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=111

Also - if you dented your oil pan you may want to put it up on a lift and really inspect your suspension including the rear member underneath, your sway bar, your exhaust, your sway bar end links, etc.

Good luck

 

[0260n3]

Thanks all for your suggestions, I was able to get a pic of the oil pan, the dent is not as bad as I thought. Any inputs?

I may just wait until I need other services that require overlapping labor to do the pan replacement.

 

[0260n3]

1 more

 

[Jimbo]

That dent is minimal.

I would absolutely leave it alone.

-Jim

 

[matteni]

Agree completely. Do nothing and don't give it a second thought.

 

[Lud]

That dent on the front left corner? As long as the oil pan is not structurally damaged I'd leave it alone. It is small and not near the oil pickup (which is more central). It looks like there may be a crack or something though... If it is cracked you obviously need to replace it. Hard to tell from the photo.

 

[0260n3]

Lud,

can you point out where you think the crack is? I am not seeing it myself, and I will confirm it.

thanks for everyone's help.