erock901

I was reading a previous post about how easy an oil change is on the IS350. Even though I've never changed my oil myself, I thought I'd give it a shot on my IS350. I forgot one thing...I'm an idiot when it comes to car maintenance! I looked at the owners manual to figure out where to put the jack. The car is pretty low so, I slid it to what looked like a good spot compared to what I saw in the owners manual for 2WD cars. Started jacking it up and it looked like the spot that the jack was touching started to cave in! Lowered the car back down...tried a different spot. According to the owners manual, the second spot I used is for AWD cars but it worked. Finally got the car high enough to really see what I did. I believe I bent in the oil pan.

So, I have 2 questions for you experienced DIY'ers. First, did I just ****** up my car to save $50?? And second, if I try to finish the job, where the heck do I put the jack stands?

This board has alwasy been a great source of info for me. I'm hoping in my greatest time of need, this board can come through again.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Erock

kensteele

i this were me and i realize it isn't but if it were me, i'd go straight to the dealership on monday morning and pay them to fix my mistake. the end. because i have no idea what to do next.

IS-Jim

How far did it cave in? Just a little dent or what? (it is hard to tell by pic )Also, for future oil changes,, you should purchase some Rhino ramps and use them instead of a jack.. Just drive your car on them and you have plenty of room to work... they run about 35-45 bucks at walmart, or autozone. ect..

erock901

IS-Jim,

It's definitely dented but I guess it isn't as bad as it could have been. Maybe more important than the dent is the stress I may have put on the bolts that hold the oil pan up against the engine. Since this is the first time I've tried this, I don't know if I've done any real damage. I've attached another image that may show the dent better.

Thanks,
Erock

bgarre

I wouldn't worry about any stress on the bolts. You basically put a compression force on those bolts which is what their application is. They are also hardened steel and can withstand alot of pressure. I would worry more about what is inside the pan and if the oil sending unit got damaged. I don't know what the 3.5L engine looks like inside. How far did you dent it in? Have you driven the car since?

IS-Jim

MMM, without knowing the internal layout of the oil pan it is really hard to say if there is any damage.

If it were my car I would start the car up and let it idol for a few minutes and monitor it. If the oil is not flowing through the engine you would certianly get a dash light before any damage would be done to the motor.

Then I would prolly take it to the dealer just to make sure everything is A ok. or just call them and get there advise,, see what they say.

erock901

Thanks for the input guys. When I was jacking the car up, it looked like the oil pan caved in about 3/4 inch. But after I lowered the car back down, the permanent dent appears to be about 1/2 inch deep. Since I jacked the car up a second time, I went ahead and changed the oil and filter. Man, the oil pan drain bolt and oil filter housing were on really tight...felt tighter than the lug nuts on the wheels. Anyway, after I was done changing the oil, I drove the car around the block. No check engine lights and the car sounds fine. I'll call Lexus service tomorrow and ask if there's anything in the bottom of the oil pan to damage.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Which news do you want? There's good and there's bad. There are no baffles in the pan, so you didn't damage any of them. However, the oil pickup is directly above the point where you bent the pan. So you may have bent the oil pickup tube. I'd call it likely.

Don't feel alone. I did the same thing to my Supra in '94. The jack slipped off the crossmember and the car landed on the oil pan. Put a pretty good dent in it. I discovered it is possible to remove the lower pan on a 2JZ without pulling the engine that night, but it sure wasn't pretty.

From the picture, it looks like dropping the pan isn't too terribly difficult. If it were my engine, I'd drop the pan, inspect the oil pickup tube, reshape the pan back to normal and reinstall. Warranty does not cover this unless you have an unusually sympathetic dealer. Since you were trying to save a buck, if he's not a personal friend, I'd say you're going to take it hard for this one.

If you are anywhere near Sacramento, PM me. I can take a look and give you a better reference point for a decision.

C280to250

Where is the oil filter located anyway??. i can't find it

As for the bent oil pan, Being its a new car i would rather get it check to make sure but i did this on my 300ZX going through something over the freeway and bent it bad.
didn't give me a problem so i left it alone.

benzo555

iTrader: (11)

It doesnt look bad at all. I've seen worse pans beat by the street on lowered cars. The dent is not bad. As said just monitor your oil light if it comes on. Even if you take it dealer, they will want to drop the pan and look at it. You're probably looking at about $120 just to inspect it.

Belmont

^^^^

QFT.

You my friend, are a dumbass. Let the dealership take care of the car.

MeTrO

One of the biggest reasons people check this forum is to find out how to do things by themselves. If you have done the Nav hack or any one of the hundred other tutorials on this forum, then I guess you do stupid things too. If you know so much the car, then why even come to this forum.

I hate to thread hijack, but I hate when other dumbass' get on these forums and start calling people names.

MeTrO

Smoke this...

You know how to change your oil, so you're the all knowing?? I've forgotten more about mechanics than you'll ever know.

People need help, that's what this forum is about. If you don't agree, go somewhere else.

Style2k6

Can I ask why you feel you need to call this person a name for trying to save himself some money?
He made a mistake we have all been there before.

Tuxlex

If you started the engine and did not hear any banging there is nothing
to worry about.

This exact same thing happened to my son on his Trans Am. The only thing
in hs case was that when he started the engine there was a terrible racket.
The crank shaft was scrapping the bottom of the pan where it dented in.
We were able to remove the pan and hammer the dent out. No damage.

So If you do not hear anything. It will not cause any harm.