I hit a curb yesterday with my 2k Maxi and heard a concrete to metal screeching noise under my car. I drove home, pissed off at myself hoping no damage was done. Park my car, come out after 5 minutes to a puddle of oil under my car. Just jacked the car up and the oil pan looks fine, but oil is leaking from the side of it. Im no mechanic but im thinkin maybe I broke my oil pan gasket seal?

 

how does the area around the filter look....any oil leaking there??

 

I diditnt check that out. I will tomorrow. But when I jacked the car up n got under, it was leaking from the side of the oil pan.

 

If the pan has fresh scrapes on it, you could have tweaked the pan causing it to not sit right on the block causing a leak. gl

 

+1, I agree with cajun1104, you more than likely tweaked the pan or worse case scenario bent it a little. It's highly unlikely you hit the filter cause its on the side of the engine and up out of the way of anything you would ever run over. You probably need to remove the pan and do a visual inspection inside and out for any bends or misalignment issues.

 

Yeah.....good point....I was wondering if something may have come up and hit that area....like a big chunk of rock dislodged from the curb etc....probably not now that I think about it....

For sure it was engine oil....could it possibly be transmission oil??? just throwing out possibilities...

 

new oil pan and your will be fine most likely.

 

Its engine oil. Im about to take off the bottom of the oil pan and see whats up. I dont think ill need a new oil pan it didnt look bent or anything. Im hoping I can get by with just putting on a new gasket.

 

You need to check the trueness of the edge where it seals against the upper oil pan. It may "look straight," but that doesn't mean it is. Any warped or bends at the seal edge will cause oil leaks.

 

I took out the 9 screws that hold the bottom into place. But after 2 minutes of trying with no daylight left I could not get it off. I was just using a flathead screwdriver to pry it off. Didnt work,what should I do?

 

Drain out the oil and use a hammer and screw driver to remove the pan. Once off dry it out completely and then do a visual and physical inspection of the pan. If it checks out ok install a new gasket and you should be golden.

 

Be very careful because you don't want to damage the seal edge! If you have a putty knife this would be more effective than a screwdriver.

 

Ok thanks. Ill work on it tomorrow I dont feel like gettin dirty today

 

My aluminum pan has a crack in it. Thought about patching the crack but im just gonna buy a new one. I remember finding a link to a new one on this site or maybe a different site where you could get it for $80. Been searching and cant find that link. Any suggestions?

 

Try this - $79.95 with free shipping

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/search/?Ntt=oil%20pan

 

Thats for the lower steel pan. My upper aluminum has a crack in it. My lower pan has fresh scrapes on it but is fine.

 

Dumb question, but... how inna he!! do you "hit a curb" while you're driving? Maybe you were parking or something? Otherwise, ease up on the texting and pay attention a bit.

Anyhow, I'm glad it's fixable. The upper pan should be the same on all FWD VQ's, from 1995 on up. That should give you some more junkyard parts options.

 

lol... I parked right along side the curb at a gas station. Sitting in the drivers seat you couldnt see the curb. Forgot it was there when I pulled off in a hurry. It wasnt a huge curb im surprised it was big enough to hit the oil pan but it did.

Anyway, I just called auto zone to see how much they wanted for the aluminum pan and they said they couldnt even get one. Told me to go to Nissan for it which probably wont be cheap.. I found this link I was looking for but im not sure it its what im looking for.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/11110a-...3-p-52507.html

Any suggestions?

 

That isn't the aluminum oil pan. This is. It looks like it's a little over a bill. DaveB at Southpoint Nissan can fix you up with the Nissan part. I would spend a little extra on the OEM for this part.
It's a little time intensive. Meaning, it's not a fast swap like the lower pan. I just resealed mine and it took a little time. My suggestion is to look at the FSM and read through the replacment procedure so you know which parts to replace while in there. ie seals, orings, etc. And to know exactly what you're getting into.

 

Okay thanks. How many seals and rings are there to replace along with the new pan? And do you know where I could find a download or something for the FSM?

 

My 3.5 had a front seal gasket , a rear seal gasket, two orings inside the pan to the block and the oil cooler seal. The FSM will show you a diagram for the 3.0 or check out Courtesy's site again. You could do the rear main also, but that involves dropping the tranny. Bookmark this link. Look at EM12-17.

 

Awesome thank you. I think the 3.5 pan may be slightly different?. I ordered a pan on ebay. Used, but $100 cheaper than a new one from nissan. Know where can I find seals/rings?

 

How did you get an aluminum pan 100 dollars cheaper on ebay? The OEM from Nissan is about $130. Get the seals and rings from Nissan, less headaches that way. Or NAPA sells a kit with both front and rear gaskets and RTV for about $12. You'll have to search for the orings. I went straight to SouthPoint for mine.

 

I was quoted $160 at the Nissan in my area. Found one on ebay for 60. It came off a wrecked 2000 maxima with only 60k miles on it. Im on a tight budget and figure oil pans dont really go bad so we'll see how it goes. Ill check out NAPA or nissan for the gaskets.