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High curbs + low oil pan = annoying.

JLM-AWPJLM-AWP Registered User regular
edited February 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
Quick rundown. About 3 months ago I drove my friend home, who has extremely high curbs in his neighborhood. When I pulled into the driveway, I heard a nice "poomp!" sound, but thought nothing of it. The next day, I see that I am leaking oil...a very small amount, but it's leaking. There is no doubt in my mind that the oil pan haas a hairline crack in it, and I'm fairly sure I can pinpoint it to about a 0.5 square inch area. I know what you're thinking though, "3 months? Get that shit fixed!"....Well it has been extraordinarily cold in Chi-town for the last month or two and I have had almost no leaking during this time since the oil is a bit thicker...that's how small this crack is.

My question is, how do I go about fixing this? I have bought some J.B. Weld to do the job, but I'm not sure about the draining/cleaning of the oil pan and surface area. I know that the weld needs to stick, and the oil pan must be 100% clean, but how can I do this? Do I flush a cleaner through the whole thing? or is wiping the bottom of the pan thorough enough?

I hit something in the middle of the expressway about a year and a half ago, and ended up paying about $1400 ($500 deductible, phew) to get the oil pan replaced. I don't want to have to do that again. Audi's are great cars to drive, but they are worse on the wallet than my DS.

Anyone have any advice?

JLM-AWP on

Posts

  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    depending on how big and where the crack is, some shops may just seal it by welding it.

    If it's too big or in a bad place that they can't weld for some reason, you many have to replace it.

    You can either get a manufacturer replacement part, which is probably the most expensive option, or possibly an OEM part, and the cheapest option is probably to find the same/similar model in a wrecker yard and buy the part from the wrecker.

    That last option is probably the cheapest, but it's also the riskiest, since you don't generally get any sort of warranty on the part and you usually have to do the work yourself.

    Ruckus on
  • wmelonwmelon Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    JB Weld doesn't have to have a super clean surface to stick. Though i'd suggest using some of the JB Weld Stick rather than the tube kind. I'd suggest just draining the oil, clean the dirt and oil residue off of the outside of the oil pan with some purple power and water, then cover the area with the JB weld stick.

    http://jbweld.net/products/jbstik.php is what i'm talking about. Basically you just cut off some of the stick, knead it with your hands until it changes colors, then stick it whever you want it. It works great.

    I'd then suggest looking into getting an oil pan cover. I've seen them for Audi's so you should be able to find one. It'll protect your oil pan in just such an instance as you describe.

    wmelon on
  • b0bd0db0bd0d Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    I second the JB welding. I repaired a friend's transmission pan with it. He ran over some train tracks too hard and bottomed out, crushing a corner and making a nice nickel sized hole. JB welded it and it's still on there right now. Nothing like gas station parking lot car repair.

    I'd drain all the oil out and leave the plug out so you get those last lil drips. Hit the bottom with some brake cleaner or something similar to get all the dirt, oil, grime off the bottom of the pan. JB weld it or use whatever type of cold welding product you want. They have a product like what he mentioned above and they also have an epoxy that you mix together that is more "gluey." Works really well because it's sticky as shit. It seems to surface bond better than the drier stuff cause...you...it's glue. Just make sure the surface is clean so it'll bond well. If you wanna get real crazy, I guess you could use a second coat after you're done. Let it cure for however long it takes then put oil back in it. Think they got some 15 minute curing epoxy stuff too if you're in a rush. Or use that as a first layer with a second, longer curing layer on top.

    Ps. Get a truck if you like running stuff over. Or...do they sell lift kits for Audi's? ...hummm..Patent Pending!

    b0bd0d on
  • powersspowerss Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    What kind of Audi do you have? What engine? What year? All these factor in.

    I can tell you that a true Audi guy wouldn't use JB Weld on their car. However, you may be able to.

    Check out AudiWorld.com's Forums (they're GREAT, but search) - just get over the crappy forum software. Make an account and post in your respective forum. I'm guessing you have a B5 A4 1.8T.

    powerss on
  • Diomedes240zDiomedes240z Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    JBweld isn't the safest solution, but anything else will require taking off the pan, which will involve pulling the engine, or if you're lucky, the front crossmember, which will cost you big in labour unless you can do it yourself.

    If it were me, I'd probably do what you're doing. Not only would I clean the area good enough to eat off, but I'd sand it with 80 grit sandpaper so you're applying the stuff to rough, bare metal. Then clean it again with propsol or paint thinners or metho or turps or petrol. Then when finished, I'd spray on some cheap pressure pack paint to stop it from rusting. Cheap and nasty, but could save you a couple hundred bucks.

    Check for leaks!!

    Diomedes240z on
    fdod80.jpg
  • JLM-AWPJLM-AWP Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    powerss wrote: »
    What kind of Audi do you have? What engine? What year? All these factor in.

    I can tell you that a true Audi guy wouldn't use JB Weld on their car. However, you may be able to.

    Check out AudiWorld.com's Forums (they're GREAT, but search) - just get over the crappy forum software. Make an account and post in your respective forum. I'm guessing you have a B5 A4 1.8T.

    I have a '99 A4 2.8. I'm not a "true Audi guy" in that I like to save money I guess, but I've pumped too much money into dumb little things on this car already to want to go all out again...not to mention the fact that I don't trust anyone but my Audi dealer to do something like that, and they require appointments and usually at least a few days without my car. The labor is outrageous, too. I didn't buy the car for a status symbol, or to develop a new lifestyle. I bought it because it's slick as shit and fun as hell to drive. It's a '99, but still looks brand-spanking new. Even the car deign holds up to '07s.

    Previous to me, my brother owned the car for all of 4 months, and then sold it to me. About a week after he bought it, he made a quarter-sized hole in the previous oil pan, which he also JB welded, and it seemed to work beautifully. I never had a problem until I hit some metal thing on the expressway, more than doubling the hole he made...in 3 different spots, so I like this solution.

    @ Diomedes: Thanks for the sanding tip, I have some sandpaper from a basement project this summer that i'll give some elbow grease before applying.

    @ b0bd0d: I actually owned a POS '91 red Ford Ranger for over 6 years (first car of my life, stick shift, ugly, little), which is why I spoiled myself on the Audi (which is also a stick...I realized driving would just be boring without it. There's nothing like haveing that control.)

    JLM-AWP on
  • b0bd0db0bd0d Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    haha. get out. I just sold my car to buy a POS 96 ranger with a 5 spd. Things ugly as sin and small. And you're right. Once you get used to a stick, you just can't drive no automatic. It's why I sold my crown vic. I kept trying to neutral it out while driving.

    b0bd0d on
  • JLM-AWPJLM-AWP Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    b0bd0d wrote: »
    haha. get out. I just sold my car to buy a POS 96 ranger with a 5 spd. Things ugly as sin and small. And you're right. Once you get used to a stick, you just can't drive no automatic. It's why I sold my crown vic. I kept trying to neutral it out while driving.

    Awesome! A great thing is that a stick prevents you from too much multi-tasking while driving. Another is that NOBODY can borrow your car, because nobody can drive it....mwuahaha.

    JLM-AWP on
  • texryan67texryan67 mr. Belton Texas Registered User new member
    So I can put jb weld stick on there without having to remove the tranny's oil pan?

This discussion has been closed.