Hey all, tried to search on this, but the search engine told me my words were too short and ignored :/ Anyway, is there anything special to know about replacing the oil pan on a 99 stratus 2.4L? I'm not terribly mechanically inclined, but this seems to be something I could tackle. It's my daughters car and she had her oil changed recently, about a week later, I noticed a huge puddle of oil under her car. She took it back to the oil change place to make sure that everything was tight. They told her she needed a new oil pan. I've read somewhere that the pan is aluminum and the plug is steel or some such thing, and it fails regularly. Thanks

 

Make sure you clean the new pan completely before you install it. Buy a new drain plug with a nylon gasket and DO NOT use any RTV "gasket maker" a good quality pan gasket will do just fine. Rubber if it's available.

 

Ok, thanks! This car has always been to the quick lubes for it's oil changes, I've never even looked under it before until today. Is the oil pan drain plug supposed to have a large rubber washer in it?

 

the biggest thing is dont over tighten the bolts...you'll feel like a idiot if you break one down there.

 

It's at the garage now, turns out it's the rear main seal. Trying to decide if I want to have them fix it or not. The fella there said there is a chance that the crankshaft will be worn and replacing the seal will help, but it will still leak. Told me there a couple of things that they can try to do if it is worn, that may or may not work. Suggestions?