Have a dent in my oil pan and a small leak is that a big issue or can i drive it like this for a while b4 i need to change it?

 

As long as you keep oil in it you should not worry about driving it. Check the oil periodically (on a flat pavement and when the engine off). Add oil if necessary. Keep driving if no oil is needed. As long as its between the two marks its safe to drive, but keeping it full is the best.

In terms of the dented oil pan if the dent has been there for a while and you've been driving it like that there should be no concerns about replacing it... I mean, if you can afford it I would replace it but if its not causing any oil pickup problems then its not such a big deal. Keep driving it. Find out where you are leaking oil, if its the oil pan gasket you can hit two birds with one stone by replacing them both. This will cost you a lot if you have a mechanic do the work for you. If you do the job yourself and have no experience, you risk damaging something... If you've never worked on valve covers before don't even think about working on an oil pan.

 

Fix it. I would fix it as soon as possible and run the engine as little as possible until it's fixed. A dented oil pan will cause the clearance between the oil pan and oil pick up to shrink, and if it's bad enough will cause oil starvation which leads to putting a new engine in the car. I've seen it first hand. Also, get a new gasket and find out the torque specs on the bolts. DO NOT over tighten the bolts, if you do they will either break or mushroom the gasket.and that will cause another oil leak and you're back to square one.

 

Yeah if its bad enough, but if its been driven for 10,000 miles or more with the same dent its not critical.

Very good words about not overtightening the bolts, I snapped a bolt off into my oil pan not too long ago. And yes you will ruin the gasket overtighening.

 

Not too sure how long its been there i recently purchased the car and had it sitting due to lack of insurance but i drove to a buddy of mines house and we seen a little drip of oil under my car after comparing my oil pan to his (same motor) we seen mines was dented and i believe the oil pan gasket hasnt ever been replaced

 

Replace the gasket and see if it still leaks. It can be slightly dented, especially with it being steel its fairly durable. But if it still leaks after PROPERLY installing the gasket just replace it. A "it will work for now, you'll be fine" fix is not the way to do anything.