as some of you already know, i just bought a late-model 99 7.3 auto ext. cab short bed with 117k miles. the body is solid, only had one owner, but needed some minor stuff (worn-out shocks, brakes, fluids changed, power door locks, etc.) that i knew about and didn't mind. now, enter the painful part. although it spent 2 years in missouri and 8 years in upstate NY, and i knew it had some rusted stuff that needed replaced (like the E brake cable that was done today), i never expected that the OIL PAN was rusted so bad that oil leaked through it. it's unbelievable to me that they'd make an engine for over 15 years for ford trucks that the oil pans rotted out from under. i saw some undercoating on the pan when i bought it, but didn't think anything about it. now, i realize that it was evidently a patch for the leak. my question here i guess is (after searching on here i know i'm just another statistic in a long line of pan probs with these trucks), what all/else can i except to have replaced with the pan? do LPOPs and HPOPs typicall have to be replaced, too? and i already plan on doin' the rear main while they have it apart. break down the bad news for me here, guys... how far above $1,000 do i need to plan on going.

 

I have some good news and some bad news for you.

Bad news: gotta pull the motor to replace the oil pan. Or, in the very least, hoist up the motor so you can get in there and pull the old pan and install the new. Crossmember runs directly under the pan.

Good news: can't see why you'd need to replace anything else, as long as it isn't leaky/rusted. HPOPs, when they do leak, its usually just a .20 cent o ring. Soooo...

Not sure if my good news outweighed the bad news.

The rusty oil pan monster is why I paint my oil pan every year...no probs so far.

 

There is a place that sells a split oil pan.. not sure if it works or not.. good luck!!

 

Well if you fix the problems now and maintain it like it should be maintained, you will have a good truck for years to come. +1 on painting the oil pan

 

I had my pan replaced under an extended warranty. The warranty actually only covered the leaking pan gasket. So the dealer told me to pick up a pan and he'd put the new one in. Awesome! I got a new pan and scuffed it and coated it with POR 15. That was a year or two ago. There is rust bubbles forming on the new pan already. If you get a new pan STRIP IT and then prep/coat it with something you trust

 

I dont have rust but think I should do this. Do I just scratch it up , prime and paint or wait till i see some paint bubbling first?

 

I just clean mine really well and add another coat of paint. If your existing paint shows no sign of rust I see no need in stripping it.

The pinholes in the pan are usually from years of neglect and letting the rust get way past too far gone. Keep a nice coat of paint on there and you'll be fine.

 

It is completely dependent on where you live. We don't have issues out west nearly as much since we de-ice our roads differently. My Early 99 has never been painted or "treated" with anything and has zero rust on it.

 

Yeah its that salt mixture they use in the midwest and east that is such a killer. I haven't had any problems either but mine spent most of its life in Colorado where they use mag chloride instead of salt.

I have already noticed some rust appearing where I've never seen it before.

 

Taking the Engine out of the truck ISNT the only option you have, but it is by far the most correct way to do it. Ive done it the not-so-correct way of cutting that huge rediculous crossmember out from underneath it and welding it back up after the new pan, only reason I did this was a time crunch(had to be 1400miles south in 2 days).


POR15 is a great product, but you MUST prep it properly.
There is the starter kit I used on my Pan and it literally came with everything you need.
SUPER STARTER KIT-POR-15 Inc.

For best results:
1. Strip any paint on it to bare metal(kit dosnt come with striper but I used a wire wheel)
2. Degrease with Marine Clean-wash-let dry
3. Etch the metal with Metal ready-wash-let dry
4. Paint with POR15-apply 2nd, 3rd coat as desired

I put two coats on mine and it seemed good. If you dont prep it good then the paint wont stick and do its job of keeping out the moisture=RUST.

Again if I could do it over again I would have pulled the motor just for peice of mind and painted a few more things while I was in there but that wasnt a luxury I had.

I have no comment or info on the two piece oil pan design...seems to me like its a step in the opposite direction!

Let us know what u end up doing!

 

Sorry to hear. Just like Clay said, I dont even see surface rust on mine out here in California.

 

Mine's got pretty big chunks of rust flaking off of it. A lifetime in Indiana really takes it's toll.

Down here in NC it probably won't be an issue any more, so I'll POR it in the spring and call it good.


As a side note- has anyone ever tried welding a patch on the oil pan when it leaks? If it's a small-ish hole, I don't see why it would not work....

But maybe i'm nuts...

 

the pan metal isnt that thick so you better be careful welding on it or youll just be burning holes in it. when i yank my engine and put in my built block im buying 2 new oil pans and having them both line-x'd before they go on. figure that ought to keep the nasty off of it.......

 

well, here's the deal for now... out of 5 local ford dealerships (i know, i know; fool me once...), there's only 1 i really trust to do ANYTHING to my truck, so they're gonna be the ones doing it, and it's no surprise they came in a couple hundred cheaper than the other four ($1,000 for labor, plus parts, which can't be more than a couple hundred, which is much better than the 17-1800 everyone else on here seems to be paying at a stealership to have this inexcusable horse$*!t of a "repair" done on an engine that costs nearly $5,000 itself! ). the good news is that the parts and service mgrs. (who both have several years of exp. each with Ford) neither had ever seen it around here and had only heard of this before due to company-wide service bulletins from FoMoCo. our winters are pretty mild locally so it shouldn't be a future problem for the ol' girl living down here now. they've pulled plenty of motors and replaced plenty of pans, but not solely due to rust. anyway, they'll warranty anything they do for 12 mos./12k miles, but only if i use factory parts bought from them (which i can't alter in any way, or Ford will kick it if i have to return it). sooo, i'll keep a CLOSE eye on it, and when the warranty expires, it's getting Line-X'd. also, with a new baby and house, i can't really afford to get it done until the income tax return comes back, so stay subscribed to this thread if you want updated, and i'll post one after it gets done. and most of all, thanks for ALL of your replies.

 

Wow that really sucks tou have to remove the damn motor to replace the oil pan! Yet another display of Ford engineering brilliance.

What are the torque specs on the oil pan bolts? Should those be snugged up every so often?