Oil Pan Explained

Oil Pan is at the bottom of the engine. It is usually made out of metal. and looks like the bottom of an odd shaped box. It stores the oil used to keep the engine freely moving when the engine is running.

Oil Pan is attached to the engine by bolts that are placed through holes in the Oil Pan flange. These bolts line up with bolt holes in the bottom of the engine.

Oil Pan Gasket in the shape of the Oil Pan flange is sandwiched between the Oil Pan and the engine. The Oil Pan Gasket lines up with the Oil Pan flange and has holes in it where the bolts can go through. Oil Pan Gasket creates a tight seal between the Oil Pan and the bottom of the engine to stop oil leaks from happening.

Oil Pan has a drain plug in it. The Drain Plug is like a Bolt. When it is loosened and removed, Oil drains out of the hole it was in. Oil that drains out was used to keep the engine running. Engine should not be run without Oil in the Oil Pan.

Oil Pan usually has a magnet in it. Sometimes the magnet is part of the drain plug. Magnet captures bits of metal to stop the bits of metal from damaging the engine. Magnet should be cleaned of bits of metal when it is visible. Sometimes it is only visible when the Oil Pan is removed.

Dipstick measures level of Oil in Oil Pan. Dipstick is a metal measuring stick with a handle on the top. The handle can be seen from the top of the engine when the Hood is open. The Dipstick is usually inside a small metal tube attached to the engine. When pulled out it usually has crosscheck markings on the bottom. These markings show the level of Oil in the Oil Pan.

To measure Oil Level - with the engine off Pull the Dipstick out. Wipe the bottom of the Dipstick with a rag to clean off the oil on it. Put the Dipstick back in. Pull the Dipstick back out. Oil covers up to the mark that it is at. If the oil is too low it will not be on the markings. If Oil is too high it will be further up the Dipstick than the highest part of the markings.