so i bottomed out really hard and now i have a huge crack in my oil pan. what is it made out of? can i get it welded? where can i get one for cheap?
any help appreciated thanks.

It is cast Alum and can be welded. Is it cracked and missing a piece? or just cracked? Might be a good time to replace the pan and the rod and main bearings at the same time. You can also inspect the oil pump while the pan is off. How many miles are on your car?

There are several sources for oil pans. You can check with Strickly German just north of Atl for a good used one. 706-654-9103

the car has like 250k miles on it but i need it running by friday cause i need to take a 3 day motorcycle class that's an hour away. it's too late to cancel it so i'd be out $220 if i don't go. i might have to just rent a car or something.

the car has like 250k miles on it but i need it running by friday cause i need to take a 3 day motorcycle class that's an hour away. it's too late to cancel it so i'd be out $220 if i don't go. i might have to just rent a car or something.

does anyone have a write up to replace the oil pan?

Ok, you just bought the blue one in J'ville.

I would pull the pan and replace it or check it very well and have it properly welded. Then I would definately replace the bearings unless the engine has been recently rebuilt. Check the oil pump. Then check and reinforce the steering box mount on the subframe.

IIRC that car sits very low so you may want to consider a skid plate like has been discussed on another site.

So rent or borrow a car for friday and fix this right so you don't have to worry about a patch job.

j'ville?

what bearings? how do i check the oil pump? steering box mount?
i'm a noob and i don't have a bentley for this car.

Jacksonville FL. Sorry I remember that it was listed in North Fl and I consider Panama City as the pan handle.

As I mentioned earlier: rod and main bearings. If you do not know what these are, then I would recommend that you take it to a shop for inspection and replacement. They should have the proper tools for the job and be able to have a trained person make the repairs. You should not play around with the internals if you do not know what you are doing or have the proper supervision. BTDT and learned from my mistakes. If you do not know the full history or have the proper measuring tools, it is not just as simple as buying the replacement parts and installing them.

You should be able to find plenty of info on the steering box mount repairs by doing a search. Fairly common issue and plenty has been documented on this.

Maybe talk to a local shop about the repair to the pan and ask their advise. I am sitting at a computer 6 hours away and have not seen a picture of the damage and still do not know if it is just a crack or a busted pan that is cracked with pieces missing.

Buy the Bentley!

well i don't know what the rod and main bearings are, but i do think of myself as mechanically inclined. i didn't know anything about cars when i got my first car but just getting under there and using common sense got me a long way. if i had a write up on how to rebuild an engine and the tools i feel confident i could do it.
i probably don't have all the tools needed but more than likely someone i know has them. if not then i'll take it somewhere to get worked on but i'd rather not pay someone to do something i can do.

it's just a big crack down the driver side of the pan, it goes all the way from the bottom to the top (not split in half, just the side).

i'll go ahead and order the bentley and a new oil pan gasket while i'm at it. then i'll take my time and look into all that you told me about especially a skid plate. hopefully i get my motorcycle license monday so i can ride my bike and take my time to fix this right.

thanks for all the info and i'll keep this thread updated with my progress.

I am not saying that it is not something that you can't do because we all have to learn at some point. But, it is not just as simple as removing the old bearings and replacing them with new ones. If the engine has been rebuilt and undersize bearings were used, you need to be able to detect that. You need to know what to look for as far as existing bearing wear and be able to know what it means. If you had a write up (that is exactly what the Bentley manual does) you will still need a basic understanding of how an engine operates or is constructed. They will be very quick to instruct you to seek a qualified tech for certain operations. I personally feel you would be safer just replacing the pan and forgetting about the bearings at this point unless you have someone to assist that can give some instruction. Having the oil pan off just makes it easy to access the bearings and at 200k+ miles it makes sense to replace them. If the pan was busted and particles of the pan went thru the system then you would want to replace the bearings. You can not learn everything from write ups and experience is not something that can be taught.

can i just get the oil pan welded while it's still on the car and be done with it or is that a really bad idea?

Hard to say without seeing the damage. You might want to consult the guy that will be doing the welding and see if he has access to all of the damage. If the mating/sealing surface is damaged, it sould be removed to get the proper weld. And if the mating surface is damaged, it would most likely be easier to replace it because it may need to be surfaced after welding to true the sealing surface.

You might want to consult somebody that can actually visualize the damage.

alright, thanks for all your info. i feel like i should be paying you for all your advice heh