Oil pan dents

[rodo]

It has taken me a couple of years but i have learned that to own a FIAT is to attempt to do whatever job needs done by one's own self. Now that most of my upper engine stuff is wrapping up, I enjoyed the delights of laying on my concrete garage to see the underneath. Oil pan is pretty dented but not leaking. So...can one remove it and hammer out the dents?

[geospider]

You can. But I believe you will need to loosen motor mounts and raise it a bit to clear the cross member.
There is a great thread on changing the oil pump/sump that will take you through it.
If me, and my oil was moving along just fine; maybe dont worry about it. I've heard that when we inevitably hit these low pans, we can damage the oil pick up. you can get a guard for them: check the vendors on the site.

Geo

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Rodo, you could remove the oil pan and pound out the dents, but on the other hand, I am a firm believer in, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." So, one option would simply be to let the dents be, and live with it. I empathize with you though, but if you try to remove the dents, this could uncover other issues that would need to be addressed...

-Bryan

[wetminkey]

Yeah, you could think of it as "patina"!
Hee, hee!

[rodo]

Patina! On an Italian antique! Yeah, that sounds better. Well, the larger issue is that the engine has not been started in at least seven years. I am a few days away, fingers crossed, from firing it up. I'll be keeping an eye out for drips anyway. Other eye will be on oil pressure.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Regarding oil pressure, Fiat oil pressure sending units (gauge or light) are notorious for not only leaking oil, but also reading incorrectly (too low) as they age. So, fixing a low oil pressure reading on the gauge could be as simple as a new sending unit.

If you haven't started the engine in 7 years, do a few simple steps before trying to start it up. First, remove the spark plugs, making sure not to drop anything into the spark plug holes. Rotate the engine slowly by hand to make sure something hasn't frozen or locked up. Then with the spark plugs still removed, spin the engine around a few times using the starter motor. This also gets oil up into the engine (rather than sitting in the sump) before you put any real loads on the bearings and such. Then replace the spark plugs and try and start the engine.

If the gas in the tank is 7 years old, the engine may be very hard to start. Might wanna think about draining out the old gas and replacing with new. Use caution when working with gas of course.

-Bryan

[rodo]

Thanks for all that, Bryan. I know nothing about the gauges and their accuracy. Very helpful.

I am, at least, a bit ahead of the game with getting it cranked. Replaced the timing belt, front engine seals, and just did a valve adjustment (which was my first for a tappet engine; not hard...after figuring out how to press down the valve). Engine turned easily by hand. Whew.
Fuel system has not had a drop in at least three years, now all new hoses and injectors.

Great advice about the first start, just a few cranks to get the oil moving. Dang, it is kind of terrifying to think about all the places any liquid might leak/spray/dribble.

[samakijoe]

An other reason to remove the oil pan would be to clean out all the gunk
on the bottom of the pan from 40 years of "gunking".
The oil pickup up could use a cleanup too.

[SteinOnkel]

An other reason to remove the oil pan would be to clean out all the gunk
on the bottom of the pan from 40 years of "gunking".
The oil pickup up could use a cleanup too.

Add half a quart of diesel to the oil and let the engine idle for about twenty minutes. Then immediately do a regular oil change.

[JohnMc]

My two cents I would leave it alone.

[rodo]

JohnMcC: when you say leave it alone, do you mean: You'd not try and remove the pan to fix the dents or do you mean you would not add diesel to the oil for cleaning? Or both?

[baltobernie]

How about a photo of the dent(s)? If the bottom front of the pan is dented rearward more than an inch or so, there's a good chance that the oil pump inlet is broken. In your mind, rotate this photo:



... about 30° clockwise, and pretend you are looking under the car below the passenger door. That screened pickup is parallel to the bottom of the pan, almost touching both the front and bottom of the pan. It is obviously an aluminum casting, and it takes far less energy to break off the "neck" than it does to dent the (rather substantial) oil pan.

A broken pickup presents several bad outcomes. Without the screen, the debris from the break and other nasties can get sucked into the pump and circulated throughout the engine. Depending on the location of the fracture, the pump will starve of oil much more readily, since the pickup point is further up the sump.

If you are considering oil pan repair, know that there is a sheet metal tray surrounding the pickup. It is easy to cut the weld joining the "windage tray" to the pan. Then you can pound-out the dent, and re-weld the tray back into place.