Oil Pan

Flyin1500

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
83
Howdy!

I have a 1984 Mercruiser 120 with a pinhole oil leak in the oil pan. Will a '96 3.0 litre pan fit this block? Thanks!
 

woosterken

Lieutenant
Joined
May 18, 2005
Messages
1,431
Re: Oil Pan

is it at a place you can reach it, just sand it down a bit and put some jb weld on it
be alot easier than having to pull the motor

woosterken
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
Re: Oil Pan

If there is one hole, there will be more. Had the same situation and I decided to pull the pan. There were 20 more headed in the same direction. When mine started leaking I was lucky I was on a small lake. If the leak was worse, I would have been stranded.

When I put on my new pan, I completely repainted it with a good coat of primer so that there were no chances of any pin holes in the paint that would cause me to have the same problem in the future.
 

Flyin1500

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
83
Re: Oil Pan

is it at a place you can reach it, just sand it down a bit and put some jb weld on it
be alot easier than having to pull the motor

woosterken

It is...I might try that. If that does not work..I think I can pull the pan without pulling the motor....looks like there is enough clearance.
 

fishrdan

Admiral
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
6,989
Re: Oil Pan

I'd be concerned about the rear main seal type of both engines, 1 or 2 piece. I'm not sure on the years, but the the GM 4cyl marine engines came with a 2 piece and 1 piece rear main seal blocks. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing the 96 3.0 has a 1 piece rear main seal and that the pans are different.

BTW, have you checked your local GM dealership for an oil pan for a 68 Chevy II with a 153CI 4cyl? It should be the same thing as your 84 120HP Mercruiser, oil pan at least...

As Bruce said, slap a couple coats of paint on the pan before installing it.

Oh yeah, splurge and get the 1 piece oil pan gasket, much better than the 4 piece set.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
Re: Oil Pan

I think I can pull the pan without pulling the motor....looks like there is enough clearance.
You need to take into account that the oil pickup goes to the bottom of the pan. If you can not see the rear oil seal it will be tough to get it on correctly.

Get a mirror and take a real good look at the bottom of your pan. If you see rust spots, don't bother with the JB weld. Personally, I wouldn't do the JB weld fix no matter what.
 

picklenjim

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
528
Re: Oil Pan

Sometimes depending on the size and shape of the hole and where it is you can put a sheet metal screw in it. Probably never be able to get it clean enough and stop the oil long enough to use JB weld.
 
Top