Oil pan broken on a Tercel

A 10mm wrench.

The pan is probably about $100US, but the real deal is that the engine may need to be lifted from the body to get the clearance to replace the pan. The engine in this car weighs about 100 LBS, so you could almost do it with one person just holding onto the engine! (But don't...get a hoist)

As for changing the suspension, usually we do this to LOWER the car for better handling from a lower center of gravity. Bear in mind ANY changes to the suspension is going to throw the geometry off, so start looking for wheels, tires, springs shocks...

It may be more cost effective to fix the sidewalk...

Thanks. I will avoid alot of problems by finding a mechanic who will be cheaper than the Toyota dealer.

hachiroku wrote: snip

Or buy another car...

Has the car suspension been modified from stock to lower the car, by yourself or (more likely) a previous owner? That's the only way I can see you hitting bottom hard enough to damage the oil pan going in and out of normal driveways at a normal rate of speed.

Either the car has been lowered, you're blasting through rough patches WAY too fast, or if the craters in the driveways you use are /that/ deep you need to park on the street or use another driveway.

The cheap and dirty way of lowering a car is to chop a coil or two off the ends of the springs with a cutting torch - this is very bad. The spring has been shortened but the spring rate hasn't been changed, so they are still as soft as stock and will bottom out way too easily.

If you want the car lowered without destroying it, you need to buy a properly engineered lowering kit with shorter but stiffer springs, and the other parts you need to make it work. Some cars need special offset wheel hubs or special brackets to relocate suspension bits - and that makes the kits expensive, so they try the cheap way first...

And remember that in most states there's a fixed limit as to how low you can go. In California, no part of the car can be lower than the bottom edge of the wheel rims - if you took all four tires off and set the car on the pavement on the rims, nothing can touch even with the car carrying a normal passenger load. This is to prevent a simple flat tire from causing a major accident, because something hanging down (like a spring hanger or the bottom of a shock absorber) snags on the road and spins you out of control.

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If the pan scrapes when you pull in and out of the driveway, then the only solution is to slow down when pulling in or try to build up the curb a little. I wouldn't recommend suspension modifications unless it is sitting lower than normal.

Besides the 10 mm. wrench that Hachiroku described, you will need a metal putty knife, a hammer, a gasket scraper, and a tube of O2 sensor-friendly formed-in-place-gasket (FIPG).

Take a look under the car and see if the oil pan is free of obstructions. If it is, drain the oil, remove all of the bolts holding it in place, and use the hammer to tap the metal putty knife in between the oil pan and the engine block. Once you have the knife worked in, tap it sideways around the pan to break the seal. don't drive the knife too deep as you don't want to damage the oil pickup tube inside the pan.

Once you get the pan off, use the gasket scraper and scrape off all the old gasket residue.

The FIPG look like a tube of silicone sealer but MAKE SURE IT IS O2 SENSOR FRIENDLY! Apply a thin bead of FIPG on the new oil pan, drawing circles around the bolt holes.

When you install the new pan, install the bolts loosely in the corners first, then install the rest loosely in a criss cross pattern. After you have all the bolts started, tighten them a little at a time in a criss cross pattern so that the pan is drawn up to the block evenly. If you don't do this, the FIPG will ooze out unevenly and you can have oil leaks. Let the FIPG cure according to the directions, refill the oil, and motor away.

I found a mechanic to do the job for cheaper. Just before I go at his garage, I would like to know if a sealing exists to fill out the crack where the oil is leaking from. Thanks.

I doubt if any chemical sealer/caulk will adhere properly without removing the pan, cleaning it thoroughly with solvent, and removing all traces of oil and whatever solvent used to remove the oil. If you are going to go through all the trouble of cleaning up the old oil pan, you would probably be better off brazing the crack.

That is a lot of extra labor, and the repair may or may not last.

Your best bet is probably to replace the pan.

If you have a crack in the metal any sealant will be futile. Unless you weld or braze the crack, it will probably keep growing. If you can't buy a replacement pan for a reasonable price, I'd get it welded.

I've done this - my generator engine had rust holes in the bottom of the oil pan weeping, and replacement 1941 Willys MB parts aren't exactly everyday items...

Suggested course of action: Take off the oil pan, get it hot-tanked (caustic cleaner in an industrial "dishwasher" for engine blocks) or let it soak in a solvent tank till you are down to totally clean bare metal. Sandblast or bead-blast to get it /really/ clean, and so you can see exactly where the crack is running.

Stop-drill the end of the crack (drill an 1/8" hole through to physically interrupt the crack path) and then MIG-weld the entire crack path, from both sides. Grind the weld smooth where it goes over the gasket sealing area, and only clean up the rest of the weld enough to see that you have proper penetration on the weld.

While you have it down to spotless bare metal, check for rust pits and fill them in, too.

Blast and clean it with solvent again, prime, paint, paint, paint. (One good coat of paint on the inside, three on the outside where the rust monsters live.) Let the paint get good and dry before replacing, leave it in the sun for a few days.

Reassemble with a new gasket and a thin bead of sensor-safe FIPG silicone. Wait overnight (or per instructions) for the sealant to cure, then refill with oil and drive the car.

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Thanks everyone for all your help. Oh well, I'm going ahead with a new oil pan. Aluminium or metal?

Aluminum is metal.

I believe the original one is steel, which is generally more durable than aluminum.

Not giving us much choice are you? :)

Just back from the garage. The problem was not the oil pan, but its plug. Someone probably broke it tightening it too much. That would be my Toyota dealership mechanic! It costed me US $40 to have the plug fixed. The dealership wanted to charge me US $350! Of course, they charged me $40 estimate...