What could cause oil to leak (possibly broken oil pan) after an oil change attempt?

Question

i recently bought a 96 civic.. everything has been fine so far, no leaks until this afternoon when i went to have the oil changed at a local place. the guy comes up to me and says he refuses to do it because "something is wrong with the pan, it's leaking excessively" and didn't want to be responsible for possible breakage. i'm taking it to the shop tomorrow but i'd like a little insight as to WHY it would start leaking RIGHT WHEN THE GUY GOES TO CHANGE THE OIL? is it possible he messed something up while draining? any help is much appreciated, thanks!

Answer 1

it may have a crossthreaded drain plug,should of gave a clear explanation of why service was declined.

Answer 2

It is probably the gasket [washer] on the oil outlet. If so it is cheap to replace, but you have to use the correct one. Maybe guy no 1 didn't have one.

Answer 3

The pan could have been old and cracked if he tried to change it.

Answer 4

The pan plug was probably put in to tight after the last oil change and when he tried to remove the plug it started to tear the pan around the plug instead of loosening the plug. This scared him so he stopped.

You will have to force the plug out and repair or replace the pan after the oil drains if this is the case.

I have welded a patch over the drain plug hole and tapped a new hole in the patch to save an oil pan before, it is a little tricky but it saves a lot of time & money.

Answer 5

Check your oil and see if it looks like freash oil, witch looks clear, not black. this will tell you if ur oil was drained. if u do have clear oil, he drained it and probally crosstheaded ur drain plug on ur oil pan.  Need to cheack were it is leaking from, if it leaking down the front or the back of the pan it is a crank seal. if it is leaking around the plug, it is the plug.

Answer 6

no,its been leaking for sometime and you didnt know it.did you crawl under the car before you bought it?,did the previous owner? did you have the car inspected? was it half arsed patched up by the previous owner?,if he refused to touch it,he didnt drain it.

Answer 7

my wife took her car to walmart one time and the did not tighten the plug an d with in two days when had no oil and a leak down the bottom of the pan i would ask the shop to check the plug and the oil