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Oil pan replacement

F

Fordwerke

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
157
Location
Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Hi, while on a road trip to Ohio, I gave the car an oil change. Once back in Miami, I noticed that the car leaked a lot of oil. Looking at the receipt for the oil change, it noted that the oil plug came of rough.
Assuming that they messed up the plug, I took it to a Tires Plus, where they told me that replacing the plug would cost 50 bucks, worst case they had to replace the oil pan if there is no thread left for the plug, which would be 300.
Now they talk about 800 for a new pan and labor. Is it difficult to change the pan? Does it require to be done at a shop, or is it doable at home by a well versed mechanic? Can I use a used pan?

Looking for solutions, I found the following advice: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090811235440AAQZFd5 where it is mentioned that there is a kit that makes a new thread and/or getting oversized drain plugs. Is that doable, advisable?

Thanks for the advice!


PS I drive a 5 speed '99 Mystique V6 2.5l engine.
 
Unless there is a serious size crack or hole in the oil pan in which oil is leaking out of, there is absolutely no reason to replace it. As far as the oil pan plug is concerned, you can easily go to any auto parts store and buy a replacement drain plug for $5.00 and install it yourself. If the threads in the oil pan are bad, simply re-tap it. Spending $50.00 on a oil drain plug is crazy!
 
they make over size plugs if the threads are bad. very simple fix it would be nutz paying that much to replace a drain plug.
 
I'll definetly ask svttour. A mechanic who took a look at the oil-pan however, said that the pan itself is to thin, to delicate to make a new, bigger hole in it. Does that sound plausible for you folks, who know the Contour/Mystique better then anyone else.
 
You can unbolt the pan on your own without too much trouble. The y-pipe gets in the way so you need to drop that. After that is out of the way it's pretty straight forward. Shouldn't take very long. The y-pipe bolts will probably give you the most trouble if they are corroded.
 
An importang issue I forgot to ask is - how can I move the car? Today I checked the oil, and it was above minimum, so I turned on the engine. When the engine was running, the whole car was shaking, wobbling. So I turned off the engine after like 20 secs.
1. Did I damage the engine?
2. What was that about?
3. Can I just add some oil and drive the car to the place where it will be fixed?

Many thanks folks.
 
i had an "accident" yesterday, and i felt that something under the car had been hit.
checked today and a lot of oil leaked. probably the oil pan had crashed.

perhaps i`ll need a new one. Does a taurus 97 oil pan fit in my mondeo?? is there any difference between auto and MT?? mine is auto
 
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