Oil pan impaled by floor jack saddle

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Auto policy will cover it under collision; only thing I'm not totally sure about is whether they will jack up my premiums. If it were summer and I had someone to help me ("hey, mind jacking that up for me" ;) ) yes it would be fun but I'm extremely busy right now and may be traveling so need to get my rig back on the road asap.

BTW: any suggestions on best way to clean the baked on varnish and crust inside the used oil pan? Already tried engine degreaser; didn't do much.
 
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Kernal said:
Auto policy will cover it under collision; only thing I'm not totally sure about is whether they will jack up my premiums. If it were summer and I had someone to help me ("hey, mind jacking that up for me" ;) ) yes it would be fun but I'm extremely busy right now and may be traveling so need to get my rig back on the road asap.

BTW: any suggestions on best way to clean the baked on varnish and crust inside the used oil pan? Already tried engine degreaser; didn't do much.
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The best way is take it to your local machine shop and ask them to hot tank it for you. Will cost a couple bux, bit will be very clean when it comes out.

ditto on the pickup tube.

Also, one of those rust-removal pads on your drill or grinder will do the trick, if you can get into the crevices with it. Hot tank is best, though.
 
I could recreate this accident for anybody having problems visualizing how it happened. Just come on over, you supply the LC and I have the jack. I know where your coming from Kernal, my jack is a little finicky and likes to let loose all at once. I've found different ways to get it to open more smoothly, tap the end of the handle lightly with a hammer, tap the jack lightly with a hammer(not when trying to lower it), working the handle back and forth from the lift position to the lower position where you start to feel tension. But my biggest secret to using this jack is not to max it out as high as possible.

How high was that sucker jacked up? I've had mine let loose before, and talk about frightening. Luckily, I had stands under the frame to catch it. If I need to raise the vehicle way off the ground, I do it and stages and use stands to catch it if anything happens, same with lowering it from way up high. I've changed my jacking habits over the years, now I just jack it up enough to get the job done, whereas in the past I used to jack it up excessivly.

Glad to hear you found the pans on the cheap, hope its not a super drag to get the upper one off. And remember, nows the time to bling the replacement pans out. Heres a picture of a 3FE pan, just one.:flipoff2:
yellow pan.webp
 
RIAD: Got the purple stuff; that is next in line to be tried.

lacruiser; I found a can of spray Citrustripper (usually used to remove old paint) I got from Wally World awhile back and tried that on the inside; worked very well on the crust and the old FIPG, loosened that right up. Tried not to get any on the bottom painted pan though. Taking it to the car wash now to clean all that junk out but will also try to find someone who can hot tank it.

Tenzig: it was jacked up about 25 inches which seemed like the perfect height for the front axle job, no kneeling, just sit in my chair and work away, only thing was that I never got that far. After the mishap I came to the same conclusion; take it down in stages until it gets closer to the ground, but in the future ditto, I probably won't go as high.

While this is apart is there anything else I should do mechanically before the new pan goes on? A couple of O rings, check/swap the sensors, use only Toyota FIPG, new pan bolts??
 
Kernal said:
While this is apart is there anything else I should do mechanically before the new pan goes on? A couple of O rings, check/swap the sensors, use only Toyota FIPG, new pan bolts??
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If it were my rig, I'd yank off the big end caps and look at the bearings. If they were showing any wear, I'd pop in a set of fresh ones.

But then, that's me!

:grinpimp:
 
lacruiser: wonder what a dealer would charge me for that if they already had the pan off? I've been doing oil analysis for the last 30,000 miles or so, they show slightly higher iron (8ppm) and lead (15ppm) than average but they're not increasing.

Noticed that the oil pick-up screen is half blocked with crusty sludge, found a couple small metal shavings and some other junk stuck in the screen. You know that plug that's in line with the oil pick-up tube; is that a clean out plug for the oil tube or pick-up strainer??

Here are some photos of the replacement pans after first cleaning while the pans were still together, haven't touched the pick-up screen yet.
DSC00021.webp
DSC00014.webp
DSC00011.webp
 
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Very cool and it looks like you are well on the way to a satisfactory repair.

Aluminum does not do well in a hot tank, so be careful. If you go that route, the steel comes out looking new.

Personally, I would not mess with the bearings. Don't I remember they have to be individually matched, based on number codes on the rods? That would be a pain unless they are all one standard size.

That's more crud on the pick up than I would have expected. That's the donor pan, right? I guess you don't know the history.

Anyway, good recovery, and wishing you continued good luck.

:cheers:
 
Yes, donor pan, the guy at the salvage yard said the vehicle had a bad HG but from the looks of the pick-up screen it also had poor PM which make me wonder about sludge stuck in the pick-up tube.
 
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how about some of that nasty oven cleaner spray on stuff? designed for baked on greasy stuff...
 
Might try the oven cleaner tomorrow.
 
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Word of caution with using oven cleaner on aluminum; it is very caustic and will attack the aluminum. If you go this route try and minimize the time it is in contact with the aluminum.
 
Might just stick with the citrus paint stripper stuff then, it worked pretty good the first time. Most of what is left is below and behind the pick-up tube and the baffles, it would be easier to get to that stuff with those parts removed; anyone have experience with that? Looks like just a couple of bolts holding the pick-up tube inplace and then a metal gasket where the tube bolts to the pan.
 
Try aircraft stripper. It's made for aluminum. I don't know how it will work with baked on grease but I'm sure it will help alot!
 
I use jack/jackstands like rhrary, lift one side, place the jackstand, lift the other side, place the jackstand. I have done this many times, and if you do it slow and careful it is a safe way to go. I don't like trying to jack the whole font end up at once. With the offset pumpkin, it would never be balanced.
 
firetruck; sounds good then. Back a couple of months ago was discussing in a thread about floor jacks about building some sort of custom lift bar or using something like this:
floor jack crossbeam adapter 2.webp
 
Kernal said:
firetruck; sounds good then. Back a couple of months ago was discussing in a thread about floor jacks about building some sort of custom lift bar or using something like this:
Click to expand...

I remember that thread, I mentioned the pumpkin would be in the way;)
I think that unless you have a lift, the best way is to do it, is one side at a time, otherwise, there would be a lot of leverage on any lift bar that would be trying to lift evenly on the front axle, just not worth it IMHO.
 
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