Oil pan replacement

[Shane3621]

hey guys...been along time...hopefully things are slowing down enough that i can be more regular on here...
After going about a month with a very small oil drip in the garage, i backed out one morning last week, and noticed on the ground what had to be every drop of oil in my MO. oh, btw, its a 2006 SL AWD, totally stock engine wise, 120,000 miles.

i had just got the oil changed about 2 weeks prior at the dealership, and they said NOTHING about any leaks, or anything looking weird. So i assumed maybe it was the drain plug dripping, until the massive puddle showed up...

i checked online for any "common" MO issues and saw the oil cooler adapter plate that was prone to leaking.

Well, i crawled under to inspect, looking around the oil cooler adapter... wiped down all around the underside that was COVERED in oil, when i saw it...the oil pan was covered in quarter sized rust spots...One rust spot right in the middle of the pan, would immediately begin to soak up and drip after wiping it off...


SO, after an Auto Zone $67 pan, and $8 gasket, this is what i did last weekend...







10x 12mm bolts, and something to pry the lower pan (black, thin, CHEAP metal) from the upper pan, and then install the new gasket, or RTV, put on new pan...super easy to do!

of course, i forgot to snap a pic of the old pan...i WILL get a pic and post it in this thread soon.

[Pilgrim]

Interesting to see what that oil pickup looks like. It's not as close to the bottom of the pan as some, and more rounded than some. Good reason not to let the oil get extremely low, lest you start sucking air into the oil pickup.

I didn't think a gasket was used with that pan, but the goal is simply to have no leaks. If you succeeded, then it worked fine.

[Shane3621]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Interesting to see what that oil pickup looks like. It's not as close to the bottom of the pan as some, and more rounded than some. Good reason not to let the oil get extremely low, lest you start sucking air into the oil pickup.

I didn't think a gasket was used with that pan, but the goal is simply to have no leaks. If you succeeded, then it worked fine.

yea, it didnt have a gasket on the original, but the new pan said to use a gasket instead of RTV. not sure why, but i figured if it leaked, id take it off, and use the RTV instead...no leaks yet though!

[njjoe]

When I replaced the pan last year I opted for RTV as per the service manual. I did not realize a gasket was available.

-njjoe

[Pilgrim]

The nice thing is that the system only has to avoid leaking - if the gasket works, you're good.