Oil pan gasket.

Rakkasan

Rakkasan

Member
I've what I consider a very bad oil leak out of the back of the oil pan and so I've decided to change the gaskets. The only gasket I have a concern about is the cork gasket at the rear of the oil pan.

Since it's a straight piece of cork I put it in a coffee can for a few days so it would take the approximate shape I want, but in reading the manual it says the cork gasket needs to be soaked in oil along with the asbestos gasket at the front.

My question is once the cork gasket is soaked in oil, how do you get the permatex sealant to stick to it so it will stay in place until you put the pan on? I'm assuming you wipe off the excess oil before attempting it.
 
Rakkasan, which "gasket/seal" are to referring to. There are several around the oil pan. There is the two side oil pan to block gaskets, there is the thicker cork or silicon/cork gasket which goes over the rear main bearing cap, there is the front seal which goes around the crankshaft pulley and there is the rear crankshaft seal(several types) at the rear of the rear main bearing.
 
Mike said:
soak the front gasket in oil, permatex the rear gasket

mike
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Well I already started soaking the rear gasket but it was only in for a couple of hours. I took it out, wiped it off, and it didn't look like it had absorbed very much oil. Thanks.
 
AL in NY said:
Rakkasan, which "gasket/seal" are to referring to. There are several around the oil pan. There is the two side oil pan to block gaskets, there is the thicker cork or silicon/cork gasket which goes over the rear main bearing cap, there is the front seal which goes around the crankshaft pulley and there is the rear crankshaft seal(several types) at the rear of the rear main bearing.
Click to expand...

Thanks Al. I was referring to the thick rear cork gasket.
 
If you don't like having to fool around with the cork gasket that fits into the groove of the rear main bearing cap....Try using the rear pan gasket from a 350 cu in Chev engine. Fits and works perfectly. Viton material
 
Rakkasan said:
Thanks Al. I was referring to the thick rear cork gasket.
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Every one I've installed fits tightly in the groove of the rear bearing cap, so you only need to put a dab of sealant on the 2 ends, where it meets the side gaskets.

I soak the cork in hot water for a couple minutes to make it flex better.
 
Wouldn't soaking the cork in oil be asking for a leak? Sort of like touching a canvas tent wall during a rain storm? I always try to keep surfaces clean of oil so not to start a trail.
 
some one once told me a way thats worked great take a needel and thread, thred it though the ends of the cork then just tie up in place around motor after pan is installed just snip thread.
 
I just did my pan gaskets and the cork gasket that fits in the rear main fits snug in the cap like Tom W stated and I also soaked my gasket in warm water. all went well
 
An old ford mechanic showed me this method. Soak the cork in a bucket of water, dry the surface, then spray all sides with aluminum paint. Used this on y-block valve cover gaskets back in the 60's. Now I get to use this trick. Bob
 
Well, I got the cork gasket in with little to no problems and everything fit snug and tight. I put in the required five quarts of oil and cranked it up letting it run for about 15 minutes with no leaks. I took it out for a drive and when I got back I noticed it was leaking again about one drop every 3-5 seconds from the bottom of the flywheel housing. I asked an old timer about it and he said that when I get to be 81 years old I'm going to have a few leaks too.
 
MrTube said:
Wouldn't soaking the cork in oil be asking for a leak? Sort of like touching a canvas tent wall during a rain storm? I always try to keep surfaces clean of oil so not to start a trail.
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Yeah, that was my first thought too. The instruction manual said to soak it and I made the assumption I was supposed to soak it in oil since it was an oil gasket.
 
Rakkasan said:
Well, I got the cork gasket in with little to no problems and everything fit snug and tight. I put in the required five quarts of oil and cranked it up letting it run for about 15 minutes with no leaks. I took it out for a drive and when I got back I noticed it was leaking again about one drop every 3-5 seconds from the bottom of the flywheel housing. I asked an old timer about it and he said that when I get to be 81 years old I'm going to have a few leaks too.
Click to expand...
Rear main is either out of specs or broken.
 
Rear main bearing. It's a poured babbet bearing. If the babbet cracks you have to have the bearing re-poured.
 
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