Small hole in oil pan fix? To braze or not to braze?

[sox3]

I had a leak on my oil pan on a f250 diesel. Put a screw with washer in it as a temp fix. Too much to pull the pan. I would not braze or weld at all. You will run the risk of setting it on fire internaly, or burning through the pan resulting in a fire. I have seen this first hand too. Not pretty. I drained the oil, sanded the pan to good bare metal,used carb cleaner to clean up. Used an epoxy that is oil and gas resistant. I have seen these used in the oil refinery for years. After it was patched I painted pan. still holding! just my 2 cents.

 

[crazyal]

One option would be to just drain the oil, clean the metal up, put a screw (no gasket), and then JB weld. The head of the screw will give the JB weld a lot more meat to stick to. Just use a small screw so you don't make the hole too much larger.

 

[Don87]

Pull the drain plug tonight, by morning all oil will be drained completely..........then braze the pan and refill with oil.

 

[banjodunn]

Pull the drain plug tonight, by morning all oil will be drained completely..........then braze the pan and refill with oil.

x2 except before pulling the drain put a block of wood under the closest tyre to the hole and drive the tractor up on to it to lift the corner of the sump with the hole up a little to make sure the oil is well drained away.


Jon

 

[CliffordK]

If you're worried about a fire, how easy would it be to flush the pan with a non-flammable gas (C0[sub]2[/sub], Nitrogen, Argon, etc)? Even decreasing the oxygen content from 20% down to 10% or 5% would make a significant difference in the overall flammability.

As far as tilting the tractor, I'd do it after you get most of the oil drained so you don't unnecessarily create a pocket of oil, although that makes it more difficult to just drive up onto blocks.

 

[SPYDERLK]

A lot of good suggestions here. And I was lucky that the 4" blade only took out a hydraulic line and very small hole in the oil pan. A few inches either way and it would have taken a tire out. The hole in the oil pan is in a bad spot as it is on a lower corner, so I am not sure the screw and gasket idea would work. I kind of think that I can make it until we are done with the hay. It only leaked a very small spot during the 2 days it has sat so far. It will probably leak more once the oil warms up though. I can just be sure to check it every little bit.

I appreciate the ideas. Probably just see if JB weld will stick and remove the pan in a couple of weeks to fix it correctly.

I would be concerned about brazing in place due explosive vapors that would evolve during the process. Your description indicates that the hole is extremely small. There is a loctite product that is very effective at sealing small holes. Cleaning the hole would require draining the oil and then applying a slight vacuum to the crankcase. With the internal vacuum, apply carb cleaner to the exterior so it will be sucked thru. Dry with mild heat and let cool to warm before applying the Loctite wicking product. Relieve the vacuum fairly promptly. Keep it warm for a couple hrs to speed cure of the Loctite. Pretty much a permanent fix for holes. Works on cracks too unless they propagate.
larry

 

[RoyJackson]

The pan is steel and I am hoping I can JB Weld and it last long enough to get through hay season. If it holds long enough I will TIG it once I get it off the tractor. Thanks for your opinion.

There are fuel tank repair kits (a 2 part epoxy). I've used this stuff on a few occasions with the tank in place (and fuel in the tank). It is a permanent repair.
Trying to braze with oil in the pan will probably not be successful. Good braze requires clean oil free parts.

 

[sweep]

Why don't you just thread a a machine screw into the hole and use a good Loc-Tite thread locker?

After it is in, clean the area and just tack weld it in place?

 

[Soundguy]

welding on it will defeat the thread locker....

 

[mbmrang]

Thank you all for the suggestions and I have chosen the path I will take. I will find some of the wet/dry gas tank epoxy and apply that after draining the oil pan. Then, once I can get it back over to the main farm with all the tools I will remove the pan and weld it. Re-paint the outside and put back on the tractor. I haven't chose the method of welding yet, but since we have a TIG and MIG and brazing equipment, I will see what I feel like doing at that time.

Thanks again for all the input. I knew I could get good ideas from you all.