Rusting Oil Pan... Help? Replacement?

[OldManKamps]

So I crawled under my truck today and discovered that the oil drips were not from oil buildup under my vehicle. Nope.. Using an air, I discovered that oil is slowly dripping out of the bottom of my pan. This spot is rusty and it seems the oil is permeating through the rust and out the bottom. This obviously I need to replace my pan but I'm just unsure what this could mean for my engine. Also what are the costs for replacing this? I'm thinking of bringing it to a mechanic and getting him to do it because this seems like a HUGE task for me to do. I am not very mechanically inclined. I've been teaching myself some stuff but I'm still quite leery to tackling something of this magnitude. Does anyone have any experience with replacing the pan?

Thanks a lot guys

 

[ThorInc]

Will require dropping the differential, definitely some time & labour involved. Secure the parts and find a good mechanic.

From the location it could also be the rear main seal? My instinct would be to clean the area, dry it off totally, put talcum powder and start it up and watch for the leak.

 

[OldManKamps]

Will require dropping the differential, definitely some time & labour involved. Secure the parts and find a good mechanic.

From the location it could also be the rear main seal? My instinct would be to clean the area, dry it off totally, put talcum powder and start it up and watch for the leak.

Ah that's what I figured. It's pretty damn tight down there!
It's definitely that spot. Using an air hose, I sprayed everything away from that spot and the second I stop spraying, I can see it start coming out of that spot. I thought maybe it was just pooling there from another leak elsewhere but alas, it is definitely that spot.

 

[OldManKamps]

So I drained the oil, wiped down the spot, and got it nice and dry. Then I put some jb weld epoxy over the area and loaded it up with silicon to patch it until the summertime when I can put in a new oil pan. However, when I did the oil change, I found some lighter brown oil in the cap. Just a little bit but I still want to know what this means!

 

[SpidermanGeek]

Sounds/looks like you do some short trips with your Runner.

That colouring of the oil in the cap suggest it's just a mixture of condensation water with the oil. I good long distance jaunt should clear that up.

Short trips around town, especially in cold Ontario weather, can lead to condensation forming in the engine once you shut it off. After a few times of this, the engine never gets a chance to get hot enough and properly burn off the accumulated water, so it froths around and you end up with that in the cap.

It's nothing to worry much about at this stage, but I do suggest you get the engine nice and hot (normal operating temperature) and keep driving around (kick them revs up at times) to try and burn off that water.

If you do an oil change first, this process should be faster.

 

[ThorInc]

In Ontario, average drive for me is about 23 minutes and I will see that in my catch can but I have never seen that on the underside of my oil cap ever. I have only been running an oil can for about two years. When you fix your pan, change your PVC value as well.