welding oil pan in car

[ProKiller]

I've been dealing with apparently a hydra of oil leaks here. First it was the oil pan that was leaking at the weld (DSS oil pan). At the time i needed to just get it operational again so i threw some gas tank patch on there. Held for over a year now without problems. blew out the back of the lower intake twice because of the new catch can setup i did was too small and not venting the crank case properly. Ended up blowing out the rear main as well because of this issue. That is now fixed and also fixed the crank case pressure issue by putting a breather setup back on the car.

Come to find out that the oil pan is leaking again. The patch isn't holding now. So my options are dropping the K-member and throwing a new pan in there. Or the cheap way out is to take the car to have the pan welded with it still installed on the car. Anyone ever do that? I realize people weld subframes in all the time, but this is a little more serious. Also keep in mind the pan is aluminum.

 

[DeepList]

I'm sure people have done it before, but remaining fuel vapors in the motor could really make for a bad day!

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea. If you're planning to weld it, you really need to take the pan off the car to do it right. It should be clean and dry to avoid complications. But then, if you go through the time and effort, you might as well just replace it.

 

[Steve-Oh]

IMO I would drop the pan to re-weld it. Welding subframes is a totally different animal, you're not dealing with the oil inside the pan contaminating the weld not to mention a potential fire hazard.


Sent from Space

 

[boston2k4]

i have welded a pan myself on a dodge pick-up once while in iraq. had zero hoists / jacks so lifting the engine wasnt an option and i can say it was the least fun welding job to date.
such a pita to get at and with oil residue it cause alot of issues with the weld. But it worked was not pretty and i had it done in a day.

 

[ProKiller]

if i'm pulling it, i would replace it. i'm trying to avoid all that work and time associated with pulling it. If i pull the pan, i won't be putting the stock k-member back in...

 

[ttocs]

I am just considering buying a welder now and thought about using it down in my work shop until I thought about how much saw dust is down there from the years of carpentry and how flammable that can be. I would consider this about the same thing. Dust isn't explosive till it aerated but then once it starts its the same as fumes and not something you want to be around. This is not to mention the possibility of some left over splatter getting sucked up by the pump later just makes it seem like a stupid/fast repair that would be great if you were selling the car and had good life insurance but not if you are going to keep it, or want to live....

 

[ProKiller]

it would be done by a professional at his shop, not myself.

 

[Addermk2]

I welded a pan one. It was actually a brazing job. Ill never do that again.

24" long flames shooting out the drain plug whole will make your butt-hole pucker.

 

[ttocs]

I welded a pan one. It was actually a brazing job. Ill never do that again.

24" long flames shooting out the drain plug whole will make your butt-hole pucker.

You damn pwussy.

 

[Steve-Oh]

it would be done by a professional at his shop, not myself.

When we used to air arch / weld lids on and off the top of transformers for PECO, an absolute must was a nitrogen purge through the entire transformer to keep the oil from igniting. Don't know if this is an option but just an FYI.

Now especially since we are dealing with aluminum here I still wouldn't recommend trying to weld this thing with any oil residue near the weld. Aluminum is very susceptible to contamination which can result in a poor weld. When aluminum gets contaminated the puddle starts to ball up and there's no recovery after that, you need to grind it out and try again. We used to clean all our aluminum with acid prior to welding.




Sent from Space

 

[white95]

I vote new pan and tubular k member

 

[MustangChris]

I'd never do it, but I've seen it done first hand.

At the performance shop I had tune my car they welded in a MASSIVE bung/plug onto a pan for a customer. Apparently some form of road racing here in colorado requires inspectors look inside the oil pan to ensure you're in requirements ( [MENTION=17007]RichV[/MENTION] might have more knowledge on this.)

The most popular way, apparently, is to weld a massive bung into the pan so you can remove it, drain the oil, peak in there, replace it, refill oil....

But, if you've ever seen a weld in action, you've seen the shit flying off them.

take THAT oil-pick up/oil pump/knife-edge crank/internal balanced crank/ etc. etc. etc.

 

[RichV]

Never heard of that Chris.

I wouldn't weld it on the motor. I mean, a few hours of removing the engine will save a lot of headache. So many things can go wrong, fried electronics, fuel/oil igniting, debris inside the motor (which I'm sure you spent a few bux on), etc. And in the end, will it work? If you pull the motor and get a new one or get that one welded, the fix will work.