Just want tho post this for all the Northern "Salt" Region PSD Folks...

If you have RUST on your oil pan, take care of it immediately!

Mine is in REALLY bad shape, and although it is not leaking YET, it is beyond repair, and I will have to "Band-aid" it until it does leak.

It is rusted all the way up the pan, under the cross-member, and in places where I could not tell until I cleaned it up and started scraping the paint off. It's horrible, I found one spot where it is clearly indented approx 3/32 of an inch.

I knew it had rust, but it was so covered in grime that I had no idea how bad. When I cleaned it I noticed it was worse than I thought, but after scraping the paint off and seeing how much rust pitting there actually is... I hope and pray I can go another 2 years before I have to pull it and replace it.

FTR, when it does come to that point, I plan to buy the equipment to do it myself... and do the exhaust manifolds, bellowed up-pipes, and new studs on top and bottom. That is the plan, anyway.

FIX IT BEFORE YOU CAN'T, FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I found a couple of quarter-size rust spots on mine and I scraped and sprayed on a rust inhibitive paint.

 

Heh... I'm really pissed about it.... both at the dealer AND myself.

They did some shady ***** top begin with... and this is just icing on the cake, if ya know what I mean.

 

Man that sucks, I wish Ford had done a little more protection on the oil pans. Mine looks good since we don't salt here or down in the desert SW, but I still hit it with some Rustoleum every so often to make sure it doesn't come to that. At the very least it would have been nice to be able to remove the pan without lifting the motor.

I'm sure you could get someone in your neck of the woods to lend a hand, it's a big job and a heavy motor for sure.

 

Exactly.... how hard would a removable cross-member (like the tranny has) have been to design???

And probably 90% of the rust was UNDER the paint, and maybe 15% was NOT visibly bubbled. Just rusted underneath.

 

No kidding. I've changed oil pans on other cars and it's just a matter of a dozen or two bolts and wham, bam, all done. I've been thinking about rigging up some kind of custom skid plate that would completely surround the oil pan for just such a reason. I tell ya, if I was in your neck of the woods I'd be happy to lend a hand, the 7.3 brotherhood is strong, I'm sure someone will be willing to help out.

 

7.3 Ford Rusted Oil Pan Repair Kit (1of 2) - YouTube

 

We use this stuff at work Rust Converter Treatment Kills Rust lasts a long time and is MIL spec kinda $$$ but does work!!! or the aftermarket needs to start making these pans in SS it would be worth the extra money in the long run! I had a custom machined AL pan on my 02 when I had it but the issue with that again is cost. I got it for free but the CNC alone was over 19 hours and it had lots of fins on it. The guy that did the R&D and had the CAD files has since passed on but he was on the right track and would have made some decent money!

 

So are there no aftermarket replacement pans available?

My truck is from Wisconsin. Is has small spots on the bottom of the pan but the OP has me worried now, I'll have to clean and attempt to fix.

 

That would work if it was just the deep part of the pan... but it isn't. The worst part is the side underneath the cross-member. The fiberglass wouldn't touch it. It's bad all the way up underneath to the front of the pan.

 

I need to hit mine with some rust bullet before it starts to rust.

 

Cut the cross member, replace pan, weld cross member back and your done.

 

Im surprised nobody has come out with a removable cross member to put back in after cutting out the old one.

 

Don't ever CUT the crossmember out !!! That is an important part of the frame and you will damage it if you get it hotter than 600 degrees. The steel they use on the frames WILL be damaged and weaker once you do that. And in an accident Very bad things can happen. Just bite the bullet and do it the right way "Pull the engine!" I use to work as a frame and bodyman and at a Ford dealership until 2000. I do know what I am talking about. " Ford says if a frame is bent or a crossmember (front) cracked it should NOT be heated no more than 600degrees and if it needs to welded it should be replaced!!" So if someone gets Killed because you welded the crossmember Ford is off the hook and you are the one getting sued and even jail for wrongful death. It just isn't worth it. Please always be safe. Sorry if I seem like I am going off . I don't mean to I just get upset when people want to do things that should never be done. Just want to give a little heads up.

 

Well, I have now done 3 coats of paint on the pan. I'm really just hoping this will retard the rust to the point where I won't have to replace it for a few years.

Maybe by then I will have the needed tool already... or at least the money to fix it.

Anywho, here's the pics of the pan before I cleaned/scraped it. I wish I took pics of it after sanding it with a wire wheel, stripper, dremel, and flap disc grinder, as well as hand-sanding where the tools wouldn't reach. Oh well. I'll post up pics after the 4th and final coat of paint.

It certainly looks better.... but it's just hiding the really bad spots, really.