2004 Suzuki XL-7. Rusty oil pan hack ..

[david77]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2004 XL-7 with 200,000 miles on it . When getting some front end work done I noticed some oil dripping .. Took the skid plate cover off and saw my oil pan in real crappy shape and pretty rusty ,( We live in Northeastern,Pa. Winters here are tough sometimes and they use lots of salt ) First I drained all the oil and let it sit a few hours ,Even pulled and changed the oil filter, I used a de greaser and cleaned the oil pan real good a few times over a day, Then sprayed it down with brake cleaner and left it overnight . Next morning I w was able to see wet oil coming out of a few very small pin holes . So i wire brushed the pan and de greased it a few more times , Then sanded it and got it looking good .. sprayed it a few times with brake cleaner and waited two hours .. I then encased the whole oil pan with JB WELD .. I let that sit for 2 days . This morning sprayed the pan with High heat paint and put oil in it .. I used it today and put cardboard under it every time I stopped .. Just looked at it again and its not leaking at all .. SO If this happens to you and you dont wanna pay $600 to lift the engine up to swap the pan there is another way .. The prep is the whole job .. I used regular ramps there was plenty of room to work ..

Thank you!

[Ju]

Glad you had the desired result and cheers for the info.

[RichyP]

Just recently bought an XL7 managed to get a low mileage one for a decent price really like it so far. Any other problems you've came across other than usual wear and tear?

[sapianvid]

It’s all about the prep you got that right. Hopefully it lasts a good while.

[RichyP]

Unfortunately ended up killing the engine, contaminated fuel and lack of regular use (furlough) miss that Gv