Question for the engineers - Aluminium sheet

[Jamieg285]

I'm thinking of making a floor/drip tray to bolt under the camaro, to stop the persistant oil leaks from getting on the drive.

I want it to be light, so aluminium is the obvious choice. I want something I that's not too thin that it needs re-inforcing or too many mounting points, but thin enough that I can bend and shape it, specifically putting 90 degree folds around the edges.

What sort of thickness due I need to look for?

[Titsy]

Why not just find and fix the leaks?

[Andy]

Ill go with what Totsy says, what happens once the tray is full? Say you're driving down the road, a lot of oil under the rear wheels could be bad news!

Why not just get a drip tray like the one RK has up for sale. Whack it under the car jobs done!

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: Titsy

Why not just find and fix the leaks?

Tried that. Fitted a new felpro sump gasket and rear main seal.  Didn't help, still leaks at the same place.  I suspect it's the pan slightly bent, but it's a real pain to replace in situ. Did it when the engine was out last time.

Quoting: Andy

what happens once the tray is full? Say you're driving down the road, a lot of oil under the rear wheels could be bad news!

Why not just get a drip tray like the one RK has up for sale. Whack it under the car jobs done!

The leak isn't that bad, but is doing a great job of staining the drive.  The idea is that I would clean it out a couple of times a year as part of regular maintenance.  There'd never be enough that it would spill out.

Did consider a drip tray, but don't really want to leave something like that out on the drive.  Hence why I thought of bolting one to the bottom of the car.

[Cunning Plan]

All the bus guys just stick some wood on the drive where they usually park and make sure they park over it.

Some even take a bit of wood out with them to put in public car parks to avoid stains.

[philoldsmobile]

depends how big it is. with a couple of strengthening ribs in it, you wouldn't need it especially thick, 2mm would be more than enough, in reality 1.6mm would suffice. a LOT would depend on the design

[art b]

KISS.....

a piece of 4mm ply/hardboard on the drive change it when its sodden...

[Andy]

Yep, you need to consider how you're going to design, you can anneal it with a torch to soften it up for rolling the edges. We have a box fold press here that does a great job, but for about 2mm ally, you end up with about a 3-5mm radius. Also are you going to weld the corners, TIG welding is quite an art to get right. Lastly how do you plan to bolt it on? Couple or more right angle ears off the sides?

Tbh, what Art says is true, whacking a sheet of plywood down that you drive on and park has got to be the easiest and cheapest option. I think a sheet of ally is around £30-50 now...

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Andy

Tbh, what Art says is true

I said it first.

[Jamieg285]

A wood drip tray is a good idea (as are all so far), but it's still untidy leaving something out on the drive.

It's still very early days for design so far, I've not even looked underneath for measurements and suitable mounting points.

I'll be doing all the fab work manually at home, so it needs to be fairly simple.  I'm not looking for perfection, as hopefully it's not going to be that visible. I'll probably look for some 1.6, as it will be easier for me to work with.

I won't be attempting any ally welding, I'll just bend/overlap the corners and find some way to seal them.

Any suggestions on how to add some strengthening ribs?

[Andy]

Quoting: Jamieg285

Any suggestions on how to add some strengthening ribs?

pop rivet if you want easy joining.

Quoting: Cunning Plan

I said it first.

[Cunning Plan]

[Roadkill]

I used to tie some rags around the cross members of some of my cars in the past . . . oil finds it's way to them - then periodically change them.