Well, looks like the VT Winters are finally starting to take their toll on my 04 Quad Cab with the Hemi. The latest Issue: The oil pan is starting to look real rough.. rust flaking off of the oil pan. It's gonna leak before to long. I wanna be pro-active here and get this fixed. I read my Haynes Manual, which says I have to just "lift" the motor up slightly, and remove a few small things in the way. Is this process real difficult? Im not really that mechanically inclined, but im not an idiot.. I can usually follow directions pretty well, and have friends with the equipment. However, since it is not leaking yet... could i take a shot at sanding this pan up the best i can, and putting a glaze of JB Weld on it? at $70/Hr, what would I be expecting to have a shop replace the pan?

 

I also read on a different forum, that even though it appears bad, there are actually 3 layers to the pan, thin metal/plastic/thin metal. Can anyone confirm this? I still plan on treating this this weekend, but it would definitely ease my mind if this is the case.

 

If its just surface rust with mild pitting right now. I would media blast it with a small gun or wire brush it with a drill motor and paint it.

Can you get away with that?

And if the pan is that bad, what about the rest of the underside? Sounds like you might have some work to do.