Repairing pinholes in the oilpan

[TomoHawk]

I just got a good oilpan for my L28 off eBay because the one on the car is dripping oil. At the last oil change, we looked at it ( followed the oil drips & hosed it with cleaner) to find what the problem was. the leak was directly below the oil sender, but I don't think that was the culprit. It looks like there are some pinholes in the oilpan, maybe from rust?

Do you think I could repair the leaky one and sell that? I was thinking about sandblasting then silver solder. Could you solder both the outside & inside? Gold would be better, but also more expensive. I could even use JB Weld, but that would probably show, and not look good.

Opinions?

thx

[joefarnarkler]

anything you do to repair it will show. I'd weld the holes closed and use it . Not sure who you'd get to buy a repaired oil pan.

never heard of an oil pan rusting through. is your car a submarine?

[Walter Moore]

I had that problem on my 87 Mercury Grand Marquis wagon. It had been parked outside for years, and water had accumulated at the bottom of the oil pan. Then it rusted out from the inside.

(Water is denser than oil..)

I repaired it on the car by gluing metal plates to the outside with JB Weld. It held up for about 5 years or so.. but kept leaking from new rust spots.... you know how rust is. Once it starts you just can't get rid of it.

I think that JB Weld may have actually held water, and contributed to the problem.

Personally, I would make real sure that the new pan is solid, and junk the old one... or at most have it repaired and keep it as a spare... I can't imagine that many people would be willing to buy it.

But then some really bad deals get sold on E-bay... I guess if you were willing to get that reputation.....

[Bonzi Lon]

TomoHawk: Take it from a watchmaker-jeweler gold and silver solder will not stick to steel. Save your time and money on this idea. If you do have a hole or two, I would weld it then grind smooth, paint as you want. Now you have two good pans.

Bonzi Lon

[TomoHawk]

thanks Lon,

I thought of gold because it won't get oxidized. My other option would be some aluminum soldering rods (the kind you see a guy fixing holes in soda cans), but that won't stick to ferrous metal.

I guess I'll have to sandblast, and get out my brzing stuff.

thx

[Arne]

If the goal is to sell it afterwards, why go to the bother? As a repaired pan it's not going to have much value, probably not worth the effort. There are plenty of non-rusted pans available for not a lot of cash if you look around some.