Repair cracked oil pan drain plug

[coyotegray]

Went to change the oil and while attempting to remove the main drain plug I "torked"the plug to one side and it split the insert away from the pan cracking it, creating a leak. I bent it back and now have a drip.

Other than using JB Weld, anyone have an idea on how to repair it without removing the pan..?

Would silver soldering it with oil still in the pan be dangerous..?

I still have not been able to remove the plug. Im waiting to get a slide bar for the socket before trying again..

Thanks,
Andy..

 

[wb9btz]

Don't think I'd risk losing the engine to an oil pan fire I'd do my best to get the plug out & drain the pan. Then clean up the area around the plug. Assuming the threads are OK, and there is no remaining oil seeping through, I'd then JB weld it and see what happens. If you find you have to use heat, I'd definitely remove the pan. Even that film of oil on the inside of the pan & engine will burn! Good luck with this!

 

[rosco]

I'm doing a clutch on my truck, but came to the house a couple of hours ago - so I'm timed out. I can't remember what the pan looks like. Is the sump part of the pan, a two piece/bolt together? The short answer: drop the pan, and fix it, or replace it. You might think you get it stopped from leaking, but going down the road, hot oil gets pretty skinny, and you can loose it before you know it, with disasterous results. When I was much younger working at the welding shop and could weld anything, the Boss put me on one of those exact same jobs, on a truck that was in transit. I got it done by brazing the whole thing over. It was not pleasant. Yes the oil was still in the pan, except that which was leaking out, that immediately became flamable. Silver solder requires things to be much cleaner. If you use JB Weld on the gas tank, you just run out of gas, if it doesn't hold. If it doesn't hold on the oil pan, you will distroy the engine.

If you can't find a Deuce oil pan, find any oil pan with a suitable drain plug, & weld it in place of yours. Bummer that the insert cracked, otherwise, you would have more options. I have braised several back to stop the loose insert from spinning.

 

[rosco]

wb9btz reminds me. On anther leaking pan, they got the oil out of the engine, but didn't want to drop the pan. I welded that one, in place, but the oil residue inside the engine had enough oxygen to do enough of an explosion to blow the pan & valve cover gaskets out. This is one job, where there are no short cuts.

 

[John S-B]

wb9btz reminds me. On anther leaking pan, they got the oil out of the engine, but didn't want to drop the pan. I welded that one, in place, but the oil residue inside the engine had enough oxygen to do enough of an explosion to blow the pan & valve cover gaskets out. This is one job, where there are no short cuts.

Not to mention, if you have blowby or bad rings, you could have some diesel in addition to oil. I wouldn't ever weld on any kind of "container" that had petroleum products in it.

 

[coyotegray]

Decided to drop the pan. Just ordered a oil pan gasket and new drain plug rings from Memphis Equip. They were very pleasant to deal with and quick to respond to my e-mail inquire. It's time for a oil change and the pan gasket has a slow leak at the front anyway..

Using a slide bar with the socket made it very easy to remove the plug and without twisting it.