Hey all,

 

SO I hit a rock pretty good, and i dented both my oil pan and my tranny pan. The tranny pan I hammered out, and the car is fine, but I am worried about the oil pan. are there any mechanical parts inside the bottom half of the pan. I read somewhere that the oil sender could have been broken or blocked, leading to a complete engine failure/rebuild. I have driven the car 100+ miles since I knocked the pan in, and it *seems* to be running fine. What are the symptoms of a failed/blocked oil sender?

 

I probably will get around to hammering out the dent, but if its not causing any harm, i'd like to wait until i need to change my oil again before i remove the pan etc.

 

 

Pics attached.

 

Thanks!!!

 

 

Wow. Yeah I'd be worried about the pickup tube being partially blocked. That would lead to low oil pressure because the pump can't pull enough oil up from the sump.

You are probably alright though if it's gone 100 miles without blowing up yet. I would just try to drive very carefully (no high revving) until you can find time to get it straightened out.

Whats "high revving"? I don't think Ive ever even gone above 3500, gas mileage and whatnot.

 

And would there be any symptoms, or would the engine just catch fire and melt?

It would start to sound like a jack hammer under your hood. Then it there would probably be a big thud and the engine would quit.

 

Normal around town driving shifting at 3500 is probably fine, I wouldn't go out on the highway and try to run 85mph for any length of time though.

Great man, thanks! I'll listen for jackhammers. So far nothing like that!

I would replace that. The oil pickup issue may not come up right away, but it may in the future, and would be a very avoidable and messy engine failure.

your not going to be able to "hammer" those dents out. there are baffles in the bottom of the pan that will keep you from getting to the dents. pick up a used one from somewhere. heck, i have 3-4 laying around in my shop if you need one.

that will buff right out. fill it with bondo, sand, paint good as new...

JUST kidding.

Replace the pan. For future use, get a stock skidplate.