Oil Pan Painted on inside?

garr

New member
I purchased an Used great condition Oil pan off of e-bay last week that has been bead blasted & painted,
Is the inside of the oil pan supposed to be painted?
As the synthetic oil in the engine starts to strip off the paint, will the paint screw up the oil?
Should I just strip off the paint from the interior before use?
 

garr

New member
Thanks, I just sent an Email to the seller, If he does not respond I'll strip it off.
Out of curiosity, If it is plain old rustoleum Can it cause a problem in the engine?
 

ehall

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
rustoleum is oil safe, might not be temperature safe though

I would probably use some kind of VHT, made for exposure to engine temps and oils
 

Runnin'OnEmpty

New member
They probably painted it to prevent rust, since it was
freshly blasted. Might be a cheap laquer...? I'd strip
it just for peace of mind.

Run a lacquer thinner soaked rag over the paint and see if
it comes off on the rag. If it does, just wipe the paint
off and install the pan.
 

ParadiseXJ

New member
Would it really rust on the inside with all the oil sloshing around in there. I can't see that it would.

I agree with ^^ this. Personally I would not paint the inside. I don't know if I'd trust any "paint" inside a hot oil pan although I would paint the outside with proper prep, and some good high heat enamel.
 

thesteveyo

New member
It won't rust with a coat of oil on it, inside, essentially sealed off to the elements, but it could have possibly rusted when it was sitting around on a shelf prior to install. Maybe that was the seller's concern.
 

Demonoid369

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
sitting around on a shelf prior to install. Maybe that was the seller's concern.

That's what I'm thinking. They probably just painted it to avoid rust while in shipping and storage to avoid hassle if a customer complained about surface rust.
 

TRCM

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
GM had a run of crate 454 engines several years back (like greater than 15 yrs) that got warrantied out....cuz the inside of the oil pan was painted, and the paint was coming off and clogging up the oil systems.
I would never paint the inside of the oil pan. No matter what you use, is it worth the risk ??

Glyptol has been used to aid oil drainback, but usually only in race engines that are inspected frequently.
 

Hypoid

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Glyptol has been used to aid oil drainback, but usually only in race engines that are inspected frequently.
As in, several times a year, if not several times a weekend. I have read anecdotes from old timers who gave up on the concept of coating the inside of an engine.

garr said:
Should I just strip off the paint from the interior before use?
Strip the coating from the inside of the pan and sleep well.
 

md21722

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
I wouldn't feel comfortable with a home paint job, but from the factory they are painted or powder coated.
 

garr

New member
I received a response from the seller, just as many of you guys said, read below, it cleaned right off!

Dear gaar

Good morning, The paint is just a light coat of spray paint. It cleans up easily with lacquer thinner and is just intended for corrosion protection while in storage.
 

JeepNoob

New member
I picked up a junk yard oil pan a few weeks ago. Judging by the part number and the amount of gunk on it, it was factory original for a 4.0 and yes, it was painted on the inside. That being said, it looked like some really good paint, not the kind of stuff you'd expect to get out of a spray can, possibly even powdercoated.
 

iwannadie

New member
We used to paint the interior of our Datsun Blocks with Glyptol 1201...ymmv
I know someone who bought an Eclipse off ebay only to find the inside of the engine had been painted and was coming off and had gotten into everything.

I'm sure someone herd about painting engine internals and then trying to recreate that ha.
 

garr

New member
I picked up a junk yard oil pan a few weeks ago. Judging by the part number and the amount of gunk on it, it was factory original for a 4.0 and yes, it was painted on the inside. That being said, it looked like some really good paint, not the kind of stuff you'd expect to get out of a spray can, possibly even powdercoated.
I took down the old rusty oil pan yesterday & just as you state above the inside is painted with some serious paint, looks great even after 15 years of service, if only the outside had a similar paint job!
 
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