Oil Pan Gasket advice

After reading all of this I have decided to never attempt to replace my oil pan gasket :) I never make it more than a mile anyway so the oil never has a chance to leak.....:( Cheers
 
I use blue RTV on the pan and let it sit for 24 hours. I also soak the cork and rope seals in oil for 24 hours. A little 3M spray glue holds the cork gasket in place on the block. To make things easy, I put a stud on either side of the block in the center to hold the pan in place as well as a bolt to hold the oil pump in place. Since I'm running an A engine with a '39 transmission, I also put two studs at the rear of a block to make it easy to secure those "blind" studs with lock nuts. Yet to have a single leak in 25 years using this method.
 
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bunnyc said:
After reading through all the posts, I've decided not to use the Snyder's gasket and buy a plain cork gasket set.

I've cut the heads off 4 bolts and slotted the ends for a flat tip screw driver to use as guides for re-installing the pan.

Thanks for all the guidance.
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I have always used 4 headless bolts and stick the gaskets to the oil pan with a thin smear of rubber cement. The rubber cement is from a quart can that I have had for over thirty years, the label is long gone and I do not know the supplier.
 
Google "snyders oil pan gasket fordbarn"

Looks like any gasket will do if you have the sump/oil pan straight.
 
In my humble opinion ............ on a scale of 1 to 100 .......... for Model A serious, overall technical, mechanical installation difficulty ........... oil pan gasket installation difficulty, even though important, might rank a (.03).

Others may have different opinions which should be respected.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Tighten the an bolts GENTLY, or you'll "squish" out the cork gasket & it'll leak like a SIEVE!
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Follow this advice and forget ANY reference to torque printed any where. Tighten until you notice the gasket just starts to squish and stop.

Of course it goes without saying the pan edge needs to be straight and not wavy from previous attempts to torque the bolts to 20 Ft LBS!
 
Those rubberized/composite cork gaskets are NOT the same as a cork gasket.They work great,and can be used over and over.BUT,when they say install clean and dry,they mean it.That rubbery stuff slithers around and conforms nicely to nicks,burrs,scars,etc.It needs dry surfaces to bite into though.Real cork gaskets work just fine with your favorite flavor of goop,if you use it on the composite gaskets it creates problems.I have fixed a half dozen of these where the owners ignored the directions.They got fed up with crawling under the car and had me give it a try on the lift.I've seen these gaskets hanging out the sides from being squeezed.You can squash them out with just the socket in your hand,no ratchet used.The last one I did on an A pickup came in with the gasket bowed out at every bolt.I took every bolt out with a socket,by hand,no ratchet involved.He had sprayed copper coat on the gasket before installing.Plain cork is a whole different ball game,where the old conventional methods and chemicals apply.
 
The rear cork strip is PURPOSELY made a little long.
Work in each end, then work it in in the middle, then at 1/4 & 3/4 way in, then work in the remaining areas. Then a little DAB of sealer, where the ends meet the pan gasket. YES, it's a PAIN, when you're laying under the car, but you CAN do it!
Bill W.
 
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