PCinDC

Oy vey.
On my way into work this morning I hit a big chunk of road debris that tore my oil pan out. The full size van in front of me was tall enough to run it over with no problems. I didn't have anywhere to swerve and so ran it over. Instant loss of oil pressure, billowing smoke out the rear. Pull the car over, look underneath and yeah, there's definitely oil gushing out everywhere.

Blows me away that people can be careless enough to leave large chunks of debris on a road surface, especially an interstate freeway.

I had to call 6 tow companies to finally get someone who would help me. They kept on referring me around to other companies. I'm waiting on the tow truck right now (edge card). Will post some pics once I get the thing back to my house. What a bummer.

Any guesses on what an oil pan replacement for an 87 NA runs? I suppose I should just go ahead and add rod bearings to that list.

KuHL 951

I've thought several times about making a protective plate after seeing the damage to Danno's oil pan after a rock contact. Hopefully all you need is a new pan and no other damage was done to bearings, etc. Good Luck on a speedy recovery.

spazegun2213

wow, that stinks!!! Well, at least you are ok, and the odds are you turned the car off before any real damage could be done. Good luck, and i hope oil pans are cheap

testarossa_td

Yeah, you need some sort of ABS plastic skid plate like the batwing that would extend over the oil pan. Of course you would need some sort of vent or NACA duct just in front to help cool...

JasonKaw

Ouch, Quick story, last summer, huge storm, 80 mph winds, rain and hail coming down horizontally,
me driving my 951 trinig to get to my garage as fast as I can, did not see the 5" diameter tree branch that just blew in the middle of my path with no time to dodge, completly trashed my exhaust, once I got home the power was out and my garage door opener was useless, I had to abandon her in the driveway, it sucks I know, could have heen worse, I escaped the hail damage, I needed to upgrade my exhaust anyway, just bad timing finacially. I feel your pain. Sorry

yellowline

Rock, now you're ruining other peoples' cars?

Sorry to hear that. Someone has to have a used pan around from a parts car.

hderr

We had a similar issue with our 85.5 3 years ago. Here's the insurance estimate from then:

$ 9.95 oil filter
$ 15.84 oil
$ 97.57 pan gasket
$239.90 used pan
$351.00 R&R pan labor

With tax, misc..$ 779.60. We had $250 deductable so the insurance company paid $529.60.

It would be a piece of cake to do the rod bearings with it open. I'd also consider belts, water pump,... Make sure they include a wheel alignment after having the front end off.

Make sure to take a good look at the oil pickup tube to be sure it's not damaged or the seal broken at the case. We started having oil pressure problems after this which we finally solved by replacing the OPRV with the new style. I think in the impact, the oil cooler shifted slightly, and would occasionally hang up the valve.

Good luck,

Hank

WolfeMacleod

Here's another one...
In about 1990, I took a trip. Seattle-Devnver-LA-Seattle.
In a 70's Dastun B-510 Station Wagon.
Going through New Mexico, I hit a large rock in the middle of the road. It tore the entire exhaust out, from the manifold all the way to the back. Ripped it clean off the block and out of the car. It came to rest in the middle of the highway.
Car was very loud after that.

PCinDC

Some pics of the carnage...

Mighty Shilling

OUCH!!!!

95Juan

oldie, but a goodie-

BeerBurner

Ouch.

But I feel obliged to mention that your post was made at 9:51 am. Omen?

BB.

PCinDC

Ha, didn't notice that. The omen must be 'thank god you weren't driving the 951!!' as it would probably have made me cry had it been the turbo.

The shop I called couldn't take the car today - I had it towed home. I'll have to have it towed again to the shop this weekend. Also, they quoted me $1500 for parts and labor, minus the oil pan itself. That quote includes rod bearings and that labor as well. If I had time I would probably do this work myself, but the 951 in the garage takes too much of my time as is.

I'm probably going to have the shop fix the pan, replac the bearings, PPI it and then list it for sale. Its a low mileage 87 NA if anyone is interested.

Yabo

Call the town.. argue enough and maybe they'll foot the bill since they should have a highway in driveable condition? get your tax dollars worth!

Techno Duck

I was going to say the same thing as Devon. I used to hear that the town has a budget for this kinda thing, mainly for cars that hit potholes etc. In this case a large chunk of road! Just make sure your car isnt lowered if they come to inspect it.. . Pays to have adjustable ride height in that case!

Its worth a shot atleast. I would just tell them that there was no way to safely swerve around it.