Rep Power: 0

Hi all,

I just bought a used 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid and the Precision tune Mechanic showed me a crack on the oil pan today, starting from the drain plug thread extending to 2-3 inches. When he tried to tighten the screw the crack gets widen. Now he says only way is to change the oil pan for $900 ($450 +labor $450)

I never knew about this before when I bought the car 2 weeks back from a private party ,Is this a cost normal or shall I try another mechanic or should this be done only with Honda mechanic or Is there any alternate for fixing this crack temporarily ?

Please help.

 
Rep Power: 518

Did you have a prepurchase inspection performed? Was this crack noted and brought to your attention then?


The oil changer showed you the problem? Was the problem obvious?
What are the chances that the oil changer caused the problem?
How do you think that would be proven?

Do you know what happens when all the oil leaks out of the engine?

No, it is not normal for an oil pan to crack.
I have seen it happen though, but explaining how it was caused would be pointless.
I have no way to evaluate the cause of your problem other than to say most likely a human caused it.

If the threads for the drainplug were stripped, that might be fixable.
Cracked pan must be replaced.

It seems you likely bought someone elses problems. Suck it up and fix it before the engine is ruined.


Suggest second opinions and estimates though.
Call the dealer and ask for an estimate on it too.
Labor charge sounds right.
Parts price may be a bit high if in the USA.
But hey, we have to eat too.
Add a little for the gasket, sealant and oil and some misc.
See this link, part #4 is the oil pan: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...LOCK+-+OIL+PAN

 
Rep Power: 0

I did a pre-car inspection and the crack was not brought to my notice then, but one thing the mechanic who did the pre-car inspection told me is "the oil was 1q quart low and he filled it up" and I never probed it why it was low ?


The oil changer showed you the problem? Was the problem obvious? - Yes
What are the chances that the oil changer caused the problem? May be but what are the chances of oil changer causing it ? what should he have done to causes a oil pan crack ?
I have no way to evaluate the cause of your problem other than to say most likely a human caused it. What do y mean by a human caused it ? You mean the car was not taken car properly by the previous owner or mechanic caused it ?

I will take the quote from the dealer tomorrow and also take a second opinion.

Thanks for ur help

 
Rep Power: 518

The people that change oil are the only people that regularly take out and reinstall the drain plug. Most oil change people are entry-level employees, newbies, rookies, low-paid, low talent, meaning most have little practical experience and have not developed any "feel" for mechanical things the way a seasoned journeyman tech would have.
Someone with real mechanical talent normally won't spend their life as a "lubie". They will move on to a real shop that does more in-depth work, and hopefully gain some of that "feel" and experience.
Rookies are far more likely to strip out and damage drainplugs and pans. Next step might be an oversize plug to "bandaid" the boogered threads. This may stress and spread the hole, causing the cast aluminum to crack.
I have also seen cracked casting caused by an overused sealing washer on a transmission drainplug, coupled with overtightening.


The vast majority of stripped pan threads we see in this shop here can be directly attributed to rookies and JizzyLube type places. Yes, dealers employ rookies too.
The boss hates to pay my wages to do nothing but change oil.



It didn't leave the factory that way. Only humans have touched it since it left the factory.

I can't tell you that your latest oil changer caused the damage, but I can assure you that somewhere along the cars life, that drainplug and pan have suffered abuse.
Maybe you just found out WHY the last owner got rid of it.


Did that make more sense?

 
Rep Power: 308

Is this documented....? It may (or may not) help you.

I think this is important evidence.

 
Rep Power: 0

Yes I have it documented in the inspection report.

 
Rep Power: 0

Yeah I do agree that this could have been a rookie mechanic's job who can cause crack by meddling with the drain plug , but (as I said before) when I did the pre-inspection I saw the oil level reduced, this makes me suspect more on the previous owner.

I just want to know , what others things makes a oil pan crack , other than oil change mechanic's fault. This is a clean -title car with 60k miles millage and single owner. What would my previous owner done to the car to cause a crack ?

I also gave my car to Honda dealer to fix it , they are charging me 300$ for Oil pan and 750$ for the labor(seems like a huge work) and parts are yet be shipped.

 
Rep Power: 518

Reality: Too late to prove anything now. The condition of the oil pan was NOT noted during the prepurchase inspection.



What do you expect the previous owner to do about it now?
HINT: It's not his car now.

You said the crack started at the drainplug hole, right? That's what caused the crack.

Curb or jack or accident damage wouldn't start at the drainplug hole.

Irrelevant.
If the previous owner PAID for someone else to change oil, then he himself did nothing wrong.

IIRC it's about a half day job (uninterrupted).
You in a big Metro area dealer?
What is the labor rate there per hour?


Ask those guys what they think caused the damage. They can see it. I can't.

 
Rep Power: 0

A crack at a hole like described happens from overtorque. I agree with the human cause theory, but good luck proving it.

A dealer will only replace the pan. It can be welded, but it is slightly difficult because of oil in the pores of the aluminum. I have had this sort of work done before.

Good luck in a reasonable resolution to the problem.

-SP