Not 355 related but there are some really smart people here so I am going to ask. I have an old British car I am rebuilding. It has a leak in the oil pan drain plug. Seems someone ripped the original drain plug out while tightening it and welded in a new bung. The welds are not ideal and it looks like oil seeps through the weld voids. The pan is long since NLA or I would just get a new one. I have this thing stripped and am reluctant to weld it some more as the walls are quite thin. Can I just heat up the welds and drive in some solder to fill the weld voids? Is the solder operating temp too low to work in this application? Will solder breakdown in the oil environment? Thoughts? Thanks......
Agree with Dave. Needs care and attention but should be possible whatever material. Get the right man on it.
I should have also stated, depending on how bad it is, it may be easier / better to remove the old bung and weld in a new one.
You can do it in the car I have done this. Basically you drain the oil and then warm the area up with a propane torch to burn the oil out of the leaking area then have a competent welder run over the joint with a TIG or an old term is Heli arc Job done.
It's an old British car and it leaks a little oil and THAT"S what you are worried about? Seriously, if the metal is thin there, have a 2" x 2" patch of 16 gage steel welded over the hold. Then then weld in a new bung to the new metal. Should prevent a repeat of the original problem.
The metal is thin everywhere. I think patch is a good idea and I'll explore that. I'll find a weld shop to have it tigged. The other option is an old school radiator repair shop I know of that brazes stuff all day. It leaks enough that I want it fixed. I have owned British cars since I was 15. so I know all about leaks. There are leaks that let you know you still have fluid. There are leaks that let you know the car is marking it's territory Then there are leaks that waste fluids. I am here on this one. The car is nothing too fancy. Just an old MGB I am helping out on. Soon it will be a Jaguar XK140 when I find a proper right hand drive example.
The idea of the patch is that it will double up (at least) the thickness of the metal around the bung and spread the stress out over a larger area when tightening and loosening the plug and allow a stronger weld, hopefully prevented the same situation in the future.
There are other ways to repair it, but this site will crucify those who dare say how. It depends on how much it leaks. I work with old British cars all day every day so what would i know.
