I changed the oil this weekend, and I have noticed in the past some rust bubbling up under the paint on my oil pan, but it has grown quite a bit and I am nervous about it leaking.

Has anyone had this kind of rusting problem before????

How much of a pain is it really going to be putting in a new oil pan and a new rear main seal??

93 F150 2WD auto with a stupid 3.08 rear

Brian

 

Oil pans are made from pretty thick metal for protection, I doubt you have to worry about it rusting through. You can scrap off the rust and put a little paint on it to stop the rusting, be a good idea.
Rear main seal is a one piece and the transmission will have to be dropped. They make a sleeve that you drive in with loctite in order to repair any scratches on the seal surface that may be causing the leak, (NAPA $15) after about 20-30 min you drive on the new seal, its a easy job, the pain is having to drop the trans.

 

There are some pretty good sized rust spots, that is why I am concerned. It looks to me like if I was to change the pan it would be a real pain with that crossmember right in the way.

 

I believe you would have to losen motor mount and jack up the engine to slide the oil pan out. If you clean the rust spot real good and paint it there should not be a problem. Whatever you decide to do be sure you are comfortable with it.

 

this seems to be a common problem on older ford pick-ups a good way to avoid it is to wipe some clean oil on the outside of the pan every time you change the oil

 

I don't know what engine you have, but I replaced the rusted/leaking oil pan on my '94 F150/I-300 last fall. It did'nt seem like that much bubbley rust when I bought the truck last year (68K,Garage kept), then I saw oil on the outside of the pan and no amount of draining-cleaning-Seal-All,etc.. would keep it dry. New pan from Ford and a Fel-Pro molded gasket for parts and did rad. hoses/coolant at same time.
If you do this w/the 300, after the motor mounts are unbolted, jack it up just as high as you can..Book (~Worthless~ Haynes) said 1" spacers- No way pan was gonna clear the mains and bellhsg. I had to use the 1/2 Ton electric hoist up in my garage rafters to pull it just as high as possible...And trust me on this, if you don't do something about the rust now, a pan change is definetly in your future.

 

Ford had problems with oil pans for years...They rust thin to the point you can feel the sides moving with your fingers...I replaced one for a cost of 700.00 Canadian...The big cost was in labour to get the old one out...The guy I sold the truck (1988 5.0L) to also had to replace one on the same rig...

good luck on getting it fixed...

 

ok I even talked to one of the service guys at the dealer and he said he sees it all the time, but since my rear main is now leaking and I have no time I might have to send it out and have it done. I can't figure out why every ford I have had leaks oil but our POS Dodges at work don't leak, and they are severly abused.




BTW I have a 351, auto and yes stupid 3.08 gears

 

For what it's worth, I just noticed that I too have an oil leak on my 1995 F-150 5.0. I figured I left something lose when I changed the oil last but no such luck. Seems the oil is seeping through the pan close in the area where the exhaust passes behind it. There's lots of rust back there and I dare not start scraping for fear of a total pan dump on the driveway.

As far as changing the pan myself, I think I may sit this one out and pay someone to do it -- depending on how much it costs. Autozone sells a pan for a little over $50.00 and a Ford pan costs around $100.00-$150.00. I'd hope it would only take a mechanic a few hours to replace. Anybody have any thoughts about this?