oil pan repair

[dusterbd13]

i just got the 3.4 dropped into my s10 tonight. filled it with oil. started a small leak at the drainplug. tightened drainplug, looked at it. its got a couple of pinholes from where the pan was crushed somehow.
what i need to do is repair the pinholes.
i really dont want to pull the engone back out to get the oil pan swapped out. that would make me even more discouraged than i already am.
anyone have any experience repairing these? its steel, but i cant weld.

my thought was to clean it really good, get all the paint off, scuff it with 80 grit to give some texture, and JB weld the hell out of it. dont know if this will work, though.
let me know what to do to repair it.
thanks
michael

[scott0]

if the pan is thin enough to have pin holes in it. i would put a new one on for piece of mind. a new pan after-all is less expensive than another motor!

[Jim Nilsen]

You have the right idea to fix it without welding it. Welding it would be better but could lead to disaster and a patch. If you can't push it in with your finger you are good for thickness.

You can use JB weld or any 2 part epoxy, putty or liquid mix. make sure you go at least an inch past around the area and you should be good to go. The epoxy that dries clear might not be as noticable. get the 5 min epoxy and not 30 min if you go with the liquid 2 part.

Don't feel too bad because I just put in a brand new pan and it has a leak, the other one had a seep but no drip. You can see it in my thread. I will be either welding it or patching it like you because I really don't want to remove it either and a new one could leak just like the last 2. it is really hard to tell if you have a leak until it is under pressure. It took 3 days to get the leak I have to drip.

good luck and if I putty the thing I will try to post some pics.

[MonzaRacer]

another idea guys would be to use radiator tinning compound and a wet brush and propane torch. then solder the leaking area.
now to do this you would have to clean it well by flushing the engine, then running enough air through to eliminate as many fumes if using flammable products, then carefully heating and tinning these areas then putting solder over the pin holes.
Used to do this a lot with bottom outs at radiator/machine shop I worked at.
We had a chemical that wasnt flammable but it needed to be vented well, so we had a low pressure line for doing heads and made a fitting to go in the pan drain hole.
Always got smoke but never fire as soldering is low heat repair.
I can supply a small amount of tinning compound if you need some.