I have an '03 1500 5.7l with a seeping oil pan. I have basic skills but not enough to hoist the engine or dismantle the front end to remove the oil pan (stupid design by the way) so hoping to clean it up gently with brake cleaner, and use the JB Weld paste to patch it up with. I also have half a can left of silicone spray for oil pans (hopefully can still spray it) and between the two hoping to get another 2yrs maybe outta the pan. Truck has 400,000km/250,000miles on it... in Canada, they want $1000CAD to replace the oil pan. That's not gonna happen.

Last summer I cleaned up the pan as best I can and spray sealed it and that part is still nice and clean. Now I can see where it's leaking from and it's towards the very back of the pan.

There's a "bracket" of some sort blocking my view of the bolts along the back edge of the pan. I found a pic online of what looks like what I'm talking about and the arrow is showing what's in the way.

Is it OK to remove that? I think about 6-8 bolts. Will it just drop out? Will there be any fluid gushing out (like do I need to drain the transmission fluid first)? If I remove it, do I need to put a jack/stand underneath anything to keep it from dropping?

Basically, trying to find out if I remove this bracket thing, will I be crushed by something or covered in anything?

 

These may help:

 

Hmm... says 8x15mm bolts... not much else... looks dry though so assuming it has no gaskets/seals or holding back any fluids so, I guess just rip it off?

Lots of oil pan vids... all mostly useless. Usually after it's done, shakey camera and bad lighting I found.

 

It looks like you have a leaking rear main seal to me.
You can take that bracket off without causing a problem. If you do, you can look up at the oil seal area. You should not be able to see the oil seal, and if you can it is blown.
Also check the torque on the oil pan bolts. Torque is just 105 in/lbs. I have seen these bolts work themselves loose over time and cause a leak.

 

@jrsick Oh, you must've missed that... in my OP I mentioned that this is a pic I found online just to show where the bracket it.

About every 6-8 weeks I'm down a litre/bottle of oil. Originally the whole pan was black, oily, dirty... cleaned up what I could access with brake cleaner and my hands (didn't want to be too agressive in case the seeping became a gusher) and sprayed it down with clear silicone for oil pans, and that was well, 2 summers ago now (time flies) and still losing oil at the same rate and that back area of the pan is dirty/oily.

Plan is to first make sure the bolts are snug without turning them too hard... in case that lip is the weak spot. Then gently clean it all with brake cleaner. I'll go over the edge of the gasket with that liquid gasket you get in a tube and basically caulk the edge with a few layers. JBWeld paste and gently work it into the surface with the fingers, and when cured I'll grab an old gift card and plaster it on. Then if the silicone spray still sprays, I'll give it all a coat of that. I'll use cardboard to block debris from getting in to where I removed that bracket.

Again... truck is a 2003 with 400,000km on it... last year I replaced all front pads/rotors/calipers/bearings, and all 4 tires. This year the throttle body, APP sensor and I have new pads/rotors/calipers... also oil/filter and I have ATF+4 and a filter/gasket kit for the trans.... kinda done spending money on it and now needs a $1000 oil pan swap... nope. If I can get another year or two patching, I'll be happy.

I used that JBWeld putty on a gas tank... first 2 times last a few weeks... but once I did proper prep and cleaning, that patch lasted years until finally the car was scrapped...