Somehow, my '01 GLE has acquired a tiny crack or pinhole right in the center
of the oil pan resulting in a leak. Without the leak, you can barely see
the hole because there is absolutely no dent whatsoever in the pan. I'm not
quite sure how it got there because I don't remember running over anything
that could have caused it. The leak developed last week while I was on
vacation but luckily, it wasn't serious enough to get fixed immediately.
Anyway, when I got back home on Friday, I went to my local Nissan dealership
to find out the cost of replacing the pan and I was astounded to find out
that they wanted $375 just for the labor ($75 x 5 hours)! The replacement
pan (which I had to order and won't arrive until Tues.) was $95.
It has been suggested to me that I try sealing the hole with JB Weld but I'm
leaning toward the thought that if I'm gonna fix it, I might as well do it
right the first time and not risk the JB Weld potentially not sealing the
hole properly.
The oil pan is completely unobstructed by anything so replacing it looks to
be a reasonably easy DIY job. My question is, are looks deceiving? Is this
really a 5 hour job? I figure, all I have to do is:
1. drain the oil
2. remove the bolts holding the pan in place
3. scrape off the old sealant and thoroughly clean the upper surface to
which the pan mates
4. thoroughly clean the new oil pan
5. apply the new liquid sealant gasket
6. install the new pan
7. torque the bolts to spec (anybody have any idea what the spec is?)
8. clean up everything
9. add oil
10. start car and check for leaks.
Does this sound about right or am I leaving anything out? Is there anything
to which I need to pay special attention?
I'm not much of a mechanic but if it'll save me $375, I'm certainly willing
to give it a try. I've never performed any repairs on this car myself other
than change the air filter so this will be a first. However, I'm not
completely inept. I have a '93 Toyota Camry on which I've replaced the
radiator, brake pads, shoes and rotors (several times), battery and a few
other minor repairs myself.
Thanks for any suggestions and/or comments.

Signature
Regards,
Henry ----> hldevereux@*remove this*yahoo.com
BuddyWh - 17 Mar 2004 22:50 GMT
I wonder if they are misquoting the labor. The oil pan is a two part
pan... a steel bottom cover (the part it sounds like you are
replacing) and an aluminum pan... maybe they are looking at the time
in the book for replacing the cast aluminum pan which looks to be a
lot harder to R&R.
From the Nissan maintenance manual: use only silicone RTV sealant and
torque the 10 bolts to 56-66 IN/LBS. Let it sit for at least two
hours before refilling with oil.
BuddyWh
>Somehow, my '01 GLE has acquired a tiny crack or pinhole right in the center
>of the oil pan resulting in a leak. Without the leak, you can barely see
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
>
>Thanks for any suggestions and/or comments.
Henry D. - 18 Mar 2004 02:06 GMT
Thanks for the reply BuddyWh. I think that they were probably quoting to
replace both the top and bottom. Nevertheless, I did it myself this
morning. I used Permatex Ultra Grey RTV silicone as recommended by my
Nissan dealer. I waited about 3.5 hours before refilling and then waited
another 3 hours before driving. So far, everything looks good.....no leaks.

Signature
Regards,
Henry -------> hldevereux@yahoo.com
>
> I wonder if they are misquoting the labor. The oil pan is a two part
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
> >
> >Thanks for any suggestions and/or comments.