My brother and I had the Deluxe at the drags last night, and after we were done racing and had closed the headers back up, the car slipped off the jack as it was just about lowered back to the ground. The car slipped forward, so the jack slid back and hit the rear sump portion of the pan. Ouch.

It did not puncture the pan. It did put a good dent in it, probably about an inch deep, maybe an inch and a half? It isn't leaking, and the oil pressure read normally when the engine was started and run.

We were pretty much planning on pulling the motor and banging the pan back out, but I have to ask, since I'd love to avoid that if possible: can we get away with leaving it as is if it didn't damage the rear of the sump where the pickup is located?

I can probably post some pics to go with it later, giving you guys a good idea of the damage.

Just looking for some thoughts. Pan will probably have to come off, but if not, that sure would save us a ton of time, and free time has been hard to come by lately.

Many thanks!

Playing oil pump/pan roulette is not a good idea. I'd pull the pan and make sure that all is right with the oiling system, and fix the pan.

Yep, pretty much that's what I'm thinking we have to do. I was just entertaining this faint hope that we wouldnt' have to. Working on cars is fun and all, but I can't honestly say that pulling an engine just to remove a dent is my idea of a great time. Heck, it doesn't run any faster when you're done! Eh.

Heck, it doesn't run any faster when you're done! Eh.

Might run a little longer...

Can't argue with that.

Good to hear that no one was under the car when it happened!:beers:

It really will not hurt anything unless the pan was bent enough knock the pickup off the pump. I have seen a stud welder and slide hammer used to make this repair. Hope it works out for you.

Wow, thats funny, the same thing happened to me yesterday except it dented the front of my pan.

Just a thought (and I have never done this), but if you've ever seen the guys who do paintless dent repair, they use a suction cup type tool to pull dents out. My Dad owns a body shop and I've seen some decent size dents get pulled out with the tool they use. Maybe you could get a loaner tool or even call them and ask them if they would try and pull the dent out. Might be a lot easier then pulling the motor...

Just a thought..

Use a Slide hammer for dent removal then weld the hole closed??

Just a thought (and I have never done this), but if you've ever seen the guys who do paintless dent repair, they use a suction cup type tool to pull dents out. My Dad owns a body shop and I've seen some decent size dents get pulled out with the tool they use. Maybe you could get a loaner tool or even call them and ask them if they would try and pull the dent out. Might be a lot easier then pulling the motor...

Just a thought..
he sheetmetal used in an oil pan is about twice as thick as the sheetmetal used to make fenders and doors, so i don't think any suction cup device will be strong enough..
i like the idea of using the stud welder and slide hammer, myself.
but if the dent isn't towards the middle of the sump- where the pickup is located- then i personally wouldn't worry about it as long as the oil pressure is good.

Here's a picture of what we're working with. And yes, I'm very happy that the only thing that was affected was the oil pan. I told my brother, "Don't worry. This isn't a big deal. It can be fixed."

Or, depending on the consensus, maybe we've escaped the necessity for that?

Side view:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q264/starlightGTO/Cheville/oilpandent002.jpg

From the front:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q264/starlightGTO/Cheville/oilpandent001.jpg

yah it would be cheap insurance to pull the pan and bang it back out or even find another pan. When I first got my 454 in my car the jack slipped but the other direction and the crank counter was scrapping the pan. it only takes a couple hours too get a motor out.

Problem with using anything to pull the pan back into shape from outside is the pickup will stay up where it got pushed, then you'll run dry just that much quicker when it's 1 1/2" off the bottom of the pan.

That pan is done,,time to upgrade to a Moroso or Miloden.

Dave

That pan is done,,time to upgrade to a Moroso or Miloden.

Dave


yup..I agree.
At least buy a Summit brand stock replacement for $29 instead of banging that one out..doesn't look like a fun road to travel :noway:

Yep, I was thinking of putting a new pan on. I'm sure we could beat the old one out, but do I really want to spend all that time working on it, and then be worried that it might be cracked or warped and leak? I mean, we're broke, but a stock replacement isn't gonna break the bank.

Actually, now that I think of it, there is a stock pan hanging on the wall in the garage, but it's one of those dual-dipstick ones. We have a '76 block, so the other kickout just hangs out there. Anyone know if there is a way I can use the dual-dipstick pan on an earlier block?

Thanks,
Tom

Wow! A picture is worth a thousand words. I read the first post and I never pictured in my mind a dent that huge, so my thought was to use some method to pull the dent. Now, after seeing the picture, the pan needs to come off to check the pickup. Bummer.

Tom,
That is EXACTLY what happened to me after the drags at CB05!!!!!!!!!! :angry:
We drove the 70 from the strip to the motel with the headers open. Jacked it up, buttoned up the headers, got all the tools and jack stand from under the car and my son was lowering the jack--------------then it happened! I was SICK!!!!!!!!!!!! 700mi from home!!!
We fired it up, let it run, checked the oil pressure and all seemed fine. There was no question in my mind that the oil pump pickup had been bent upwards, so I added an extra qt of oil to be sure the level in the pump was high enough. Drove it home from N'ville to OKC. All went fine.
I parked the car on the lift and walked away from it for about a month. :sad:
Finally, I worked up enough motivation to lift the engine and pull the pan. Sure enough, the oil pickup was pushed up against the windage tray!
After removing the pan, I very carefully drilled the spot welds that attached the pan baffle to the pan and proceeded to beat the pan sump back into submission. :D
In the process of beating the pan, a crack finally broke all the way through. I got the sump re-shaped to my satisfaction, had the crack welded, had the pan baffle welded back in the pan, straightened the oil pump pickup and had it tack welded back to the pump, used a die grinder and Scotch bright buffing pad to smooth out the dents, wrinkles and the welds, painted it and put it all back together. The badly dented pan has been back in service for over 3yrs now and 3 more trips to CB and 3 more trips to the strip. Everything is just fine!
By the way, now I place a 2ft length of 2x8 under the pan and front cross member so that if anything slips, the pan is protected. :thumbsup:

IT CAN BE SAVED UNLESS YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO HASSLE WITH IT1
From my standpoint, if something CAN be repaired, then it's worth repairing.

If you don't want the damaged pan, DON'T TOSS IT! Send it to me, I'll pay the shipping.

If i were u i'd check the pump pick up.. i banged my pan quite good and it had made the oil pick up tube loose.. tho pump is low enough to suck oil but when cornering or accelerating/braking it might suck some air..

Kalle