Repairing a leaking oil pan

Trapper · Post by **Trapper** » Wed May 22, 2002 11:55 pm

Some time ago there was talk on the old site about repairing a oil pan on a C-145 or 0-300 engine. I am going in for a new C of A to-marrow and I suspect there may be a problem as I have noticed a little oil leaking around the carb.
What number on the old site was that discussion taking place? Also there was mention of somebody who repairs them in Canada, with some kind of epoxy. What material where they using?
Thank you for you help.
Trapper

Trapper · Post by **Trapper** » Thu May 23, 2002 12:08 am

Maybe someone out there has a good used oil pan for a 0-300 engine
they would like to sell.
Trapper

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Thu May 23, 2002 12:45 am

The #2/2000 170 News has an article by member Arlyn Feight of Arizona about his oil sump repair experiences. He says he was informed by Tom Hall (170 Assn. parts/maint. coordinator) that Drake Air in Tulsa OK specializes in repairing these. He sent the sump off to them & they did a very nice job of welding on two little patches. No address or numbers for Drake Air in the article.
The place that usually rots out is right in front of the intake passage.

Eric

N2218B · Post by **N2218B** » Thu May 23, 2002 10:30 pm

When I overhauled my engine a few years ago my AI sent my pan off to Drake to be welded. It came back and looked beautiful. Several months later it cracked on the weld and dumped the oil. (luckily on the hanger floor but it still make me sick when I walked in that morning and saw that puddle of oil). My AI contacted Drake. He said they would not stand behind their work and we would have to come up with another pan. He found another one (pitted of course) and sent it off to Drake. It came back and looked beautiful. Several months later it too cracked on the weld and started to seep oil around the carb. Two items to learn from this:
1. I am a slow learner.

2. I do NOT recommend Drake welding!!!!

n2582d · Post by **n2582d** » Fri May 24, 2002 6:40 am

This is from msg. #4748 on the old site:

There is a shop in Kelowna BC who does an approved ( in Canada ) epoxy repair on sumps . Okanokan Aero Engines , ask for Fred . They did a great job on my 0 300 at overhaul last year .

n2582d · Post by **n2582d** » Fri May 24, 2002 6:42 am

This is from msg. #4748 on the old site:

There is a shop in Kelowna BC who does an approved ( in Canada ) epoxy repair on sumps . Okanokan Aero Engines , ask for Fred . They did a great job on my 0 300 at overhaul last year .

N2218B · Post by **N2218B** » Fri May 24, 2002 1:39 pm

I toured Fred's shop in Kelowna in June of last year as part of an organized flying tour through Southern B. C. (Beautiful Country). The shop seemed to be well organized and run and Fred seemed to be very knowledgeable. I never even thought about asking him about repairing pans. Let us know what you come up with if you talk to him.

logsdon · Post by **logsdon** » Sat May 25, 2002 1:08 pm

Several years ago, a corrosion hole in my C-145 oil pan let go in flight and left me with no oil at 1500 ASL and 100NM from the nearest airport. Fortunately I was on floats in an area with lots of lakes. I was able to make a safe landing and save the engine. The oil departed the engine in a hurry with no warning at all. There were no leaks prior to the flight. I was very lucky to have been watching the oil pressure gauge when she let loose. We repaired the hole in the field with JB Weld and ferried the A/C back to Yellowknife. I replaced the oil pan but the one I found had some minor pitting in the area which usually lets go. Before installing the used pan, I filled the pitted area with epoxy. Hopefully, that will increase the life of this pan and avoid another no-oil situation. Before storing the A/C for any period of time, I always change the oil. I think this will help reduce corrosion in the pan.

Post by **GAHorn** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 4:36 am

Randy Selchert, of Ajax Welding Inc., 319 Wolf Rd., San Antonio, TX 78216 800/531-7272 or 210/342-9494 tells me they not only weld these magnesium sumps, they are an FAA Certified Repair Station, and usually have at least one in stock for exchange.
He said that the only way to properly repair these is to thoroughly clean them (they are porous and absorb oil) then weld a patch on the outside of the unit where the weld won't be weakened by inbedded oil. The average price of such a repair is $500. They been in business as certified aircraft and crankcase welders for many years. They're located just off the SAT Int'l airport.

Rudy Mantel · Post by **Rudy Mantel** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 12:55 pm

Slightly off subject, but I recently started using the more expensive Aeroshell Plus oil which contains additives which I hope will prevent (or delay) rusting of the oil pan.
Anyone have thoughts on this ?
Rudy

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Sat Oct 26, 2002 1:46 am

Regarding the epoxy/JB Weld type oil pan fix,whether do-it-yourself or by approved shop, should the epoxy just be dobbed on top of the rotten spot? Or should the coroded material be ground out before epoxy is applied,to try to keep the corosion from continuing?
logsdon,I'm glad your oil pan failure had such a happy ending! Many of the places we find ourself flying over are not very user friendly. I recently flew over about 40 miles of wilderness country (north Cascade range of Washington State) because there was virtually NO route to my destination (Stehekin,on Lake Chelan) which stayed over civilization (roads,etc). Having suffered an in-flight broken connecting rod about a year and a half ago (another happy ending),I kinda held my breath most of the way,and flew at 10,000'.
Of course,I hedged my bets beforehand by sacrificing a virgin to the Continental gods. Wasn't easy finding one of them.......

Eric

Post by **GAHorn** » Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:03 pm

Rudy Mantel wrote:Slightly off subject, but I recently started using the more expensive Aeroshell Plus oil which contains additives which I hope will prevent (or delay) rusting of the oil pan.
Anyone have thoughts on this ?
Rudy

Aviation Consumer just did an article on oils, including some results from laboratory testing. Bottom line: The best oil is still AeroShell 100W. The multi-grades, and the Plus had other drawbacks (leaching copper out of your bearings, for example), and the worst of the lot for degredation at high temps and leaching out copper??---Exxon Elite! The Exxon people are scrambling to change their formula and trying to keep it quiet.
The problem with the oil sumps is the water that sits in the bottom of the forward area of the sump from condensation and short flights, and the fact that it's made of magnesium. (Why, Oh Why? Why didn't they just make it out of aluminum?)

Harold Holiman · Post by **Harold Holiman** » Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:17 pm

George,

I use Exxon Elite because I thought previous tests showed that it was the best multi grade oil for engines that were inactive for lots of the time. Like it also as multi grade because base viscosity is thicker than Aero Shell multi grade. Have I made a bad choice?

Harold H

Post by **GAHorn** » Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:54 pm

According to Exxon it's better than "other multi-grade" oils for corrosion, according to their laboratory testers. The real problem is that the laboratories don't always test according to the actual conditions our engines experience. Example: In one test for corrosion, Exxon's laboratory used a salt-spray booth to simulate high-humidity, corrosive environments. Yep, that would be one all right. What has it got to do with our engine's internals? Nothing. However it made their oil look good compared to the competition when used in an application for which it is not intended and will never be required by the customer.
Multi-grade oils really shine in environments that require an icy start-up and quick launch day-in/day-out, without pre-heat. Otherwise, I'd personally not recommend them. I'd also stay away from the phosphate and zinc additive type oils. (Automotive oils, many aftermarket additives, and virtually all products that make "EP" or extreme pressure/anti-scuffing claims. Aviation engines do not have the high internal bearing pressures automotive engines have. Aero engine bearings are larger/longer with greater actual bearing surfaces, and turn at slow rpms. They don't need what automotive engines need. Remember, for decades, aero engines operated all the way to TBO with straight-weight, mineral oils. (No additives whatsoever. Most engines operated without any filters, and some without even a screen! They just flew often, and had 25 hour oil changes.)

logsdon · Post by **logsdon** » Sat Nov 09, 2002 6:57 pm

When we patched the oil pan with JB Weld in the bush, we just cleaned it up as good as we could, did a leak check, climbed high and kept a good eye on the oil pressure gauge. When I replaced the pan, we cleaned it throughly with MEK and put some epoxy on the slightly pitted area. I wouldn't grind it but cleaning is essential as the metal is quite porous, which is the root of the corrosion problem.

The International Cessna 170 Association