Advice on Nissan Pathfinder 4WD's sought - engine work

[reezaflex]

I'm new here, I've nosed around a bit and it looks there is a very knowledgeable group of people here.

Problem:1992 Nissan Pathfinder, 4WD, manual, 3.0L (WG30E?) engine. Girlfriends. The oil pan is 2-piece construction and whether because of shoddy work at the factory or because of road debris or some other cause, paint was chipped near a welded seam on the oil pan and it has rusted through. I've found and thought I fixed one hole, there is at least one more and it's in such a spot that I can only describe it as "a design flaw."

Question:Is it possible to remove the oil pan without pulling the motor or the flywheel and everything behind it? Can I get enough crossmember clearance by loosening the motor mounts and raising the engine up against the under side of the body?

As for the repair, I'll JB Weld-and-POR-15 it if I can't get the pan off, I own a Hobart Handler and "I can fix it" if I can get the pan off. No snarky comments on welding either, I've been welding professionally for over 20 years.

Pan off is the preferred fix for all the obvious reasons but shops and tools are an issue, it has to be a 1-day fix else neighbors and landlord will insist it goes to a paid mechanic somewhere, damn their property values.

RSVP quickly please, I have to arrive at some sort of plan of action by the end of the day, sooner is better.

Joe

[reezaflex]

After a closer look at the underside, I see two avenues for oil pan removal: - remove xfer case etc. and probably raise engine up a bit - remove front diff. and maybe raise engine up a bit.

What a royal pain.

If anyone has better ideas, I'm all ears.If I farm this job out, what is a fair labor charge for oil pan replacement? Let's assume I can find a replacement or repair this one myself, after it is off and out from under.

Joe

[KoukiS14]

I was going to offer a snarky welding comment, but I figured I'd just welcome you to NICO instead. I have to admit though that I've never met a professional 7 year old welder.

What I don't have, however, is good advice -- I haven't had to repair anything on a WD21 Pathfinder... So I'll bump this to the top.

[fueler]

Good luck, the FSM pretty much says you need to take apart the whole front end!!

[fueler]

This just in: You cold drop the front diff and lower your steering and pull the pan that way. You could easily do that in a day, but you will need a hand getting the diff out. I will see if I can find the details out how to do it.