Crack In My Oil Pan
 

So I have been messing around trying to find where the oil leak was coming from and I finally found it. A hairline crack in my oil pan from me bottoming out or something seems to be the culprit and now all I have to do is figure out if I can just J-B Weld it or if I absolutely need to get a new oil pan. Needless to say, whoever was offering to sell those aluminum skid plates just found another customer.

oil pans are cheap and pretty easy to replace. i think i got a new one for my A4 for $80 shipped from azautohaus.com

I am trying to save money right now, so will just sealing the hole work?

it should, just be sure to clean it very thoroughly before using the JB weld. you might want to wait until you do your next oil change and do it once you have drained all the old oil.

Well the oil leak has pretty much drained most of my oil. I plan on doing the oil change the same day as the oil pan repair. I have a new oil pan gasket, gasket sealant, J-B Weld, H&R oil filter, and a wire brush to clean out all the crap. Is there anything else I should get?

you can bring it to a shop to have the crack welded up. i would certainly not trust JB weld to not break off. if you put it on the inside of the oil pan it could break off and get stuck in the engine which would not be good seeing as how hard the stuff is. if you put it on the outside its only a matter of time (and heat cycles) before it falls off. and yes there are people who have had it stay on for several months but that doesnt mean its a good idea. it just means they havnt lost oil pressure while doing 80 on the freeway and had the engine seize yet.

I am just worried about the cost. I really don't want it to cost more than $100. So what should I do? Just take the oil pan up to the shop and ask them to weld it for me, then take the oil pan home and do the gasket and that's it?

yeah i'd recommend going that route if you want to save some cash. like i said, you can find a new pan for less than $100. it's your call.

There really isn't anything wrong with my oil pan other than the hairline crack. It's an easy fix and I am sure I can get it done for less than $100. Just for shits and giggles, I called an Audi dealership close to my house and they quoted me $280.48 for a new oil pan. It took everything in me to keep from laughing at the parts manager on the phone.

i got a hairline crack two years ago during the blizzard of '07 here in CO... i was broke then (still broke) from being an unemployed student living off loans... anyways i drained the oil and jb welded three coats on the outside and i have not had a single leak from it in 2 years.. i know it could go out at anytime but i inspect it every oil change and it looks perfectly fine.. 2 years with no problems is a lot longer than the guy above said that it would last... good luck either way you decide to go man!!