Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) smacked in my oil pan ! new pan $$ & new price and new drain plugs from DC.

[BK]

Hi guys. . well if it wasn't for leaving the wheels/tires on as I was jacking up the truck I might not be writing this email.



The truck had one jack stand under the front passanger side of the axle, the floor jack under the center of the axle and I was just getting out from under the truck from placing the one under the driver's side of the axle and the passanger side jack stand collapsed and the weight shifted,,, the truck dropped - rolled foward and slid off the saddle of the floor jack.



After I noted that all my legs and arms were free and moving. . no blood... and took the bumper out of my mouth I noticed the tires were just barely hitting the ground , as if most of the weight was some place else.....



I released the jack and noticed the truck lowered and the rest of the weight went onto the tires... it turns out the truck landed on it's oil pan on the floor jack's saddle... punching in the pan. :{



But the story is more with what happened when I was buying the parts to have the pan replaced...

I was quoted two prices. . most places quoted me ~$300 for the pan.

When I went to go buy it, the parts manager doubled checked the numbers and found the pan had a new number. He than checked the price of that pan. . it was ~$135. Huge difference. I was in fear that I smacked up the oil pick up. So I ordered that too, it was basically the same price as the pan. I ordered a new drain plug as well.



I needed the pick up, it was smacked in a bit and bent.



The news DC drain plug is very different and comes with a rubber seal. It has the torque spec molded right on the seal - 35Ft/lbs.



Just an fyi...



-Bob

 

[YEEHAW]

YEEHAW!



At least your head didn't get squished like a grape and you made out better than you thought on pan.

Did you ever fix whatever it was you were trying to fix?

 

[BK]

This was a couple of weeks ago... the next day I went and bought a new floor jack and jack stands since now I was down a pair of jack stands and didn't trust the 3. 5ton craftsman floor jack anymore.

I was rotating tires and doing a 4 wheel brake job...

40K miles, two sets of front pads and never did the rears. . figured it was about time. Lucky I looked, the driver's side rear wheel cylinder was starting to leak. Had about 10K miles left on the rear shoes.

The front pads were down to about 30% left, but they were pulling. A full front brake job always solves the my truck's brake pull, new pads clean and re-lube all the sliders.



I had to have the oil pan done quickly and didn't have the time or engine host to do it myself... so I had a dealer do it that said they could squeeze me in. I had to go on a road trip that week with the truck. It was $800 at the dealer for labor. Had it back the next day, took'em 1. 2 days to do it.



In the past, every time I used those jack stands , I said... uhmmm don't like em much. . but I was too cheap to layout the monies for some nice 6ton ones... The pair that the one was from that collapsed were 3ton each , but older stands... the new 3tons ones you see look nothing like these.



//// uhmm too cheap to buy new ones... well it certainly cost me to keep using them and now I have new ones ///

 

[CFowler]

that really sucks but the most important thing is you didnt get killed or hurt. i have done things like that myself trying to save a few bucks. now im older smarter lazyer and most of the time try to put something real thick along with me under vehicles along with the stands . replacing that pan $$ gives one a new respect for that oil plug threads also $$$

 

[rrausch]

I hear ya! Sometimes it amazes me I'm still alive. When I was in my late teens, I thought nothing at all of jacking a car up with the bumper jack and working under it for hours with no jack stands or blocks under it. This was in the 1960's. The first time I heard of a car falling on someone I began to think a little bit...