MHKflyer52 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 (edited) The Oil Pan on my Replica 7 from the last drive I took and what caused it. The second photo is of my Oil Pan after removing it from my car. The first photo is what caused the smashing of the oil pan and measures 6 inches high even after my car played bulldozer with it. Yes that is after the top was removed by my cars oil pan. Skid plate is now being fabed up so the new oil pan and pickup tube do not suffer this fate again. Should be back on the road by Monday I hope. Edited June 10, 2010 by MHKflyer52 Photos did not get placed correctly so the first is the second and the second is the first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMike Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Holy smokes! Hope there wasn't any damage to your car's internals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Dang! Seems I'm always on the lookout for that type of thing in the road (when I should be looking farther ahead)... Goes with the cars unless you got the $$ & room for a dry sump I guess. Saw this for the Honda S2000 http://www.drysump.com/honda.htm Skid plate is mucho cheaper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Can you raise the ride height of the car any? Might consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboeric Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Yikes! The standard vehicle around here is a pickup truck, and everything is built assuming pickup ground clearance. Road builders assume that speed bumps should be modelled on Mt. Everest and than any pothole that won't completely swallow a Yaris isn't worth fixing. Hope the rest of your motor is OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I carry 2 lengths of 2x6 's in the boot for the inevitable encounter with speed bumps too wide to go around. Put them perpendicular to the bump on the far side of it, in line with front tires, keeps the pan high until it clears the bump. Only negative is all the honking from people behind that I'm holding up :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Good grief! Was that a speed hump or a pathtic display of a road patch filling in a pothole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 Good grief! Was that a speed hump or a pathtic display of a road patch filling in a pothole? It was actually a road patch to cover the edge of a 1 inch thick steel plate that was covering a trench in the road. The plate was on a downhill curve and had slid about 8 inches to cause the bulge in the temp road patch on the edge of the plate. You could not see the bulge until you had made the turn and were on the plate and by then it was too late to do anything except go into the opposite lane or take the ditch which was not an option do to traffic and the ditch dropped off very steeply and would have been far worse. I am just glad that I was going slow and not my usual speed of light (ok not quite the speed of light) as I was just about stopped when my undercarriage impacted the bump and why I feel that I am not having to replace more than the oil pan and oil pump and screen. Just one of those hazards of driving a seven on public roads I feel but then I also believe that not everything can be controlled and sometimes shit just happens and as long as I am OK then it is OK. Moral of all this is to watch out for the not so oblivious and be safe while driving our fun toys especially on roads that we travel on a routine bases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 damn Martin, that's some bad luck. I did it by ripping my car to pieces, but the oil pan now sits flush with the frame and skin. This type of thing always worried me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 (edited) Not sure of the rules in your state and if they have minimum ride height but you would be able to claim damages like that to your vehicle if you lived in Louisiana. Potholes that swallow automobiles and other road hazards built by the Department of Transportation that can cause a bent rim, dented oil pan or something else can be claimed. There's a phone number on the DOT website for it. All that is required are photos of the accident scene and the damage done to the vehicle. If the damage is pricey you might need a lawyer. Good luck getting her fixed. Edited June 10, 2010 by Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 YUP I live in Michigan were the state bird is the "COLD PATCH". We have pot holes big enough to swallow a seven, and it will take them three weeks to find you! I've broken my rear exhaust hanger four times, the exhaust is the lowest point on the car. Luckly I have a sump skid plate and this year an unbreakable exhaust hanger "I hope". Dave W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I am just glad that I was going slow and not my usual speed of light (ok not quite the speed of light) as I was just about stopped when my undercarriage impacted the bump That is just so damn frustrating - good luck with the repeairs. I wonder how much the front diving under brakes reduced your clearance. A few times I have come across similar on NJ roads and I have time aim elsewhere. However, I know the front of my car dives under brakes and I am conscious of this when driving in case of bumps like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 After examining the oil pan once I removed it and took the time to really look at it I think most of the damage was caused by the bounce that was caused by the front wheels going over the asphalt and having the top of the bump come into contact with the oil pan driving it straight up as the scratch marks left on the bottom of the oil pan look like it has been pushed up and not back more than it would be if the impact was more of a front blow to the pan instead of one from the bottom. My oil pan sits back away from the front wheels more that most pans do because I wanted the engine closer to the firewall for better center of gravity and weight mass location in my car when I built it and that it is a rear sump oil pan as you can see in this photo of me sitting in the frame dreaming of that first drive. I think most 7’s have the oil pan sump closer to the front wheels and are front sumps which I believe helps protect it when crossing a speed bump or obstacle like the one that destroyed the pan on my car. What I think actually cut the top of the asphalt off was the bell housing and the half inch thick rear engine face plate that makes the mounting face for the bell housing and transmission. The both show signs of impact scratches and even have asphalt stuck in some of those scratches. As for clearance (frame to ground 5-3/4”, oil pan sump bottom to ground 4-1/2” sitting still) when braking I know that my car dose dip a little but (about an inch under very hard braking) I estimate that I was going about ten to fifteen mph when I went over the bump and had not locked up the brakes before the impact do to being on a steel plate and that is one thing you do not want to do as you will just slide more I believe plus I was able to pull off the road surface within a cars length of the bump and stop to look at the damage and then coasted the car down the road to a safer place to park which was only fifty feet down from the bump by my guess. I do know that I am making a skid plate that I hope and think will prevent this from happening again if my car try’s to become a bulldozer again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I was looking at dry sump a while back but decided to start with a ride height increase and hope for the best. I'm sure that if the stainless steel skid plate can't stop what ever I might run over from taking out the cast bottom pan (or worse, the block or crank) that the $2,500 for a dry sump would be cheap in retrospect. If I have the motor out for any other reason I'll probably chance the divorce and go dry sump. Hope it doesn't turn into something more than pan and pump for you, just looking at the pan damage picture made me queasy about the road conditions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Well my 7 is back on the road now with a new oil pan, strainer screen and oil pump. Everything is working as it should again. Oil pressure is rock solid, 28psi at idle, 55 to 78psi depending on the RPM while cursing down the road. Took it out for about an hour drive around the local area just to check it out and it did fine. Did find when checking for leaks that I need to replace both rubber motor mounts as they are both torn so my car is back into the garage until I can replace them which will be sometime this coming week as I have to order them as I do not have a spare set but that is OK as I still need to make the skid plate to prevent the chance of destroying another oil pan and pump so waiting for the motor mounts. Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend and be careful on those rough roads that are out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 That brings back one terror filled ride for me. The second year we did the 1 Lap we were in LA heading to New Orleans. It was about 4 am we had a 1k mile leg that night. I was in the coffin asleep when I feel the trailer swerve and then go air born for about 3 seconds and came crashing down. I thought Kevin had fallen asleep and gone of the road at 85. It turns out he came up on a bridge and the center of the lane had a chunk of pavement sticking up about six inches. He jerks to split the lane the problem being the other lane was the same way. The car hit both high spots on the wheels and the car and the trailer were thrown into the air about 2ft. Scared the crap out of both of us. The only difference was that he knew what happened. I was blind in the trailer I just hear him get back on the gas and go on. So I assume he was awake for a while and try to go back to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 That brings back one terror filled ride for me. The second year we did the 1 Lap we were in LA heading to New Orleans. It was about 4 am we had a 1k mile leg that night. I was in the coffin asleep when I feel the trailer swerve and then go air born for about 3 seconds and came crashing down. I thought Kevin had fallen asleep and gone of the road at 85. It turns out he came up on a bridge and the center of the lane had a chunk of pavement sticking up about six inches. He jerks to split the lane the problem being the other lane was the same way. The car hit both high spots on the wheels and the car and the trailer were thrown into the air about 2ft. Scared the crap out of both of us. The only difference was that he knew what happened. I was blind in the trailer I just hear him get back on the gas and go on. So I assume he was awake for a while and try to go back to sleep. I don't think I would have been able to even try to go back to sleep after a ride like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Don't sleep for two days you will be amazed when and where you will sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Did the coffin get renamed into the outhouse after that incident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Martin I think it might be wise to extend that skid plate pass the front edge of the bell housing, after looking at your photo. The extra wt would probably be worth the piece of mind. Dave W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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