FJ80 3FE Oil Pan Rust (1 Viewer)

[mobalatero]

Pulled the oil pan on my 91 FJ80 with the 3FE to finally tackle the oil leaks! Valve cover and pushrod cover have been done so this was next on the list.

Pulled the pan off and noticed the paint on the left side was pretty bubbly. Got to working on the wire wheel and found a few small spots where the rust had gone completely through.

Is this pan too far gone or is it worth patching up, painting and refurbishing? Quick search and it doesn’t seem like 3fe oil pans are very cheap…

 

[Kernal]

If there were no other options and zombies were coming through the front gates maybe you could repair it in order to escape. Otherwise I'd find good used pan from a part out. Try the Parting out Section of the Classifieds section.

If you have to drive it until you find a replacement pan you could degrease it (final rinse using Acetone) so that it's absolutely squeaky clean and slather JB Weld over the entire side, might hold for awhile. Or, find someone to weld a plate over the whole side, but that could cost more than a good used pan.

Shipping might cost as much as the pan itself, did you check your local Salvage yards (or are they all that rusty in NJ?)

Seeing that much rust on the oil pan, what does the rest of the undercarriage look like?

 

[Wrath]

I’ve bought a 3FE FJ80 oil pan from @Deathvalleypaul

 

[bhsdriller]

I'd try to patch and run until I could find a good used one but i'm cheap

 

[mobalatero]

Dug into the oil pan a bit further. I wanted to see how deep the rust really was and it's not looking promising.

I slapped some 2 part epoxy over the tiny holes just to try it out but I don't think I'd be able to sleep knowing the pan looks like this. Dropping the oil pan was a pain on its own and I'd prefer to have to only do it once.

Time to bust out the wallet I think...

 

[mobalatero]

Seeing that much rust on the oil pan, what does the rest of the undercarriage look like?

The car's been in the Northeast for most of its life so it isn't pristine or perfect by any means. But I'd consider it pretty good by Northeast standards. Definitely worth saving.

 

[jonheld]

The oil pan for a 3FE has been out of production for a while now. I doubt if you can find a new one. Best option is a used pan as suggested.