hole in oil pan. fixable?

Ive got a hole in the oil pan just above the front axle. i hit i small mound of grass which jarred the jeep (http://www.carforums.net/showthread.php?t=51901#) around a little but I don't believe it was enough for the front axle to come up and hit the oil pan. also the oil began to leak 20 yards after i hit the mound and i was completly stopped. something above the engine is clicking I have no idea what.

my main question is could something from the engine have been jarred loose and punctured down through the oil pan from above. or is there another explanation for why the oil would not start to come out as soon as the hole appeared. this is a 1993 jeep.

my secound question is how hard is it to replace/is it possible to replace and if so how much will it cost me any ideas or advice is greatly appriciated

can i even get the oil pan out?

Well, are the edges of the hole looking as if they are folded upwards or downwards? This will tell you the direction of the blow that made the hole.

If its folded upwards, the axle is responsible, and you should examine the bump stops to see why they did not prevent the axle from moving upwards so much.

Also check for other front end damage, like a bent axle, control arm, etc.

If the hole is folded downwards, a connecting rod may have broken.

Finally..............is your pan rusty?? Rusty pans can get very weak, allowing a hole to appear with the slightest impact.

Finally, I'm pretty sure the pan can come off with the engine still in the vehicle. Replacement steel pans are pretty cheap.

ok, ive got the pan out i guess what happened was the pan was weak and when i bounced around the axel went up and hit the pan then something swung down and hit the rased part repeatedly thats what i was hearing that was clicking. the swinging arm was what put the hole in it

~thanks

New oil pan for sure. The bottom end needs to be inspected while the oil pan is off. Things like signs of wear, oil pump screen blockage, so on and so forth. I saw an oil pan in Quadratec for the 4.0 and it was pretty reasonable on price. Fixing an oil pan is not something I personally would gamble with.

arite thanks ive got it off and the new ones on everything looks ok and its holding oil so far so good. ill have to try it out tomarrow moring again but so far no leaks