I've got an 2000 Tracker with an Oil Pan that is rusting out, looks like it's flaking so much metal its starting to leak (definitely coming from the pan and not the gasket).  US dealers want about $130, anybody know of a after market pan?

What about doing the job, in frame?  Can you move the front diff enough without popping the axles? (figure I could unbolt the rack and pinion to gain some space) I did a V6 pan on a XL7... real pain cuz the pickup snakes through some tin work. Not sure about the 2L.. never had one out.

Thanks

Martin

i found pulling the front diff was easier, nothing in the way and it isn't that much more work if your going to let the mounts go to move it. it's not like they are heavy or hard to move around. just my thoughts, and i say alot of bad word when there isn't enough room to wiggle something in place.

Mine is getting pretty rough too.  Same year and motor as yours.  But the frame is going also, I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with it yet.  How is your frame?

Frame is perfect... 350,000 km's and still running great. I have had to fix it, but everything need fixing at some point in time! I sold it to my brother and he loves it. I've never seen a pan rot out like this one tho.

Price is cheap enough for new pan, just hate the idea of popping the CV joint out of the front diff, that job is always a pain, "say where did the rest of that cir-clip go?".....   "oh now the axle seal is leaking" "oh look, we cracked the CV boot"... yah, love working on the front diff !

Anybody ever try unbolting the motor mounts and lifting the engine to get the clearance?

Cheers

Martin

if you want a quick patch i use Seal-All on basepans and it last a long time too. i have done this on a few rigs and neve had a leak after. did it to a saturn base pan and drove it for a year and never leaked but then the wife wrote it off. the way i put it on is drain the base pan (usal drain the night before so there is nothing left in it) clean the surface with varsol. take all the rust scales off then ruff it up with some sand paper. clean it up again with the varsol let it dry off. then smear some seal-all on the area you want to repair and the surrounding. then take a piece of paper towe (the brown shop type) put it over the area and smear some more seal-all over it. put a couple of layers on like that and let it cure. the saturn i did i let it sit over night before i filled the engine with oil. cheap and easier then hauling the pan of and putting a new one on. some people have told me they never got it to work and other people swear by it. it is worth a try if you don't want to screw around pulling the pan off or you can't afford a base pan. seal-all is around $10 a tube i repaired 4 or 5 base pans with one tube.

If you don't mind my asking, where did you buy it?  I've never heard of it.

And also, what did you have to fix on your frame?

up here in canada you can get seal-all in most automotive stores, but i got mine in wal-mart. great stuff if you search it on google you can find there web site and see all the uses for it. it is like automotive duct-tape for me.

Thank you.  I knew someone with an older Tracker that used some sort of paint that sealed it up.  I just have to make up my mind what I'm going to do about the frame.  Too bad its the main cross member.

i got a 2002 suzuki vitara with the 2L motor and 5spd trans. i did change my oil pan a few months ago. i bought the pan at the chevy dealer as i could not find any aftermarket and suzuki dealer is 3h drive away from me.

dealer told me it was easier to remove the diff and rack and pinion to get to it. but i find it alot harder to do this way. if id do it again id pull the motor out instead

the rack and pinion and diff has to come out, and wille removing the diff means some of the passenger side wheel parts got to come off to get the cv shaft out. and wen you are ready to remove the oil pan, it wont just slide out, you will need to shuve your hand in it to remove the oil pick up tube so the oil pan can come out, now this is the part i hated, there is no gasket for these, its made to put in silicone. now imaginge trying to put a oil pan pickup tube wen the silicone is aplied, its not an easy task. it is possible to do it, i did it myself, but i find it just a pain to do it this way.anyhow i find it will be way quicker removing the engine as there is less part to remove so less time removing stuff.

diftoyota,

Thanks for the info. If you think the Vitara 2L was a pain, it can't be any worse then the XL7 with the V6.... Sealant all over the place by the time it was done (its got a two piece pan, with the same issue of trying to bolt up the pickup)

Yes its a coin toss as to which is the best way, but I get the feeling pulling the engine might be the best way to go.

Cheers

Martin

100% on pulling the engine if you are comfortable with doing it. that makes the job install alot easier and cleaner.

I'm going to see if he maybe wants to try the clean and patch idea first but yes, if he wants to replace I would go the route of pulling the engine. 

Can you confirm that the pan is RTV sealed?  Rock Auto lists a gasket but I didn't think it had one?

Thanks

Martin

i have tried to patch the rust hole myself with 2 JB weld kits, all 4 tubes and dint held on.it was just too flaky and all the oil is betwwen the layers so its hard to make the stuff stick, i did clean the area with brake cleaner before aplying the stuff, they usually rust at the tight spot between the diff and oil pan area. its a hard place to reach to apply the stuff and chances are it will leak again, and can you really put the stuff and say its fixed? i know i wont trust it, specially wen you are out of town or in the woods. just put that money on a new oil pan or the silicone needed for it. i tried the jb weld so i could drive it to the shop to change it.

i dont know how well jb weld hold agians oil and gas. but the seal-all is oil and gas resistant. it is not a permanent fix by no means but if you can not afford doing a base pan this will get you by. i'm just say it can hold up for a long time.