2011 128i manual - oil pan & gasket questions

[J0shTN]

Recently purchased a 2011 manual 128i from a couple states away. After a good look over after delivery, I noticed there is an oil pan leak. I say oil pan because I'm not entirely sure it isn't the pan itself in the rust spots, the gasket, or both. My initial thought was to also replace the oil pan because of the surface rust but was surprised at the cost of the replacement oil pans that fit the manuals.

How thin are the stock oil pans on the manuals? This would help me answer if a sanding and recoat is possible.

I found this older thread of a conversion to an aluminum oil pan from an automatic. Has anybody else completed this conversion? How'd it stand up over time? Aside from the horizontal drain port, what negatives are there? I don't want to put another stock oil pan on if it will just end up in a similar condition.

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1633304

[4JawChuck]

The stock steel 128i manual trans oil pan is powder coated and quite thick, from your photo it appears sandblasting and repaint should salvage your rusty original pan. I would be careful about pinholes where the heavy corrosion is but compared to a North American car these pans are heavy duty thickness in comparison.

[J0shTN]

I found an inexpensive aluminum oil pan to have ready and noticed a scratch across the sealing surface that will catch a nail. I don’t want to create a low spot by sanding it out. I was thinking of using a hone to knock down the high spots and considering a layer of silicone between the gasket and oil pan. Would the OEM gasket seal fine? What alternatives would you recommend? I’m wanting to avoid doing the swap twice.

[cerealwars]

I'm probably a little late to the party here, but yeah RTV should easily seal a scratch that size. Black or gray should do just fine.