Zero10

Nobody WANTS to do it right, I agree with you there. Another option is to try to have it repaired. It will probably be cheaper than replacing it. They will most likely have to grind away a section of the finned area however. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Honestly, it can be done in a day with a N/A. Hours if you are really good with your hands.
Rough list of what needs to come off/down
crossmember, steering rack, A/C compressor, any heat shields (not familliar with them, since my N/A had none), belly pans (duh), control arms, motor mounts (just need to be unbolted from the engine, but it may be just as easy to unbolt them from the crossmember.

Be thankful you don't have to deal with a warped-to-hell crossover pipe, like you would if it were a 951.
Any competent shop should do it for ~8-10 hours of labor, which isn't cheap.
Good time to do rod bearings as was already mentioned. Never hurts to do them
There should be somebody on rennlist in the area that at least has a facility and some tools for you. That's what rennlist is all about.

'88-924S

zero10-
Thanks for the pep talk - just what I needed! Anyone in the Seattle area want to try and tackle this with me? I'm a decent wrencher - many of my tools are either lost or in New Orleans, so any help here is appreciated. BTW Zero10 - the crack is into the aluminum, i.e. past the fins and into structure - think it's still possible to repair?
Indeed - Rennlist is awesome and without it I may have lost patience long ago, and I'd definitely not enjoy the car as much.

Mike C.

It's not under pressure guys; not like a radiator.... But hey, do whatcha gotta do.

The DareDevil

It expands and contracts as it heats and cools though. A cracked pan has the potential to break into two pieces pretty quickly. Like a few others have said, why risk it?

'88-924S

Good point... those good points always happen to cost a lot some how!!
The worst thing is driving around wondering if you did the right thing, waiting for something to go wrong - it ruins the fun.
I have an '88 - different years have different baffle patterns, no? I thought '87 or '88 up had improved baffling for the rod bearings. Is this correct?
TIA

Chris_924s

nope- it's the same as all of the other 944 pans- the later 951's (Amd maybe S2's) had te baffle to hold the oil in the pan under hard cornering- It can be retrofitted on yours.

Zero10

I do believe it can be welded. You will have to drain all of the oil out, and they will pretty much grind away until the entire crack is visible, chamfer the edges, and fill the left-over hole. Of course, they should drill the ends of the crack and everything to prevent it from coming back.
The good news is that the oil pans on these cars are just made from aluminum, nothing super-special there.

That said, the best solution is to replace the pan. However, it's all a matter of weighing the costs.
Having it welded should take maybe 2-3 hours, they drain the oil, grind it, drill it, then weld it back up, and re-fill the oil. Replacing the pan could take a full day if you do it yourself/with help, or 8-10 hours at a shop (worst-case). That said, if it is not welded properly, they could destroy your oil pan, or it could leak again.
Important things to consider, the ground clamp for the welder must be attached to the oil pan itself, not any other parts of the engine, or you risk welding bolts to the engine, or in the worst case, perhaps welding pistons to cylinder walls (I have seen this!!!). You need somebody with at least half of a head on their shoulders to weld this properly, but it's still something your average professional welder should be able to do.

Kurt R

Zero - how about brazing the pan instead of welding it? Brazing would be at a lot lower temp and for the intended purpose would be plenty strong.

Zero10

To be honest, I know nothing about welding or brazing, but I do know a lot about how not to weld, lol.
Perhaps brazing would work, that question is best suited for somebody who knows more about welding.

Jfrahm

I say wire brush it and JB-Weld it until you need to do the rod bearings and motor mounts, maybe the clutch.

-Joel.

'88-924S

All good suggestions - clutch has about 7k on it, motor mounts just done, along with front seal, WP, bilsteins all around, cap, rotor, etc. etc. Engine only has <70k on it. A day doing it myself isn't bad, 8-10 hours from a shop is like what I'm living off of for a month these days!!
Zero10 - I dont' like the thought of grinding with the pan on - just takes one little piece of metal to get in there and I'll surely have problems - think thats a consideration?
Anyone with Seattle shop recommendations - like to a least get a quote and have a friendly shop nearby - I'm up the creek with tools and such.

Cory M

I wouldn't fool around trying to weld it. Get yourself a used pan.

Zero10

I do think that is worth consideration, but 99% of the grinding will be on the outside of the pan, if not all of it. I don't know for sure, perhaps the best thing is to talk to a welder about it. I wish I knew more.