Ran over a boulder, with a sharp tip, oil pan Q

[S13Enthusiast]

Last night driving back from a friends house, saw something in the road, which I thought at the time was a garbage bag, or roadkill, so I went for it.


http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5172335
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5172334

Well anyway it was a boulder with a sharp tip...
The initial hit is in the red circle, and it then dented in my cat and downpipe (NA) and then im not sure where it went.

My question is, its hard to tell, but it looks like the center of my oil pan may have been slightly dented in. Now I did a search and know that this is a problem in the SR motors because of the close sitting oil pickup. It looks slightly dented in the center, nothing significant or concentrated. I drove it around today and tried to listen to any unusual sounds, but the car is just slightly louder because of the exhaust components beings slightly smashed. The oil light did not come on at any time.

Should I take off my oil pan and bang it out a little bit as a precaution? I need this car to run well for at least 2-3 more years...so I'm a little paranoid over any engine related.


Thanks!

ps: I dont care if its a postage stamp in the road, I'm never "going for it" again!!!

[jkgaddis]

yeah man, take that bitch off and bang it out so it has a lil concave to it. if you lose oil pressure you will lose your engine.

also, funny story, buddy of mine had a big dodge truck that he thought was a monster truck. saw a huge refridgerator box in the middle of the road. so he hit it at like 50......... the fridge was still in there. no more truck.

[gotta240]

personally i would say leave it... It doesn't look that bad to me, or worth pulling.

On a side note- Most of the time it is best to "just go for it". Not sure if you heard the story of the kid learning to drive. Long story short, there was a cat in the middle of the road. The instructor/parent, being wiser and not wanting the kid to swerve for a stupid cat, fly off the road, and kill both of them, yelled "HIT THE CAT, HIT THE CAT!!!"
Well, the cat ran off the road, so the kid driving swerved frantically out of their lane, killing the cat.

On another note- Just this year a truck flipped over right down the street from my house. Reason? Swerving to miss a dog, hit a curb/enbankment, flipped over.

Anyways, stupid storys but kinda funny. Moral- Don't swerve and kill yourself or others to avoid minor injury to your car or an animal.

[articdragon192]

If it;s slight, I woudn't worry about it. My KA ran just fine with a slightly more concave surface. Once you start seeing very noticeable curvatures and jagged edges on your pan, then yes, expect the pick up to be toast.

[jkgaddis]

pictures werent working earlier for me. but i see it now. but.......
think of it this way:
oil:20 bucks
rtv: 3 bucks
total: 23 bucks
OR
not checking/beating out the pan: free
blown engine: -1200 bucks (depends where you get a new one or get it rebuilt)

you get the point. dont speculate on whether or not it fine and risk your baby's life. go check for yourself by taking the lower pan off. its easy and giving it a bit of a concave will ensure your alright.
also, a ka is no comparison to how damned close that sr pickup is to the pan so how much you dented your ka pan means nothing. not trying to be rude just pointing out that ka doesnt = sr.

and about swerving, hitting things for fun = fail. you should always try to avoid things.... but this is where good judgment comes in. if swerving to save your oil pan means you veer off into a preschool playground... bye bye oil pan. but my point was dont hit things for fun.

[love_free_robots]

i used my last motor for two years with a way larger dent in the bottom of the oil pan i could of used it longer but i over heated it to its death... the stock turbo line cracked from bad fitting exhaust vibrating on the chassis. so i would be more worried about this... but if it still fits and theres no vibration id say dont worry!

[Matej]

Get aero or a lip, my lip has saved me from something like this a few times already.

[projekt_s13]

Get aero or a lip, my lip has saved me from something like this a few times already.

Uhh, i dont think that would help against a boulder :loco:

[gotta240]

lol.. If a piece or aero will save my car from a bumper, i'm going to buy two and double them up...Then my car will be bullet-proof.

[wootwoot]

Well. All Iam gonna say is that you got what was comin to ya! Good luck fixing it. Annoying ass lesson huh?