Rock VS Oil Pan!!!! Oil Pan loses!!!

I was driving into work a little before 6 am this morning and a rock fell down from the slope in front of me. The dang rock was still moving when I hit it so needless to say I had no choice but to hit the rock. I was a big one too. I watched my gauges and checked for the Oil Press. Light and thought, man I was lucky that it didn't kill my oil pan. Well, as soon as that thought crossed my mind the oil press. light came on. I shut it off as soon as I could and called the wife. Now I am seeing if my insurance will pay for the repairs and I will pay for the difference in cost to get a steel skid plate insted of a plastic one.

I do have a question. I know people have had this happen to them and I was wondering if their engine was okay after that. I was going about 40-50 mph in 5th gear so the rpms were pretty low. What do you guys think? Also, does anyone know of a good place to buy an oil pan?

YOu can buy the pan at www.impexfap.com . Ask for Jerry. The quickest way to get an oilpan though is at the dealer. Every dealer I have been to has them stacked in the parts room.

Impex: $108

https://www.1stvwparts.com/partscat.html $118.42 go to vw, golf, 2001, collision, search for oil pan.

My pan decided to die due to complications of old age, and I decided to just run without one. We'll see if I ever regret that.
-BB

The same thing happened to me in Ensenada Mexico last year, I didn't know at the time but the TDI 1.9TDI pan is the same as the 2.0 Gasser pan. Part # 038103601NA

Listen up... don't let any schmuck install the pan, there is a special allen key that is needed inorder to remove the bolts at the rear main seal. I had to do the same job twice because when I swapped out the pan the first time, we didn't have the proper allen key, so when we reinstalled the pan, we cross-threaded the allen bolt that screwed into the rear main seal. Source around for the pan, I paid Potterman @100 bucks shipped.

Website: http://www.parts4vws.com/catalog/index.asp

Don't cheap out, and spend the extra buck for the good sealant. Part # D176404A2. Good luck.



hazw8st@onebox.com

We have a reputable shop around here. I called them and they said that they do these oil pans all the time. He said that they also sell steel skidplates for the tdi as well. I am not sure if it is the 2.0 engine cover or not but I will see.
Thanks!

The same shop said that VW is coming out with a steel oil pan to replace the aluminum one. He said that they should be out in 2 to 3 weeks. Dang, just my luck!

So go without for 2 weeks!

I would but I can't go without the car for that long. I will get a steel skidplate and install it asap! Wanna come help?

The same shop said that VW is coming out with a steel oil pan to replace the aluminum one.

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Do (or will) the new TDI's come with a steel oil pan?

I don't think the new ones do yet. The guy at the shop said that hardly anybody has the aluminum pan in right now. He thinks that they are waiting for the steel pan.

I hope that they guy is right and they do get a steel pan, but unfortunately it won't be on mine. I am going to put a steel skidplate on my car!

Just in case you need anymore armtwisting ... take a look at this post:
Considering a Steel Skidplate for your baby?

Doesn't anyone read the Upgrade Forum Section? For the same price as the OEM pan, you can get the improved OEM oil pan (european version) from Impex.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=914552&an=0&page=0#914552

No aluminum oil pan is going to stop a determined rock. Also, the A/C compressor on ALH TDI is almost as low as the bottom of the oil pan and sits right in front of the pan.

It would be nice to have an adjustable suspension, with a switch on the dash.

No aluminum oil pan is going to stop a determined rock. Also, the A/C compressor on ALH TDI is almost as low as the bottom of the oil pan and sits right in front of the pan.

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I agree 100%. I have the OEM Steel pan and love it. If you read the thread, I said the exact same thing. But if you've got to spend the money, why not buy a better pan?

I would also guess that a stiffer oil pan will have NVH benefits as well. That's the reason the oil pan is bolted to the tranny.

I just ordered the Dieselgeek deluxe skidplate. The shop said that the sideskirts were trashed, but the pick up tube and everything else looked fine. I should be rolling again tonight or tomorrow morning. I told my wife I wanted one of these a while ago and wished that I had used my better judgement and just bought one a while ago. The road I drive gets bad during the spring with falling rock so the skidplate will go on asap!!! I don't like driving with a naked skidplate!

I would have done the pan myself but the special tool and time were taken into consideration so to the shop it went. I will put the skidplate on though.

One thing you might consider. There is 2 hoses that hang low and might rub against the engine side of either the Alumin. or Steel skid plate. To address this I took (2) 8" hunks on 15/16 heater hose and split them down the middle. Then covered the low hanging hoses and taped it in place.

I am of the concern that it is always better to be safe than sorry. Additional time to total skid plate installation 15 minutes

Can the oil drain plug be accessed with the skid plate installed?

Yes, I include instructions on how to pop a 3" round hole slightly behind the drain plug. Takes 20 minutes and you can use a box end wrench on the drain plug.

I bought my deluxe skidplate about 7-8 months ago. I finaly broke down and put it on 3 days ago, and not a moment to soon. yesterday on the highway this thing fell off a truck and I could not get out of the way I had to go over it. All I know is with the sound it made hitting the skid plate I am sure it would have taken the pan out and GOD knows what else with it! I WILL NOT OWN A TDI WITHOUT ONE OF THESE DELUXE SKIDPLATES ON IT.

At least one of us had some good luck!!! I am glad you didn't have my experience.

My car is fixxed and ready to roll again. The shop guy said that the oil pressure came right up very fast. I will run this oil for about 1K miles and then change it and the filter to make sure I got everything out, just as a precautionary measure. I don't know what oil they put in the car but I will find out (I am sure it isn't Delvac 1, like it is used to .)

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Oh well. I got the car back, everything seems okay and it runs fine. Thank goodness. The guy at the shop wants to see the skidplate when it is on the car. He said he may buy one just to have in stock for the next guy.

Did you get the Fumoto setup to go along with the skidplate?

No, I want to inspect everything every 10K miles. If something is leaking I want to know about it!

If you've got a ball-end shaped hex driver, it may help out a bit with the oilpan bolts.

L

I just ordered the Dieselgeek deluxe skidplate.

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Smart move. You'll like it.

Make sure you get your intercooler pipe put back on correctly if you decide to take it off. It popped off on mine before I figured out how the clamp goes on.

I also installed a Fumoto valve, but since then I bought a Pela 6000 and replaced the Fumoto with a magnetic drain plug. The Fumoto was too messy, and the hose I attached to it dripped a lot. Still get under it to look around, though.

Once you get your steel plate installed you'll be looking forward to things like rocks and ice chunks to blast through. I should post some pictures of mine - it's all scraped to hell, but it's held up just fine for a few years now.

Just put my DG skidplate on between Christmas & New Years.
An easy 2 hour job. Didn't even need to take off the intercooler tube.
Love it!

I put the skidplate on last night. I took me 3 hours with the oil change and tightening the clamps on my tdiheater. I did it by my self with no help. I do like the skidplate a lot but with my first commute behind me, no field testing yet. I didn't remove the intercooler pipe, but I did remove the nut and loosened the clamp on the intercooler so I could turn the pipe and get it out of my way a little bit.

One thing I would suggest if poeple do remove the pipe is to clean the intercooler by removing the oil in the bottom of the intercooler. I didn't do it this time but I have done it in the past. I used shop towels to reach in the bottom of the intercooler and removed the oil.

Forgot to mention, I changed the oil because I didn't want any contaminants from the busted oil pan in my engine any longer than needed. I figured that the oil change that the shop did was going to be 100% sacrificial. Plus, you never know exactly what oil they put in it now do you? Well, now I know that my car has delvac 1 in it again!

When I hit the rock that busted my oil pan and had it towed (twice) and had the dealer replace the pan and OEM plate and claimed it on my insurance...my insurance went up the next time my policy was up for review. Hindsight is 20/20.

Now I have the dieselgeek steel skidplate and LOVE it. I hit stuff all the time, well, snow/ice chunks that is. The only thing is that the car bottoms out much easier now. I have to be careful when there are dips in the road.

Well worth the cost and effort to install.