If you notice oil collecting under your car or oil stains in your driveway, your oil pan may have a leak. This can happen when a rock flies up and pokes a hole in the pan or in any number of other circumstances. If your oil pan has a leak, fix it quickly and with a minimum amount of effort.
Drain the oil from your car, or if the leak is slow, you can skip draining it. Use a flashlight to find the hole in the oil pan. Use a steel reinforced epoxy adhesive sealant -- such as J-B Weld Company's J-B Stik -- to plug the hole. Squeeze enough epoxy out of the container to cover the hole. Knead it between your fingers for one minute and apply to the hole. The epoxy will cure in 20 to 30 minutes and your oil pain will be fixed without having had to remove it.
Remove the oil pan to fix it if you cannot find the hole with your flashlight and naked eye. You will first need to drain the oil from your vehicle. Then pour some of the oil into the oil pan and see where it leaks through. Knead the epoxy and cover the hole with it on the bottom of the pan. The oil pan does not need to be clean in order to do this.
Look at your oil pan to see if rust damage is to blame for the leak. If rust damage has degraded the oil pan significantly, you cannot fix it and will have to purchase and install a new oil pan.
