The oil sump is a container for oil, which is basically a storage place of a large amount of impurities from the lubrication system. All decay products and carbon deposits are accumulated in the pan, because the grid of the oil intake and oil filter does not allow them to get back into the engine. Apart from that, the engine oil gets overloaded with exhaust gases that burst from the combustion chamber, and their discharge occurs a lot more intense during cooling in the pan. Products of combustion are ordinary soot and smoke from unburned fuel, which are primarily grounded again in the pan.

The oil pan is a stamped steel cover with a threaded orifice for oil drain. Often there is a special septum inside the pan, which reduces oil fluctuations while the vehicle is in motion. The pan is attached through a tightening gasket to the bottom of the cylinder block. The oil pan secures (hides) the engine from below and the oil gets cooled in it.

Inside the pan there is an oil intake – a cell with a metal grid through which the oil is sucked into theoil pump and then fed to the engine. Then the oil flows from the engines inner walls back into the oil pan. The accumulation of dirt is, unfortunately, constant and its intensity depends on the type of engine, oil quality, operating conditions and other factors. The accumulation of sediments must be considered by manufacturers and regulated following specific recommendations for each brand of motor oil, as well as timing of replacement.

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What is necessary to know about engine oil pan replacement: service life limits, common defects and their signs, tips and recommendations

Life span of the crankcase oil pan is not limited by strict terms. The component is to be replaced as it fails. Usually it serves for long and gets out of order as a result of intensive impact, errors at oil drain or continuous moisture influence.

The oil pan of the engine crankcase is replaced at significant damages when its repair is unreasonable or impossible. As a rule, necessity of component replacement is caused by great deformation, appearance of cracks on the detail surface, perforation corrosion.

One of the most noticeable signs pointing at engine oil pan depressurization is oil stains under the car after long-term parking. Unit defects are also characterized by oil level lowering in the lubrication system and activation of the corresponding indicator on the dashboard.

Part’s diagnostics consists in its visual inspection. For this you need to place the car on a lift or an inspection pit, remove the protective cover if needed and examine the pan. Provide good lighting otherwise finding defects will be difficult. Oil stains, cracks, corrosion or dents which are found during inspection, point at necessity of repair or replacement of the pan. Micro-cracks and small leakages can be indistinguishable during inspection. But they are easy to be found at a service station with the help of UV irradiation and fluorescent dye.

Component replacement should be performed at specialized service station because demounting of several units and assemblies can be required for getting access to it: exhaust pipe, stabilizer, engine mounts. At new pan installation it is obligatory to replace its gasket.