Dented oil pan

[S197kid]

So I was letting my car down off jack stands and my floor jack slipped off the K member right before the car was on the ground. It hit the oil pan right at the front of the sump. I then proceded to have a panic attack while inspecting the damage, which appears to be a crease about 1/8-3/8" deep spanning the width of the oil pan sump. I started the car to move it back into its parking spot and everything appeared to be ok. I'll try to get some pics of the damage in the morning... So my question is where exactly is the oil pickup located in the pan? How far is it from the bottom of the pan? What do you think I should do? Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope it makes sense.

See image below for slightly better idea of damage or more confusion!:

 

[02_lightning_NP]

well Im no expert but heres my two cents worth, the pick up is going to be in the back of the pan near the sump and should be about an inch off the pan floor. A dented pan shouldnt kill you but make sure you check around the oil pan seal to make sure the hit didnt jar anything loose and you start dripping oil slowly. Check your oil pressure and as long as its still picking up the same volume of oil you should be fine. But the down side to all this is with any dent no matter where it is it takes away from the integrity of the material. You dented it and now the metal has less give so if you ever do it again or hit something in the road that would or could dent it it may very well tear your pan apart becuase in that spot your pans metal may not give anymore especialy if the dent has a crease in it. So in my opinion i wouldnt take any chances and now would be a great time to upgrade to a larger oil pan that holds more of the good stuff becuase now you have a reason to do it... ust sayin

 

[fullboogie]

Well, I sure hope your pickup is not 1" above the pan.

I'm not sure exactly where your pan is dented - it's a little tough to understand from your description. But if it's anywhere near the pickup area, I'd get it checked out. Just because you haven't lost oil pressure at idle doesn't mean there is sufficient clearance between the pan and pickup at higher RPM's.

 

[02_lightning_NP]

like i said im not an expert

 

[fullboogie]

Not where I thought it was going to be, now that you've posted a pic. But I don't know exactly where in the sump area that the pickup is located in our pans. We need to have someone chime in who's pulled the pan...

 

[acobra03]

The cost of a replacement motor vs a new oil pan is not worth debating. Get a new pan installed and stop worrying about it!

 

[Tob]

Pick up area...

Bottom of pan...