1. Should the pan be pulled off the car and welded from the inside?
2. Could it be welded on the outside without removing the pan?
3. Should a metal plate be installed over the cracked area from the inside?
4. What if a piece of metal was installed over the cracked area from the inside and epoxy'd?
I am guessing the only sure ways would be 1 or 2. I would like to not have to pull the pan, but this needs to be fixed right.
What really happened was I was doing my neighbor's timing belt/water pump and I had to jack up the engine, and it was dark and my flashlight broke. I used a piece of wood between the pan and jack but when the angle got to a certian point it shifted and kind of bounced a little, still on the wood, but I guess too much for the puny pan. I have replaced these pans before, sometimes they crack on thier own, most break real easy from road debris, some just from the oil drain plug being too tight. The V6 mustangs use this design, as well as some other ford 2.0L 4 poppers, Olsmobile and Cadilac also use these alumimum oil pans. They are made from cast powder alumimum, and I know the one's on the fords are extremly thin and brittle. What ever happeded to good old fashon steel pans that just bend if they are hit.