best way to patch an oil pan?

[BerniniCaCO3]

Found out last night that I had an oil leak. Figured it was from R&Ring the oil pan gasket something like 4 times (don't ask), maybe reusing had finally started leaking...
NOPE.

My oil pan has a little crack in it.
Looks punched out from the inside; must've been from when that galley plug popped out. I'd never noticed it leaking before, but then, I'd never had oil pressure before and therefore oil in the front sump of the dual-sump pan, so it makes perfect sense. It just looks like a scratch, until I'd traced my oil leak to the "scratch" and no further and examined it more closely.

Anyway, tomorrow night I want to fix this.
No, I really, REALLY do not want to install a new pan. Hech no.

So--

a) it's a stamped steel pan, right? I can ask a more skilled coworker to try and run a 1/2" bead to seal up the crack. Has this worked well and easily for anyone?
b) jb weld or plumber's putty, etc. from the outside
c) jb weld or plumber's putty, etc. from the inside, so it can't just fall off-- and being the front sump, it's not like the pickup can catch anything if anything does break free.
b/c(1) jb weld reinforced with fiberglass?

[1990LTD]

Short of buying a new pan, I don't think it will be a permanent fix. I've only heard of it seeping again after sealing it up with JB weld (or real weld ) after some time.

[johnunit]

the only practical fix short of pulling the engine for an oil leak (understandably unappealing) is hosing it down with brake cleaner and covering it with a fast-set epoxy or jb weld sort of thing. But yeah, that's not permanent.

[mercurygm88]

[QUOTE=1990LTD;634391]Short of buying a new pan, I don't think it will be a permanent fix. I've only heard of it seeping again after sealing it up with JB weld (or real weld ) after some time.[/QUOT

not positive here but i would think that if you had someone run a bead on it as long as the crack doesnt spread it should be fine. Having to change the pan would really suck.

[sly]

if it is steel... then yeah... running a bead on it should do the trick... you'll need to be able to take the pan off and fill in the crack at the seal and grind it smooth, otherwise it will probably still leak at the gasket. you might be able to get away with some ultra copper RTV to seal up that spot though.

[86VickyLX]

Buy a new pan, what's one more time pulling the pan?

[gadget73]

new pan is the preferred fix. If its cracked all the way up to the gasket surface, welding it may be hard. You also run the risk of melting the gasket, causing more leaks. If its a crack, drilling a small hole at the end of the crack and then using JB Weld might buy you time, but the pan must be free of any oil for it to stick. You'll need to drain the oil and then use carb cleaner or brakleen or something to flush any oil out of the crack.

[BerniniCaCO3]

It was a 3/8" wide arc punched by the oil galley plug, very small, and just seeping oil.
I'm happy to report that now over a week after the fact, JB weld on the outside (and yes, THOROUGHLY wiped down, sanded, then sprayed heavily with brake cleaner and let to dry) has been holding fine.
It was in the very bottom of the pan many inches from the gasket, a good thing of course. A more minor crack there could hardly be, but even this crack would leak a quart a week.
I feathered the JB weld out across 2" or so around the corner, and used masking tape to hold it evenly, as otherwise it would have oozed out of form after I walked away. The strongest, highest-temp JB weld naturally takes the very longest time to even get any kind of hard, like 4-6 hours, and 12 to set, and 24+ to be at full strength.