Thanks all. Deve is right, I have the skill set to mig weld the crack closed, even lying on my back. I am just concerned about the residual oil left in the engine. I don't think tape on the VC vents would result in a engine bomb. Come on guys, over the top hyperbole, in my opinion. My thoughts on the tape would be to oxygen starve any fire that might want to start.
And, there is no sludge in the engine/pan as I have put less than 1000 miles on the engine since rebuild.
If consensus is to pull the pan, then that is what I will do. but, I think spot welding the crack very slowly (i.e. let the metal completely cool) will prevent the oil from igniting. Contamination might be a real issue, but I will know soon enough.
Edit: I will run a test - I will butt join two scrap pieces of sheet metal and oil soak one side and attempt to spot weld the seam from the bottom side. Test result will tell me whether or not I can successfully weld the oil pan in place.
Last edited by DavidF; 06/30/2015 3:54 PM.
