May 30, 2023
We have a great new puzzle for everyone. A very automotive puzzler.
Here goes. A while back, a long time ago back in the 1980s at our shop, an odd thing happened. We had occasion to replace not one, not two, but three oil pans. Three!
Now the oil pan is that stamped steel reservoir that holds the motor oil that's in your engine. And from the beginning of time, oil pans are made in the same fashion.
Okay, listen. All three of these were replaced because they rotted away. Now, you might say how could an oil pan rot away? After all, throughout its entire life, it's bathed in oil.
So the inside always has oil in it, so these rusted from the outside.
There we were, we had just completed the third oil pan replacement and the guys and I was standing around, which we did a lot back then. We were looking at the brand new oil pan, admiring our work.
It should be noted that the oil pan replacements were not working on the same car. It was three different cars. But the cars don't matter in this one.
Anyway, we were looking at the new oil pan, and thinking about how years ago, there were oil pans that have never rotted away. So one of the guys says, "Boy these oil pans must be made out of real cheap junk that they rot away this quickly."
And one of the other guys said, "That's not it at all."
And as soon as he said that, I said, "You know, you're right. It has nothing to do with the quality of the steel. There's some other factor involved."
I'll give you a hint. The hint is that all three of these cars were front wheel drive cars.
What is going on here?
Good luck.
Answer time for this puzzler about oil pans.
Three oil pans, rusted out. Oil pan, also called crank case... you remember. They all rusted out from the outside.
Why did this happen?
And here you go.
Remember this was a long time ago. So this doesn't happen now. But then, it was an issue.
So, all three of these cars were front wheel drive cars. And because the cars were front wheel drive, the engines in these cars were mounted transversely, so the exhaust pipe had to pass under the oil pan. The exhaust has to get from the front of the car to the back, and now there are front wheel drive cars with the exhaust pipe does not pass under the oil pan and of course those wouldn't be affected. But then, this was a thing.
So in ths case of these three cars, the proximity of the exhaust pipe to the oil pan speeds up the rusting reaction, the chemical reaction.
And that is why the oil pans were rusting out so fast.
