3.8L Aluminum Oil Pan or better than stock?
 

So my RS' oil pan is rusting real good, and needs replacing soon, oil leaks imminent, just like the thin metal oil pan on my old 3.4L!

So, does anyone make a better one, say an aluminum one?

TIA

Not that I am aware of one. Kill the rust and repaint Use a real epoxy paint if you are worried about it doing it again. If you really want to get fancy get a pan from a yard and get it powder coated.

Mine is rusting pretty bad also. 20 years ago if you told me I would have a GM car with over 200k on it with a rusty oil pan I would have called you crazy. 80's back finding a GM engine that did not "seep" oil was like finding a needle in a hay stack. Nothing on the old motors ever rusted, it all had a thin coating of oil :)

If yours is very chunky rusty, don't mess with it, look for a replacement. I've "cleaned up" a well rusted pan before, only to have one little chunk of rust come off that happened to be keeping a rust hole plugged. Pan was junk. Look for a pan on ebay, preferably one from down south. Although an aluminum pan, if one was available, would be nifty, you'll never see it without a mirror. A solid replacement steel oil pan will outlive you, unless you're driving the car through our well salted winter roads.

Yes this RS sees salt yearly, hence the desire for an upgrade, I cannot believe nobody makes anything better. :(

You the first person I have seen request it in the 5 years I have been watching the these forums. I am thinking sales would be less than optimal. I can't even remember anyone powder coating their oil pan.

^ Well the stock-style pans come painted black -- is powder coating it really going to help hold off rust that much more?

Power coat handle chipping better then paint. It is real thick and small rocks tend to bounce off. If you bought a nice set of control arm they would be powder coated not painted for the same reason. There a lot of builder that powder coat frames for this reason.
The down side to powder coating is the fact the pan needs to be removed. You cannot powder coat while it is assembled.

If you want to fix the issue yourself without removing the pan there is a way without sanding or grinding. (This is what I plan on doing)
1.) Clean area of dirt and oil

2.) Remove rust with a non-damaging product like Evaporust. You will need some way to spray and reclaim the product. I will use a desk top parts cleaner and set it up under the car.
Evapo-Rust rust remover description page
6-1/2 Gallon Parts Washer

3.) Scuff off the now clean pan and make sure there no loose paint.

4.) Apply Eastwoods spray epoxy paint. This will not last as long as powder coat but it will hold up to chipping better then paint.

Eastwood's 2K Aero-Spray

If you sand or grind on the pan you could break through. If you have a harbor freight near you they sell the evaporust or you can get it at many hardware stores these days. If I had to remove the oil pan for other reasons I would just clean it, soak it over nigh in evaporust then have it powder coated.

Another way...

After you get a good pan & prep it for paint, use a marine paint like POR-15. This stuff has teeth if properly applied & you almost have to use a hammer to chip it.

Stop Rust with POR-15® - We Know What Permanent Means!

I agree with this also, In fact the Pors will strenghten the weak spots in the pan but I do not see Liberty as a undercoat the oil pan kind of guy.

My extended warranty should cover the new oil pan, but powder coating it sounds like a good idea. Just wish they had something better -- these stockers really bite, coma red to the LS1 pans!