New oil pan prep?

[inyoyote]

Hello all. I just received my new dorman oil pan and its painted inside and out. I was thinking I'd remove the paint from the mating surface, but then thought I might need to remove all the paint from the inside of the pan. I did some googling a found some recommend removing all the the paint and some said just bolt it up as is. Has anyone used these pans before and what prep did you do to it? I would rather just mount it up and figure they wouldn't paint the inside if it is a problem, as it would save them money on paint. What say the ever wise oilburners brain trust? Thanks in advance.

 

[79jasper]

I don't know that the paint would actually be a problem, but I see how it could be.
I've heard dorman quality has gone done. So it may be wise to remove the paint now.

Maybe others will know for sure.

 

[icanfixall]

I am surprised the inside is painted. One would think just painting the outside sur would save half the paint to do both sides. Now not knowing what the paint is I'm not going make a guess that its something that needs to come off or stay on. I know the oem pans were not painted inside and nothing happened to them because of the bare metal. Will be watching this very interesting question. BTW welcome to the forum..

 

[inyoyote]

Thank you for your replies. I also asked dorman and they replied with "Thanks for your inquiry. It is not necessary to remove the paint from the inside. It will not come off or flake. Thanks". So I'm going to save that email and hope for the best.

I asked specifically why the OE wasn't painted and this one is. As you can see, he did not address that issue.

I will say that while I was surprised by the very quick response (less that half an hour), I am not that impressed with the quality. While the bolt holes and mating surface lined up well enough to not need any massaging, the front crank hump was rather uneven, and I had to trim back the lip to keep it from rubbing the harmonic balancer. It is as if the blank wasn't lined up well enough before it was struck.

I also ordered a left exhaust manifold. While it is good enough to seal, it is a very rough casting and the quality just isn't there compared to the cracked OEM. I massaged it with my flap wheel just to prevent shedding blood during this project. The mating surfaces are machined, so they appear decent, but thats as far as I will go.

Thanks again for the replies. I was afraid I would be advised to remove all inside paint, which I really didn't want to do.

 

[typ4]

I used to use dorman pans on 300 6 cyl, never had an issue with the paint.

 

[TWeatherford]

I'm sure they paint them to prevent rusting in storage. Nobody would be happy to get a rusty oil pan. International was probably able to get the pan installed and oil put in it fast enough that it didn't have time to rust.

 

[racin460]

Friend of mine has a 2000 psd with a rusty oil pan, Very commen problom. the ford stealership told him to take the new one home and paint the inside because they rust from inside out. (sounds like to me crappy steel)

 

[inyoyote]

My concern is whether or not the paint will stand up to the detergents in diesel motor oil. Between the high temps and detergents, it seems it would take a pretty tough paint. Something I'm sure would run the costs considerably higher than $100 a pan.

Im wondering if the next time I have the pan off, Hopefully in 20 years, the paint will be gone with no ill effects. I will definitely be checking my drain pan and oil filters for any signs of paint.

 

[79jasper]

I wander how powder coating would hold up.

 

[dirtbiker]

FWIW, we installed a Dorman oil pan last December, and had it off in August. The paint is totally unaffected. We only put 2,000 miles on it, but the sump has had oil in it for almost a year. I would not worry about it too much.