replacing oil pan gasket. any tips?

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heck91426

Member
Hey Fellas , I am replacing the pan gasket on my late Dads half finished hot rod (I suppose i should post more about that). Looking for some tips especially on the white rope end seals. Soak them in oil? motor oil? sealant on the corners? a little grease on the cork gaskets to hold them while I put it up? remove the starter for an easier time?


Thanks in advance
Mark
 

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heck91426 said:
Hey Fellas , I am replacing the pan gasket on my late Dads half finished hot rod (I suppose i should post more about that). Looking for some tips especially on the white rope end seals. Soak them in oil? motor oil? sealant on the corners? a little grease on the cork gaskets to hold them while I put it up? remove the starter for an easier time?


Thanks in advance
Mark
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If the engine is in the car, get a set of these. I got them with the last SBC gasket set I bought and they're a big help. They are 5/16 thread and fit a flathead fine. They screw into the block, and you slide the pan (with gasket) up over them until it snaps in place. The insert the rest of the bolts, remove these (with a screwdriver), and put in the last four.

Other than that, the last pan gasket kit I bought (Fel-Pro) had detailed instructions on how to do the rope seals. Look in the package.
 

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After you soak them in oil install in pan and use a large socket to roll them in place. Some guys say to trim off ends. There is about a 1/16 sticking up from edge of pan on both sides. The vendor I got mine from said do not trim, that they will shrink with use. I did not trim and so far no leaks. My car is a four cylinder so if yours is a V8 it may be different.
 
Well? I've always had to trim my seals....
Read the instructions, mine, I think from "Best Gasket" said you can soak the graphite (grey) ones in oil, but not the Teflon ones.
I put a little assembly grease and some oil on the Teflon one, as the engine builder had fitted it dry. Possibly because it sat for a few weeks, the Teflon had stuck to the crankshaft. I took the oil pan off because he failed to follow my instructions so I could use a 80% full flow filter. So I decided to run a 100% filter which requires removing the oil pan.
Make sure the seal is pushed deep into the recess and then sit the gasket on the pan rail and trim the seal off with a razor blade. You will have to check what height they have cut the seal on the engine side.
The ends of the seal should meet at the same time the oil pan meets the block (with the gasket on, obviously).
I cut my seals about 0.010" higher than the gasket, but the recommendation is flush.
I much prefer composite gasket over cork. And I used a thin layer of Hylomar Blue sealant on both sides of the gasket, and where the gasket meets the seal.If you go with the cork be careful when you tourqe the bolts up as it is easy to split the cork, especially if you use grease or RTV .
 
I find some short studs or cut down bolts do a good job of holding the gaskets in place and guiding the oil pan. Soak the end seals overnight or longer in oil. I trim the ends of the gaskets to fit around the front seal. I use sealant in this area and where the gasket slips under the end of the rear seal. Another trick is to pre curve the rear seal by curling it up and putting it inside a mug or other handy round object. Again do it overnight while the other seals are soaking. I've never done the job in a car so cannot advise on that.
Mart.
 
When I went to work at the phone company the mechanics were using Gasgacinch; you brush a coat on the gasket and the block and let it almost dry and then stick the gaskets on. It won't move when you go to put the pan on. The gaskets come off easily later on, it's not like most other contact cement where it's a nightmare to get it off, you have to wire brush the gaskets off. It's good stuff, the only thing is it won't last long once you open the can, maybe 6-months, so don't buy a large can of it. I used this stuff for 30-years and never found anything I liked better. Also, what I liked was it didn't leave a bunch of gasket material glue squeezed out, just a nice clean gasket.
 
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