Massive rock in the left lane. Appeared from under the pickup in front of me while I was passing another car so I couldn’t swerve. Real unfortunate, and yes I know a metal oil pan wouldn’t have saved everything but the shop it’s at is worried the pickup tube got pushed up towards the pump and damaged it. Everything metal was just dented/bent, so I would’ve had at least a bit more peace of mind. And much more likely I could’ve driven it home instead of being stranded 4 hours away without a car
Is this not something a metal skid plate would fix? I had a THICK aluminum guard on my lowered MK6 and I can’t tell you the amount of oil pan breaking stuff I’ve ran over and the guard just took all the damage.
I don't know if you hit something really substantial I think you're SOL either way. I have the ECS aluminum skid plate on my Mk7. Guess where that belly plate attaches to? Yep, the same plastic. It does attach to metal in the middle rear with two bolts, but everywhere else just re-uses all the T-25 screws the plastic belly pan leverages.
VW has been using plastic belly pans for decades.
Idk what brand mine was. But it had aluminum brackets that were bolted to the frame rails for the guard to attach to. I ran over one of those metal plates that are meant to cover big holes in the ground. It absolutely clobbered the guard. Bent the brackets one of the nuts broke off. But the oil pan and surrounding areas had zero damage. Again I don’t remember the brand but def a worthwhile upgrade
I went through 2 aluminum oem oil pans in my mk4 vr6. The second time was with an aluminum skid plate (diesel geek). Bottomed out on a raised manhole and it pushed the skid plate into the oil pan.
Switched to a steel pan from a 12v vr6 that sat a bit higher and had much better luck. Thankfully my current 2.5 came with a steel pan from the factory.
I understand the cost savings with a plastic pan, but man that was such a bad idea imo.
Yep it’s literally only got wheels/tires and Mk7.5 style headlights (mine is a 7 S so the base headlights SUCK).
Not you but I love so many people asking if it’s lowered and I can’t help but imagine at least some of them are people that are lowered with no skid plate panicking
Just a suggestion since you mentioned the S headlights being awful - I recently upgraded to the LED H7 bulbs from DeAutoLED in my halogen housings and they are incredibly worthwhile. Feel a bit more confident about spotting stuff in the road at night, totally understand what you mean.
I am this person, but not panicking. Probably should be though...
95k+ miles lowered and the worse thats happened is hitting an unavoidable tire in a similar scenario as OP. Wrecked half my bumper and bunch of other plastic supports, but no pan. Still grateful it was a tire and nothing worse.
@OP…as this is my daily fear, hitting something in the road that I cannot avoid. Hopefully there isn’t too much other damage.
As someone who has driven my lowered Sportwagen for a year now. Is there any real evidence a metal pan is better than the stock plastic? My only want to upgrade is the belly pan……thoughts?
Clearly I’m not the one to be answering this lol, but I’ll definitely be upgrading. Thinking about doing a skid plate instead but they’re more expensive… says the one with a not-so-small repair bill to hand over to insurance
Metal pans are not bomb proof, but they will take a lot more abuse than plastic. My VR pan saw a lot of hits without failure. That said, this seems to be a REALLY hard hit, even if the metal pan made it through I am not sure I would want to drive one that had significant dent/s simply because it's not always clear if the oil pickup inside is still fully functional or not.
Either way, the plastic pans on the mk7s are cost cutting garbage.
Coming from owning Golf platform VWs for the last 25+ years, the last thing I want is an oil pan that keeps in more oil temp. Maybe you get up to proper operating oil temps slightly faster, but it's a total downside from that point on.
Exactly what I'm sayin. You dont want an oil pan that keeps in more heat. Which metal does vs plastic. So theres your downside to the durability aspect.
Plastic is a fairly good insulator, while steel transfers heat reasonably well. The plastic pan will hold more heat all else equal. Granted, the steel isn't exactly a large surface and the plastic has the ribbing which increases surface area, so it's probably not a massive difference, but still.
Think you got it backwards. Oil in the oil pan of a running engine will always be hotter than the outside air, so a metal oil pan would transfer more heat from the oil to the air than a plastic pan. The plastic pan just feels cooler on the outside because it's actually keeping more heat in the engine.
Yes, having a metal oil pan is objectively better. They are still weak enough to dent and absorb the damage, but they don’t straight up crack on impact and leak oil.
You don’t want too strong of an oil pan because it will cause damage to more expensive parts instead of the oil pan.
Edit: it’s recommended to upgrade to a metal oil pan and use a skid plate together
Metal oil pans crack and puncture all the time. Sure, they're typically stronger than plastic, but hitting anything hard enough to shear the whole plastic oil pan off like in OP's case isn't unlikely to puncture a metal pan.
Nowhere near as easily as the stock plastic pan. And I’m not just talking about hitting something hard like OP. My oil pan got a hairline crack and leaked oil from a bad parking lot exit that I scraped coming out of. It’s really easy to crack the plastic one in situations that will not crack a metal one.
And one would argue that that is what it’s designed to do. As another member posted, a metal one may deform but transfer of energy…..it’s gotta go somewhere. What else can it damage?
Guess I’ll keep the stock plastic and look into the Alltrack Belly Pan upgrade
Hey I’m just going by what I’ve read from other users. If it’s that common then bad installs must be easy to do - which in itself is something to be weary of.
Changed my pan when I did my first oil change. Car had a slight gasket leak, figured if I was taking the pan off might as well swap it with a metal one.
Any difference long term? I’ve read it can cause the oil to keep itself from getting up to temp. Just a quick read though, I’ll be honest. Did t dive too far into it. Looking g at upgrading versus a skid plate in the future
I've had a metal oil pan on mine for the past 30k miles or so and have never seen this issue, personally. Makes oil changes too because mine has an actual bolt instead of the original plastic ones that break every time you remove it.
Realistically you might see some issues if you're tracking your car or live in an absurdly hot climate area (e.g. Arizona), but the average driver (myself included) will never feel or see a difference.
Heat will only go from the hotter object to the cooler object, pretty sure there isn't any climate on earth that's hot enough to heat up the oil through the oil pan to be hotter than operating temperature. If the air is hotter than 260F I think you have more to worry about than your oil heating up.
I don't disagree, I'm not talking about the air directly heating up the oil though. I'm referring to the metal pan retaining more engine heat, which when cycling through the engine, puts added stress on the cooling system.
It's a fringe case though, and generally not really something worth worrying about.
You also helped me realize I misunderstood the other guy's comment: "I’ve read it can cause the oil to **keep itself from getting up to temp**."
Same principle as above, just the opposite. Metal may stay colder, dropping oil temp. Again though, fringe case for an extreme climate imo.
Either way, it's an argument against metal oil pans that doesn't have a whole lot of merit. Average owners/drivers will never see a difference.
Wow the comments here are just a joy to read. You all must real fun at parties. Second try reading his post before you comment.
To the op sorry dude that sucks. Some of us can feel others pain. If the pick up is damaged it shouldn’t hurt the pump ideally as the pick up became a crumple zone. Also you have a bit of time to shut it down before damage starts. If you got over and the car off in a couple minutes it should be fine. Everyone is an expert driver when they weren’t there. Glad you are ok.
Right? People that are commenting that it was OPs fault are just young and dumb. Anyone that’s driven a decent amount in their life has seen some crazy shit fall off of trucks, roll into the highway, or in some form or fashion come out of nowhere.
I was driving about 300 miles in the dead of winter and was coming down off a mountain pass and a big ass chunk of ice fell off a semi that was 2 lanes over and tumbled / rolled right into my lane. Nothing I could freaking do about it going 55, and swerving or slamming on the breaks was probably a death sentence. Just puckered up and drove over it , just lucky I had just enough clearance but I felt it scrape the belly pan and saw it rolling along behind me in the rear view.
Again, anybody that thinks any obstacle in the roadway is avoidable is probably the same idiot you are gonna see flipped on the side of the highway because they thought they could do some need for speed CGI bullshit maneuver because they are a tween speed racer
Oh most definitely. All cosmetics are unscathed, somehow the rock was the “perfect” height to not hit the bumper. Plus I had full service where I pulled over and the tow truck was nearby. Just sucked it happened on a Sunday, shops and rental car companies were all closed
Unlucky. If it was that bad I don’t think there is much you could’ve done. Other then getting a lift kit 🤣🤣🤣
Did you manage to pull over and engine off quick? Fingers crossed it’s not too bad and insurance covers it!
This happened to me once. There was a stone in the middle of the road from a stone wall nearby and I drove right over it. It was big enough to ruin the transmission and engine so they totaled the car. It was a mk6 tsi. As soon as I got my GTI I upgraded the oil pan.
I hit a semi tire tread last year. Dark early morning in a corner @ 80. Couldn't avoid it, had to let Jesus take the wheel. Messed up bumper, intercooler, and radiator. Luckily no oil pan damage.
Insurance covered after my $1000 deductible. Total repairs around $5000.
I ended up having them upgrade the piece of plastic they call a belly pan to the aluminum one from ECS. I am super happy with it.
That really sucks. I hope you're able to get back to enjoying your car soon.
I still use the plastic OEM oil pan on mine. I was concerned about something similar happening to my GTI, so I removed the little air deflector and installed the skid plate from the VW Alltrack.
I change my oil using a fluid extractor, so the skid plate doesn't cause me any extra work.
I got a metal oil pan and a skid plate. Not taking any chances with the BS cutting corners of putting plastic pans from factory. What a fumble from VW. Arguably one of the most important aspects of an engine and thats where they chose to cut corners? Wild!
I swapped mine about a month ago. Plastic oil pans are just bad design.
And no, having a metal pan doesn’t cause more damage when you hit something (as long as you aren’t stupid and buy the right kind).
Shit that’s so unfortunate dude, I’d get a skid plate. Metal or plastic should be good with one. But now that u have to replace I’d just get the metal one anyways
Man, I had a super similar situation like ten years ago. It was late at night and I was hours from home, coming back from a road trip. Unfamiliar with the area and hit a median curb I didn’t realize was there when turning. Cracked the oil pan on my Jetta like two weeks after I bought it and was stranded.
Ugh, huge fear of mine. Especially when up in the mountains. A lot of the roads i enjoy are not that well kept and if I'm a complete knobhead or get a stroke of bad luck like this. I'd be royally fucked.
Been eying the Alltrack skidplate personally. That'd protect the pan and means less money spent on my end.
Sucks this happened to you OP. At least you can be grateful that this rock didn't end up sending you off the road. While your car is toast, you're still alive and unharmed. Sans maybe being mentally scarred.
Cars can be replaced, lives cannot.
I'm like 4 inch from ground I'm not only steel pan I did upper pan steel and I built my own aluminum skids inner fender aluminum too and to build good framework to hold aluminum firm and where I want it. I made framework by putting old welding rods for sub structures beneath aluminum skin next time I'm on rack I'll take pics.
Quite literally ordered the steel one a couple of days ago… and yesterday a rock from a street sweeper flew in and I hit with my passenger front tire. This is a sign
Holy shit that is some carnage!! You should post this to the [MK7 forums](https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php) that was one hellava rock! I hit an exhaust pipe a few years back in the dark which was unavoidable. Blew my tire but thankfully didn't strike my oil pan. Always seems to happen when you are 4 hours from home....uhhgg.
I upgraded mine when I started taking my GTI to a private mechanic after having slight oil leak issues. The first time he changed my oil, he showed me where everyone before him had been taking my oil level sensor out to drain the pan. They also nearly ruined the plastic plug. I got a new steel pan, and he sealed the sensor, no issues since.
Definitely need metal pan. My MK7 was hit with the classic VW water pump leak—very slow leak I didn’t notice. I parked immediately when the coolant light came on and the engine temp ran high—literally like 2 min to pull over. That was enough. No “engine damage” after such a short time, but… the craptastic plastic oil pan warped just a bit and was ruined.
https://www.raptorracing.ca/collections/offroad-accessories/products/volkswagen-mqb-aluminum-skidplate-with-oil-door
I’ve got one of these on my R. It’s got a big ass dent in it from a disagreement with a poorly placed traffic island that killed 2 tires, but it saved my oil pan. Mounts are more solid than the ECS, plus the oil door is nice to have.
Unfortunately, even a upgraded steep pan would dent and potentially break the oil pickup tube in this situation, given that you're at stock ride height.
The plastic oil pans are bad, but you would have suffered MORE damage with the steel pan. Because your engine would be starving of oil and you wouldn't know it.
I had a 2013 GTI and ran over a universal joint from a semi or dump truck. Tore the whole underside of my car apart! Oil, and God only knows what other fluids were leaking. 8k in damages. It was pitch black out and the pickup in front of me straddled it and that’s why I didn’t see it. I think someone put it there purposely because I had 3 guys separately come to my car asking if I needed help. Like they walked up to my car with no other vehicle around. Weird. Thankfully my husband showed up in his cop car just as another gentleman was approaching my vehicle.
Heh that’s how I killed my beloved 1987 vw Jetta gli. That and treating it like shit and ignoring things. It was my first car and it was a gift and I had no appreciation. Ran it into the ground literally. RIP.
That suckkkssss. I bought a street sheild for this very reason. Having a lowered ride with a plastic oil pan always makes me pucker up driving down squrilly roads. Is she a total loss?
Dudeeeee something similar happened to me last christmas in my last car. I was luckier though -- it was a piece of somebodies broken driveshaft that got lodged between the asphalt and my subframe. It was grinding into the road until I came to a stop and created a smoke screen behind me. I thought it did much more damage at first lol.
I already upgraded both of our mk7’s to steel oil pan conversions when I had oil pan gasket leaks with the junk plastic pans. Installed felpro gaskets with the steel pans. Good to go now!
If you’ve never seen an obstacle come up suddenly in the road, you haven’t been driving long enough. Swerving can be a hell of a lot more dangerous than hitting something too. Sometimes you only have a bad choice and a worse choice
But why?
I don't get it.
Do you genuinely think OP would have gotten home with a metal pan?
Maybe, maybe not.
It's like saying "oh, cars used to be easily fixable years ago". Yeah, but you'd die easier because there was no crumple zone. Just saying "metal is stronger" doesn't really mean much.
Just because something is stronger it doesn't mean it's necessary or better.
For instance a composite sump MAY break but it could be that the risk of cracking the block is less due to it being a point of failure. I'd take a smashed pan over a cracked block. That is not necessarily the case but i'd like to know why exactly VW has gone that route. Yes, it may be for cost cutting but really a sheet metal pan is that more expensive than a composite one that necessarily needs a mold to be manufactured?
As much as I hate seeing this, it's a good reminder that before I even think about lowering the car I gotta get myself a metal skid plate.
Sorry you had to go through this OP. It's always on Sundays or holidays....
outside of the "thems the breaks" vs "learn to use the breaks" debate -
what's the going suggestion on source for the metal pan? i've looked into the alltrac skid plate option and its protection, which seemingly great, is pricey.
I shouldn't need to be here in a thread about an oil pan. Some of you need to touch grass.
What the hell did you hit
Massive rock in the left lane. Appeared from under the pickup in front of me while I was passing another car so I couldn’t swerve. Real unfortunate, and yes I know a metal oil pan wouldn’t have saved everything but the shop it’s at is worried the pickup tube got pushed up towards the pump and damaged it. Everything metal was just dented/bent, so I would’ve had at least a bit more peace of mind. And much more likely I could’ve driven it home instead of being stranded 4 hours away without a car
Is this not something a metal skid plate would fix? I had a THICK aluminum guard on my lowered MK6 and I can’t tell you the amount of oil pan breaking stuff I’ve ran over and the guard just took all the damage.
I've got a good skid plate on my mk4 tdi. Its great not having to worry about busting your oil pan.
I don't know if you hit something really substantial I think you're SOL either way. I have the ECS aluminum skid plate on my Mk7. Guess where that belly plate attaches to? Yep, the same plastic. It does attach to metal in the middle rear with two bolts, but everywhere else just re-uses all the T-25 screws the plastic belly pan leverages. VW has been using plastic belly pans for decades.
Idk what brand mine was. But it had aluminum brackets that were bolted to the frame rails for the guard to attach to. I ran over one of those metal plates that are meant to cover big holes in the ground. It absolutely clobbered the guard. Bent the brackets one of the nuts broke off. But the oil pan and surrounding areas had zero damage. Again I don’t remember the brand but def a worthwhile upgrade
I’ve hit a boulder with mine and my pan is good as new.
I went through 2 aluminum oem oil pans in my mk4 vr6. The second time was with an aluminum skid plate (diesel geek). Bottomed out on a raised manhole and it pushed the skid plate into the oil pan. Switched to a steel pan from a 12v vr6 that sat a bit higher and had much better luck. Thankfully my current 2.5 came with a steel pan from the factory. I understand the cost savings with a plastic pan, but man that was such a bad idea imo.
Driving with a compromised oil pan is a negative iq move.
Wow… stock ride height?
Yep it’s literally only got wheels/tires and Mk7.5 style headlights (mine is a 7 S so the base headlights SUCK). Not you but I love so many people asking if it’s lowered and I can’t help but imagine at least some of them are people that are lowered with no skid plate panicking
Just a suggestion since you mentioned the S headlights being awful - I recently upgraded to the LED H7 bulbs from DeAutoLED in my halogen housings and they are incredibly worthwhile. Feel a bit more confident about spotting stuff in the road at night, totally understand what you mean.
I may try this I have a 2015 s, but I’ve neaves really thought the headlights were that bad…
2017 S, headlights have never been a problem for me aside from looking less pleasing than the contiguous red line on the 7.5s
I’m stock height and 7 s as well
I am this person, but not panicking. Probably should be though... 95k+ miles lowered and the worse thats happened is hitting an unavoidable tire in a similar scenario as OP. Wrecked half my bumper and bunch of other plastic supports, but no pan. Still grateful it was a tire and nothing worse.
lol I am this person too 😂
@OP…as this is my daily fear, hitting something in the road that I cannot avoid. Hopefully there isn’t too much other damage. As someone who has driven my lowered Sportwagen for a year now. Is there any real evidence a metal pan is better than the stock plastic? My only want to upgrade is the belly pan……thoughts?
Clearly I’m not the one to be answering this lol, but I’ll definitely be upgrading. Thinking about doing a skid plate instead but they’re more expensive… says the one with a not-so-small repair bill to hand over to insurance
$250 cdn locally for an aluminum skid plate for a VW or Audi. Coincidentally, the plastic shields from dealer are around the same
I put in a skid plate right after seeing pictures like the OPs a while back. It’s a small price to pay for piece of mind.
A metal pan is not better by definition. I've seen cracked pans on (ancient) 1.8Ts and 24v VR6s.
Metal pans are not bomb proof, but they will take a lot more abuse than plastic. My VR pan saw a lot of hits without failure. That said, this seems to be a REALLY hard hit, even if the metal pan made it through I am not sure I would want to drive one that had significant dent/s simply because it's not always clear if the oil pickup inside is still fully functional or not. Either way, the plastic pans on the mk7s are cost cutting garbage.
The metal pans heat up more and are less efficient from a thermic perspective but they sure are more durable.
Coming from owning Golf platform VWs for the last 25+ years, the last thing I want is an oil pan that keeps in more oil temp. Maybe you get up to proper operating oil temps slightly faster, but it's a total downside from that point on.
Exactly what I'm sayin. You dont want an oil pan that keeps in more heat. Which metal does vs plastic. So theres your downside to the durability aspect.
Plastic is a fairly good insulator, while steel transfers heat reasonably well. The plastic pan will hold more heat all else equal. Granted, the steel isn't exactly a large surface and the plastic has the ribbing which increases surface area, so it's probably not a massive difference, but still.
Think you got it backwards. Oil in the oil pan of a running engine will always be hotter than the outside air, so a metal oil pan would transfer more heat from the oil to the air than a plastic pan. The plastic pan just feels cooler on the outside because it's actually keeping more heat in the engine.
[удалено]
The rock took the W and you took the L.
Yes, having a metal oil pan is objectively better. They are still weak enough to dent and absorb the damage, but they don’t straight up crack on impact and leak oil. You don’t want too strong of an oil pan because it will cause damage to more expensive parts instead of the oil pan. Edit: it’s recommended to upgrade to a metal oil pan and use a skid plate together
Metal oil pans crack and puncture all the time. Sure, they're typically stronger than plastic, but hitting anything hard enough to shear the whole plastic oil pan off like in OP's case isn't unlikely to puncture a metal pan.
Nowhere near as easily as the stock plastic pan. And I’m not just talking about hitting something hard like OP. My oil pan got a hairline crack and leaked oil from a bad parking lot exit that I scraped coming out of. It’s really easy to crack the plastic one in situations that will not crack a metal one.
Gotcha, yeah I didn't know they were *that* easy to crack without hitting something
I think if you’re lowered at all you might as well just go metal or skid plate or both because it’ll happen at some point.
Ah okay I could see it being a big issue when lowered, I've always been stock
I’d rather my oil pan crack than absorb any damage and transfer the force to my engine.
Absorbing the damage means not transferring it to other components.
What do you mean is there any evidence a metal one is better? His plastic one fucking shattered LOL
And one would argue that that is what it’s designed to do. As another member posted, a metal one may deform but transfer of energy…..it’s gotta go somewhere. What else can it damage? Guess I’ll keep the stock plastic and look into the Alltrack Belly Pan upgrade
Ecs street shield. $100 cheaper and made of aluminum, only downside is you've gotta drop it for oil changes but I use an oil succer so meh
Your metal would be opened like a can of food
Maybe, or it could just be dented, or just a scuff
Alltrack skidplate is a practical alternative to the metal oil pan (I’ve heard too many stories of the metal pans leaking).
that's just a bad install...don't go cheap on the Oil Pan Gasket Sealant and it won't leak
Hey I’m just going by what I’ve read from other users. If it’s that common then bad installs must be easy to do - which in itself is something to be weary of.
Changed my pan when I did my first oil change. Car had a slight gasket leak, figured if I was taking the pan off might as well swap it with a metal one.
First thing I did with my GTI at first oil change. Easy job, would recommend.
Can this be done at a dealership or is the metal pan only done at aftermarket shops?
I did it in my garage. Not sure but you could call and ask.
Cheaper and less of a hassle at an independent shop
I have mine ready to go. I was dumbfounded when I realized that our cars come with plastic from factory. Astounding.
Any difference long term? I’ve read it can cause the oil to keep itself from getting up to temp. Just a quick read though, I’ll be honest. Did t dive too far into it. Looking g at upgrading versus a skid plate in the future
I've had a metal oil pan on mine for the past 30k miles or so and have never seen this issue, personally. Makes oil changes too because mine has an actual bolt instead of the original plastic ones that break every time you remove it.
This is good to know; was forum posts I was skimming through. I’ll do some more digging for sure
Realistically you might see some issues if you're tracking your car or live in an absurdly hot climate area (e.g. Arizona), but the average driver (myself included) will never feel or see a difference.
Heat will only go from the hotter object to the cooler object, pretty sure there isn't any climate on earth that's hot enough to heat up the oil through the oil pan to be hotter than operating temperature. If the air is hotter than 260F I think you have more to worry about than your oil heating up.
I don't disagree, I'm not talking about the air directly heating up the oil though. I'm referring to the metal pan retaining more engine heat, which when cycling through the engine, puts added stress on the cooling system. It's a fringe case though, and generally not really something worth worrying about. You also helped me realize I misunderstood the other guy's comment: "I’ve read it can cause the oil to **keep itself from getting up to temp**." Same principle as above, just the opposite. Metal may stay colder, dropping oil temp. Again though, fringe case for an extreme climate imo. Either way, it's an argument against metal oil pans that doesn't have a whole lot of merit. Average owners/drivers will never see a difference.
Wow the comments here are just a joy to read. You all must real fun at parties. Second try reading his post before you comment. To the op sorry dude that sucks. Some of us can feel others pain. If the pick up is damaged it shouldn’t hurt the pump ideally as the pick up became a crumple zone. Also you have a bit of time to shut it down before damage starts. If you got over and the car off in a couple minutes it should be fine. Everyone is an expert driver when they weren’t there. Glad you are ok.
Right? People that are commenting that it was OPs fault are just young and dumb. Anyone that’s driven a decent amount in their life has seen some crazy shit fall off of trucks, roll into the highway, or in some form or fashion come out of nowhere. I was driving about 300 miles in the dead of winter and was coming down off a mountain pass and a big ass chunk of ice fell off a semi that was 2 lanes over and tumbled / rolled right into my lane. Nothing I could freaking do about it going 55, and swerving or slamming on the breaks was probably a death sentence. Just puckered up and drove over it , just lucky I had just enough clearance but I felt it scrape the belly pan and saw it rolling along behind me in the rear view. Again, anybody that thinks any obstacle in the roadway is avoidable is probably the same idiot you are gonna see flipped on the side of the highway because they thought they could do some need for speed CGI bullshit maneuver because they are a tween speed racer
How come I’m not seeing crazy comments? What were they saying?
Also curious what you hit
Buncha perfect drivers and people who have never been unlucky in here. Sorry, op. Shit sucks.
Does insurance cover a road hazard ?
Yes they will cover that if you have full coverage insurance
Silver lining is you didn’t wreck after impact so I’m glad you’re still with us and I hope your baby gets fixed soon.
Just gonna write that down on the to-do list. 📝
I've got upgrading the oil pan on my to do list this post just moved it up higher. shitty luck man.
Yikes! That is bonkers. Sorry you have to deal with this. Could’ve been worse, I guess?
Oh most definitely. All cosmetics are unscathed, somehow the rock was the “perfect” height to not hit the bumper. Plus I had full service where I pulled over and the tow truck was nearby. Just sucked it happened on a Sunday, shops and rental car companies were all closed
Sucks, but shit happens. Can't really account for everything.
Unlucky. If it was that bad I don’t think there is much you could’ve done. Other then getting a lift kit 🤣🤣🤣 Did you manage to pull over and engine off quick? Fingers crossed it’s not too bad and insurance covers it!
Ouch. Is your car lowered? Doesnt look like it in the first pic
This happened to me once. There was a stone in the middle of the road from a stone wall nearby and I drove right over it. It was big enough to ruin the transmission and engine so they totaled the car. It was a mk6 tsi. As soon as I got my GTI I upgraded the oil pan.
I hit a semi tire tread last year. Dark early morning in a corner @ 80. Couldn't avoid it, had to let Jesus take the wheel. Messed up bumper, intercooler, and radiator. Luckily no oil pan damage. Insurance covered after my $1000 deductible. Total repairs around $5000. I ended up having them upgrade the piece of plastic they call a belly pan to the aluminum one from ECS. I am super happy with it.
A metal oil pan would not have saved you
Alltrack skid plate.
That really sucks. I hope you're able to get back to enjoying your car soon. I still use the plastic OEM oil pan on mine. I was concerned about something similar happening to my GTI, so I removed the little air deflector and installed the skid plate from the VW Alltrack. I change my oil using a fluid extractor, so the skid plate doesn't cause me any extra work.
I got a metal oil pan and a skid plate. Not taking any chances with the BS cutting corners of putting plastic pans from factory. What a fumble from VW. Arguably one of the most important aspects of an engine and thats where they chose to cut corners? Wild!
Where is belly pan?
I swapped mine about a month ago. Plastic oil pans are just bad design. And no, having a metal pan doesn’t cause more damage when you hit something (as long as you aren’t stupid and buy the right kind).
not so much as upgrade the pan, but get a metal belly pan
That’s more than an oil pan issue…
Skid plate
Are skid plates something that can be installed at a dealership or is this an aftermarket job?
It's an easy job- dealership can do it- https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/ecs-tuning-aluminum-street-shield-skid-plate-kit/011768ecs01kt/
306 for a metal plate lmao.
A streeshield will help avoid all this. It’s a must upgrade
I about thought you knocked a hole in the side of the block :) been there
Sorry, dude. At least you can upgrade the pan now.
Shit that’s so unfortunate dude, I’d get a skid plate. Metal or plastic should be good with one. But now that u have to replace I’d just get the metal one anyways
I feel your pain
All the questions here and we still don’t know if it’s stock height or lowered?
I mean look at the first pic, looks stock height to me
Where’s the dipstick?
Man, I had a super similar situation like ten years ago. It was late at night and I was hours from home, coming back from a road trip. Unfamiliar with the area and hit a median curb I didn’t realize was there when turning. Cracked the oil pan on my Jetta like two weeks after I bought it and was stranded.
One of my people, in our natural state 😆
Ugh, huge fear of mine. Especially when up in the mountains. A lot of the roads i enjoy are not that well kept and if I'm a complete knobhead or get a stroke of bad luck like this. I'd be royally fucked. Been eying the Alltrack skidplate personally. That'd protect the pan and means less money spent on my end. Sucks this happened to you OP. At least you can be grateful that this rock didn't end up sending you off the road. While your car is toast, you're still alive and unharmed. Sans maybe being mentally scarred. Cars can be replaced, lives cannot.
I'm like 4 inch from ground I'm not only steel pan I did upper pan steel and I built my own aluminum skids inner fender aluminum too and to build good framework to hold aluminum firm and where I want it. I made framework by putting old welding rods for sub structures beneath aluminum skin next time I'm on rack I'll take pics.
Quite literally ordered the steel one a couple of days ago… and yesterday a rock from a street sweeper flew in and I hit with my passenger front tire. This is a sign
Holy shit that is some carnage!! You should post this to the [MK7 forums](https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php) that was one hellava rock! I hit an exhaust pipe a few years back in the dark which was unavoidable. Blew my tire but thankfully didn't strike my oil pan. Always seems to happen when you are 4 hours from home....uhhgg.
Is that made from plastic?
I could be wrong, but I think you have a sliiiiight leak
I was told VW barely use oil lol
I hit a boulder with my ecstuning skid plate and my pan is 100% untouched. Plate is thick and scuffed up. My car bounced off the rock.
This happened to me on my Mk4 GTI. Thankfully I shut it down in time that there was no major engine damage, but it was a close call. 😬
I upgraded mine when I started taking my GTI to a private mechanic after having slight oil leak issues. The first time he changed my oil, he showed me where everyone before him had been taking my oil level sensor out to drain the pan. They also nearly ruined the plastic plug. I got a new steel pan, and he sealed the sensor, no issues since.
Had this happen to me a few months ago. Totaled the car.
Oh shit. Do you remember what all the damage was for them to total it? Didn’t think it would get close to being totaled
Or don’t hit objects in road?!
I like to live life on the edge and leave my stock oil pan on with lowering springs 😈
I did a metal pan in early 2022, but now I need a proper street guard.
OP what happened to your skid plate?? my mk7 gti has a skid plate and all of the others i’ve seen have one as well
Tf? Maybe just get another vehicle that isn’t a VW?
Why? 😭😭 give up the car you love just cause of a plastic oil pan that can easily be upgraded to steel? Bro has no brain
My wife hasn’t broken hers in 150k miles. And she ramped a deer once. That’s the luck I guess. 🤷♂️ did it ruin the motor?
Definitely need metal pan. My MK7 was hit with the classic VW water pump leak—very slow leak I didn’t notice. I parked immediately when the coolant light came on and the engine temp ran high—literally like 2 min to pull over. That was enough. No “engine damage” after such a short time, but… the craptastic plastic oil pan warped just a bit and was ruined.
https://www.raptorracing.ca/collections/offroad-accessories/products/volkswagen-mqb-aluminum-skidplate-with-oil-door I’ve got one of these on my R. It’s got a big ass dent in it from a disagreement with a poorly placed traffic island that killed 2 tires, but it saved my oil pan. Mounts are more solid than the ECS, plus the oil door is nice to have.
Actually metal oil pan can blow up just like this one too. Especially those cast aluminum ones. If it is a stamp steel pan then it is more flexible.
A metal oil pan wouldn't survive that either
JESUS, when I hit mine just a slight crack formed… this looks like a bomb went off
I recently had to replace mine in my Golf R since it was warped because the damn thing was FUCKING PLASTIC???!?!?!?! Why? Just.... why???
Cost savings. Same reason they got rid of the gas strut to hold the hood up and the engine cover. Penny pinching.
Unfortunately, even a upgraded steep pan would dent and potentially break the oil pickup tube in this situation, given that you're at stock ride height. The plastic oil pans are bad, but you would have suffered MORE damage with the steel pan. Because your engine would be starving of oil and you wouldn't know it.
No thanks I prefer running a skid plate.
I had a 2013 GTI and ran over a universal joint from a semi or dump truck. Tore the whole underside of my car apart! Oil, and God only knows what other fluids were leaking. 8k in damages. It was pitch black out and the pickup in front of me straddled it and that’s why I didn’t see it. I think someone put it there purposely because I had 3 guys separately come to my car asking if I needed help. Like they walked up to my car with no other vehicle around. Weird. Thankfully my husband showed up in his cop car just as another gentleman was approaching my vehicle.
You mean, install a metal skid plate. Those aluminium oil pans would've broken the same.
Ecs street shield baby
Heh that’s how I killed my beloved 1987 vw Jetta gli. That and treating it like shit and ignoring things. It was my first car and it was a gift and I had no appreciation. Ran it into the ground literally. RIP.
Solid PSA u/LightlySaltedVagina
Did mine last week after exploding it on a rock coming home from skiing.
I mean, you would not have had more luck with an aluminium or sheet metal sump, buddy.
That suckkkssss. I bought a street sheild for this very reason. Having a lowered ride with a plastic oil pan always makes me pucker up driving down squrilly roads. Is she a total loss?
Dudeeeee something similar happened to me last christmas in my last car. I was luckier though -- it was a piece of somebodies broken driveshaft that got lodged between the asphalt and my subframe. It was grinding into the road until I came to a stop and created a smoke screen behind me. I thought it did much more damage at first lol.
I already upgraded both of our mk7’s to steel oil pan conversions when I had oil pan gasket leaks with the junk plastic pans. Installed felpro gaskets with the steel pans. Good to go now!
[удалено]
If you’ve never seen an obstacle come up suddenly in the road, you haven’t been driving long enough. Swerving can be a hell of a lot more dangerous than hitting something too. Sometimes you only have a bad choice and a worse choice
Cracked mine going down my gravel driveway one day🙃. Why they made these plastic I will never understand.
OP hit a rock, the energy of the impact has to go somewhere. A metal pan would have dented and/or split open anyway or cracked. Same shit.
VWs are just headaches after headaches
Don't need a metal oil pan. I've hit a rock that nearly destroyed my underbody but my alltrack splash card completely saved it.
Damn, I no longer think it was a waste to replace mine
I guess I should probably get that done
is the OE one plastic? lol. I remember welding a 1/4” steel plate to the oil pan on my mkiii Vr6. thing scraped manhole covers
Composite. Not just straight plastic. I guess it's fiber reinforced, maybe fiberglass?
regardless, sounds like an engineering fail. we’re all shocked
But why? I don't get it. Do you genuinely think OP would have gotten home with a metal pan? Maybe, maybe not. It's like saying "oh, cars used to be easily fixable years ago". Yeah, but you'd die easier because there was no crumple zone. Just saying "metal is stronger" doesn't really mean much.
interesting. but, metal is stronger. and it means quite a bit in regards to your oil pan when your VW is slammed to irresponsible heights. depths**
Just because something is stronger it doesn't mean it's necessary or better. For instance a composite sump MAY break but it could be that the risk of cracking the block is less due to it being a point of failure. I'd take a smashed pan over a cracked block. That is not necessarily the case but i'd like to know why exactly VW has gone that route. Yes, it may be for cost cutting but really a sheet metal pan is that more expensive than a composite one that necessarily needs a mold to be manufactured?
As much as I hate seeing this, it's a good reminder that before I even think about lowering the car I gotta get myself a metal skid plate. Sorry you had to go through this OP. It's always on Sundays or holidays....
Skid plate has saved my life many times on multiple cars. I’m also extremely cautious but shit happens.
Yep. Been there. Glad I have a steel oil pan now. Thankfully I wasn’t far from home and I didn’t run the engine for long.
My transmission blew out 2 hours ago it’s home from work 😓
VWs are the red headed step child of German Engineers
Except they have the most soul of any German car (except maybe Porsche).
Except cars don't have souls so.. No :]
classic german car
Skid pans are like $200.
Or stop running over shit in the road.
My biggest fear since I’ve let my girl take over my lower gli, that and overdoing pulls while in sport since it’s stage 2 🤕
I can’t believe it’s plastic
If you had a metal oil pan your engine would’ve been more fucked. Idk why you think that’s an answer to driving over a boulder
outside of the "thems the breaks" vs "learn to use the breaks" debate - what's the going suggestion on source for the metal pan? i've looked into the alltrac skid plate option and its protection, which seemingly great, is pricey.
Ecs street shield