How hard is it to pull an oil pan from a E320? Will it require removal of the engine?
How hard is it to pull an oil pan from a E320? Will it require removal of the engine?
I'm pretty sure you don't have to, but what year?
94
How bad an idea is it to weld up a crack in an oil pan?
Done properly? There's nothing wrong with it.
We have a TIG welder available and good welder. The problem is the crack starts right above the plug and so I am worried the welding will deform the hole.
The engine can stay in, and is quite simple. I'm no welder but I don't think there'd be an issue welding it if an experience welder was doing the work. Might have to run a tap through the hole after??
Why not buy one used for 30$ at the junkyard. It isn't like an oil pan is very hard to find. I'd just replace the sucker as they are so easy to find. You'd probably want to pull the pan anyways if you were going to weld it so you don't set the motor oil on fire in the pan.
How did the pan get cracked? Did someone go over a bump too fast and find the lowest part of the car the hard way?
The main problem with that is weld contamination from the oil.
You could support the engine and drop the cross member, or un bolt the motor mounts and jack up the engine a few inches to drop the pan. Just make sure nothing gets stretched or pinched.
~Alex
People ground those things out all the time. On a steel pan, it's easy. I've welded them in the car. Make sure you take the oil cap off so if you manage to ignite the crankcase fumes they have somewhere to go! You scrub the dickens out of everything, set the MIG on 'low', then stack the tacks. I saw one which had been welded with a pair of jumper cables; the positive cable was run from the battery under the car, then the clamp was tapped against the crack, welding it up. Slow but it worked.
We've JB Welded more than one aluminum pan with good results. Drain the oil, spray the E36 M3 out of the crack with brake cleaner till nothing black comes out of it, rough up the area around the crack good with 180 grit sandpaper, clean thoroughly with acetone or lacquer thinner, then lay the JB on it. We don't warranty it, but so far we have never had one come back. It does have to harden overnight. JB Weld is the only one rated to 600 degrees, I wouldn't want to try anything else because they are generally rated for much lower temperatures. In fact, I just JB Welded a crack in the clutch case on my XS650 to get it ready to paint.
OH, after your dropped/raised the engine, start replacing all the vacuum lines that are cracked now. They were fine 'till you looked at them too hard.
benzbaron wrote: Did someone go over a bump too fast and find the lowest part of the car the hard way?
Yes. What is the best way to support the engine?
How bad is the pan cracked? If its a car you are thinking about buying did it get shut off before all the oil leaked out of the cracked pan?
It is cracked from the plug to the top of the pan. It is a friend's car I am helping him with. The oil leaked out while it was parked.
So I will have to raise the engine or drop the crossmember to get the oil pan out?
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