# Oil pan



## 96v6camaro (May 25, 2010)

So my sister has a 05 2.5L altima that is pouring oil out of it. Just crept under it and the oil pan is rusted through. What is the best source for a replacement and what is the best gasket to use?


----------



## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Nissan will be the only source for a "new" replacement and they don't use a gasket, just RTV silicone which you can pick up at any auto parts store. Your local Nissan dealer can get you the part the quickest. An online dealer might be able to save you a few dollars, but that depends on the shipping charges, and you'll have to wait until the part arrives.


----------



## 96v6camaro (May 25, 2010)

Thanks - I'm awaiting a call back from the local dealer. Also checking out car-part.com. Maybe I'll just get a used one and paint it depending on what the dealer wants. Is there an upper and lower engine pan? Car-parts has options listed for both. I didn't jack the car up, just wedged under the front bumper as best I could and found a pan near the passanger wheel that was very rusted and covered in oil and figured that was the culprit. I'll jack it up one of these nights and take a better look as she's stopped driving it for the time being. Hopefully I can get whatever is leaking changed out this weekend as the local mechanic has a bit of wait time going on.

Edit: Found a fsm and it seems the oil pan is 2 parts. 10 to 1 the part I felt was the lower. Hopefully the upper is ok. We'll see this week/end.


----------



## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yes, the lower pan is square-ish and made of stamped sheet metal, approx. one square foot in size, give or take, and has the drain plug. The upper pan is aluminum and much larger and I'm sure much more expensive.


----------



## 96v6camaro (May 25, 2010)

So the FSM talks about having to remove the engine from it's mounts and remove a section of the exhaust but the prodedure is for both the upper and lower. Again I didn't look good yet but does anyone know if I can just remove the lower and leave the upper on there without removing other stuff? Local dealer wanted $126 for like you said a square foot of stamped sheet metal. I don't want to know what they'd charge for the upper. Its up to my sister if she wants to drive the 30 mins away from where she works to pick up the $50 used one i found on carpart or get the dealer new one.

Edit: Also i've never done any rtv gaskets before. Didn't see torque specs in the FSM - do you do it just until the goo starts to show?


----------



## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

You can R&R the lower pan without removing anything (other than the oil). The torque for the oil pan bolts are 57-66 inch pounds (torque values are listed in the "exploded view" of the engine in the FSM). There is also a tightening sequence for the bolts in the FSM. If you get a used one, make sure the mounting flange is level before you apply the RTV and mount it; the flange is often bent when trying to seperate it from the block.


----------



## 96v6camaro (May 25, 2010)

Well I got the old one off. I can see how people bend them - not a lot of room to get a knife in there to break up the old seal, also a few bolts were hard to reach. Thankfully those bolts aren't torqued down that tightly and I could get them finger loose with a quarter turn of the wrench(10mm). Whats a good method to remove the old rtv from the engine? The inside of the pan wasn't even rusted through to the inside so I'm hoping it was leaking out the edges. It seems the exposed edges rusted quite a bit and the rust was creeping into the seal areas. Also the old sealant was very thin around some of the bolts. I didn't see any major oil above where the pan seals but is there anything that would commonly leak down to that point that I can look for? There was a little oil around the filter which didn't look fresh and drippy but I didn't really look closely all around with a mirror or anything. The oil that was left was still pretty yellow but then again the thing has been leaking a quart or so a week so it shouldn't be though my sister probably hasn't been keeping it as full as she should. I figure I'll do a new filter as who knows whats in the old one. Probably do an oil change again in a few hundred miles to flush anything out and change the filter again. I was surprised there was no magnet in the oil pan - Im thinking I'll install one. JB Weld sound ok to glue a magnet in there? I figure I'll add an extra coat of paint to the thing to help stop it rusting again as long as I'm waiting for things to dry.


----------



## 96v6camaro (May 25, 2010)

I used a razor to scrape off the old rtv and cleaned it up with some carb cleaner. Got the new one on and seems to have fixed the leak. I'm hoping the other oil I saw was mainly from spilled oil during the frequent refils. On to the next issue.


----------

