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?
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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.
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.
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!
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.
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!!
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.)
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.