So some retard pulled a U-turn in traffic from behind a semi-truck, cutting me off and sending me into the ditch to avoid a collision. When I went off the hard pavement, my car bottomed out hard. The guy just kept going leaving me to fume on the side of the road. I inspected the car and found no external damage, so got back in, started it up and managed to get it back on the road. About 200 yards down the road I noticed I had no oil pressure!

I shut the car off immediately and pulled into a drive that was just ahead of me, and looked under the car. Sure enough, my oil pan was completely buggered in the back behind the drain plug. I fired it over one more time and confirmed I had no oil pressure. The car was "ticking" a bit by then so I shut it off quickly so as not to damage anything more than It already might be.

A $140 tow got me home but I'm really worried. In the short time I drove it after the incident, it seemd to **** and accelerate fine so I don't think I hurt the motor or tranny. The dip stick still has oil on it.

Any thoughts on the oil pump? Broken? Just crushed by the pan or maybe the pan pushed up against the pump?

If the pan did break the pump, could that have caused damage on the bottom of the motor where the pump mounts?

Any info or ideas on where to start would be appreciated. On Monday or Tuesday it'll go to the shop to verify the damage done but I'd like some ideas going into it. Thanks!

 

sounds like the pick-up mighta fallen off.?

 

I can only hope that's the extent of it, then pound the pan back into shape or buy a new one. I just hope it didn't get shoved up into the block or something?

 

add a couple of quarts of oil, see if the pressure comes back up.

hopefully its an easy fix.

 

Glad your'e ok, and that's the extent of the damage. Sounds like it could have ended up worse; dontcha hate random traffic idiocy

 

Yes, very much so.

I already added a quart of oil, and it's "full" on the dipstick so there is oil in the pan and it's not leaking anywhere, at least it hasn't on my driveway.

 

Sounds like the oil pick-up got pushed upwards, kinking the tube which prevents much, if any, oil being pulled up from the pan.

Gonna hafta drop the pan & replace the pick-up. Maybe the pan can be hammered back out straight, maybe not. Might hafta replace the pan too.

 

This is probably my best case scenario here. Worst case, insurance company decides car isn't worth it and totals it. Or, It needs a rebuild because I starved it of oil too much. I don't think so though, I think I caught it in time and shut it off before any damage was done.

 

Glad you're ok too!!
I've been thinking about getting a dash cam for reasons like this!!
Then take ig to the cop shop & show what goes on.
Be good for reports, crashes, & @§§ bites like that guy.
Who knows, you could have rolled or hit a pole, been hurt.
Young guy in a sports car-- you possibly could be cited for wreckless driving or failure to controll your car!!
You're ok & hope hope you get it fixed!!

 

Thanks.

It would have been pure Hollywood if there had been a road or even a tractor trail to turn onto as I threw the car sideways in the rain to avoid him, fishtailing, straitening it out, missing his vehicle by what seemed like inches only to go strait in the ditch! haha As it was, all I got was a busted oil pan and who knows what else wrong with it.

 

Hopefully you can get by with a new oil pan and pickup screen.
If it were me, I'd probably just replace the oil pump if I was that far in it.
They are only like $30.
You won't really know if there is any other damage until you get the pan off.

 

pull the pan and go from there... have fun with the stock k-member

 

haha. I turned it over to the Insurance, hopefully I won't need an engine rebuild, they'll want to total it if that's the case, I know it. I also need to make sure the shop, if they order parts, don't order them for an 84...the motor isn't an 84. haha It's a roller motor with a 1-piece rear main. Since I'm in England, they'll be completely buggered when I tell them "don't order the part for the car, order it for the motor..." they'll be like "what?".

 

Now that you've invoked insurance instead of diy - I'd work with the shop - source your own parts yourself, and get them to fit them. I'm betting you're in the same situation that I am over here in Oz - nobody knows anything about these cars (except me of course), and generally want to run screaming in the other direction.

 

why do people turn things like this into the insurance company? if the car was still driving straight before you noticed the lack of oil pressure and no body panels are visibly bent, then the car is fine and the insurance company doesn't need to know about this.
drop the pan, scope out the damage, replace what needs to be replaced, and put it back together.. i'm gonna guess that the pickup is twisted up and out of the oil- which means a new pickup and oil pan. the oil pump is easy to change while you are in there and only adds another $50 or so to the bill.

 

I don't have the tools to pull the pan myself, I'm moving out and everything is packed. I also don't knowhow I would get to the pan without lifting the motor off the mounts and I don't have a cherrypicker to do that. I was supposed to ship the car back to the states on the 1st of July, but now I'm not sure if/when it'll go.

 

When they find what needs to be ordered, I'll tell them exactly what needs to be ordered. I still have my Summit Racing inventory from when I bought the pan, pump and pickup when I built the motor.

 

I also turned it in because I'm out $250 for the tow as it is which is my deductible. Might as well have it fixed.