OIL PAN LEAK

macifre · October 6, 2004

Well, I sent my Z71 5.3 to the carwash and I do not exactly understand why, but they tryed to uninstall the skid plate under the oil pan to perform a "thorough" de greasing and ended up opening a hole in the oil pan itself, maybe 5/16 diameter. I assumed that replacing the oil pan could be done at no-time, but the local mechanic insists on having to remove the engine from the mounts and lifting it in order to gain acces to remove the part and have it replaced or fixed.

What I ended up doing is using an industrial epoxy for refrigeration/heating porpouses and sealing the leak. I used the truck a couple of times already and it stoped leaking, but I keep wondering for how long...

Any ideas on how to remove the oil pan, or maybe any way to deffinetly seal the leak...

How about changing the thermostat from 210F to 180F in order to run the engine a little bit cooler and somewhat avoiding the epoxy to give in to the heat and reopening the leak...????

Thanks,

Manuel

2000 Z71 ExCab LT

2003 2500HD D-Max

2500HD4X · October 6, 2004

Ummm- If the carwash put a hole in my oil pan, the car wash would be replacing it..... That is nuts that they would do that. I wouldn't try to band-aid an oil pan, if your oil leaks out while driving that is a formula for disaster. How in the world did they punch a 5/16" hole in your oil pan?

budhayes3 · October 6, 2004

I put a Hypertech 180* stat in my truck about a week and a half ago, and it still heats up to 197* under certain conditions. Temps seem to fluctuate between 188* and 195* most of the time. The factory stat pretty much stayed at 195*, but got up to 203* once during the summer (about 92* ambient temperature) after beating on it with the ac on. (I use a cheapo AutoXray to check my temps, I'm assuming it's fairly accurate).

And yea, the car wash should be paying for your oil pan replacement.

October 6, 2004

Ummm- If the carwash put a hole in my oil pan, the car wash would be replacing it..... That is nuts that they would do that. I wouldn't try to band-aid an oil pan, if your oil leaks out while driving that is a formula for disaster. How in the world did they punch a 5/16" hole in your oil pan?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with 2500HD4X. No engineered repairs for me, the car wash would be replacing it and providing a rental while they did.

macifre · October 7, 2004

Well yeah... the car wash should pay; but won´t because I´m in Guatemala Central America. That doesn´t happen over here... so I'll get nothing better than a free car wash and the idiot who did it get fired.

The poxy seems to be holding up well, I had the opportunity to test it in traffic hell at 8a.m today, and it seems to do fine.

now, anyone knows any other way to fix this?? You think that it could be welded with the part still on the truck? or should I always have an eye on the oil pressure gauge and make do with the poxy....??? kinda difficult when the GM dealer only has service for the mexican made trucks.. new body style with the old 5.7 vortec... (at least qualified service and parts)

I went to the dealer and found something very interesting ... 2004 AVALANCHE LT Z71 @ $27,500, BRAND NEW... only 3 left....

Thanks,

Manuel

2000 Z71 ExCab LT

2003 2500HD D-Max

asilverblazer · October 7, 2004

Well that sounds like a good fix to me.

2500HD4X · October 8, 2004

Well; the oil pan is on the 5.3's is cast aluminum- It will require a skilled welder to weld aluminum- and they probably can't do it on the truck. Not knowing where the hole is- it might be hard to access from under the truck. Looking at mine, I am sure getting the oil pan out will be no picnic, you probably will have to bust the engine loose at least and jack it up a bit to get the oil pan out..... A whole new oil pan sounds like the best fix to me. It would be a lot cheaper than a whole new truck. I would try GMPartsDirect.com or one of the other parts vendors over to the left and see if they can ship you one down there and just get by with the epoxy until it came in....I have used JB weld epoxy on a Jeep carb. (float bowl cracked) and it held up for several years. I would still be really nervous about using epoxy on my oil pan though. All the oil leaking out suddenly through a hole would definitely lead to a real bad day and a blown motor- Good Luck with it.