Oil pan gasket?

[Ruger_556]

I did a Fel-Pro gasket kit while I had the engine out and the cork oil pan gasket leaks. Can I drop the pan down enough to peel the gasket off and use silicone if I loosen the engine mounts and jack it up a little?

 

[OLDBULL8]

Sure you can, but you'lll have a hell of atime getting it sealed, specially the front and rear main. Get too much on and you'll have sealer floating around, good way to plug up the oil cooler tubes.

 

[riotwarrior]

I did a Fel-Pro gasket kit while I had the engine out and the cork oil pan gasket leaks. Can I drop the pan down enough to peel the gasket off and use silicone if I loosen the engine mounts and jack it up a little?

Hi

Welcome to OB

First sorry to hear about this conundrum. The bottom line is those gaskets where NEVER installed from the factory. It was RTV only from IH no gasket. Why the companies felt a need to produce something for which there was never a use I'll never know.

Now to answer yer question. First yes it's possible, will it work, NOT likely.

Oldbull stated the front and rear seal area are going to be a ****** and I agree, also so will the rest of the whole pan and pan rail on the block.

For RTV to work correctly you need those surfaces to be surgically clean. I mean cleaner than surgically clean. If ever there is a tiny bit of oil residue on pan or rail, the RTV will cure but will not adhere to that spot and a leak will ensue for sure!

This is why, you must clean that pan rail with a good cleanser and have the engine UPSIDE DOWN so no oil can leak down and contaminate when installing the pan. The pan also must be cleaned and dry.

Use a good quality RTV or something like Hylomar.

There will be others whom chime in with their experience as well, my #1 concern is always to be better than surgically clean cause people have an immune system to fight off stuff...engines don't...they must be cleaner than anything!

Now go and take a look around the FAQ and tech sections...also Hall of Shame for some good info and where not to spend cash!

Thanks for droppin in...

Again

Welcome to OB

Al

 

[Ruger_556]

I got some Right Stuff gasket maker and I think I can do it pretty cleanly without getting in the pan. I work on Freightliners with Series 60 Detroit's so I have lots of practice with silicone. I've had good luck using it on turbo drains when it's not always oil free. Wish I knew gaskets where no no when I had it out

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum Ruger.. Sorry you found out the hard way about the pan gasket. The only reason a gasket company will add a gasket is for the money. Sadly you probably will end up making a horrible mess of the pan gasket. The factory manuals tell us you can lift the engine, remove a motor mount, remove the radiater fan shroud and hoses. then be able to drop the oil pan but it will not come out unless you remove the oil pump and feed line to it. That suction line reaches down to the bottom of the pan and is about 1/8 inch off of it. also there is the main bearing suction line mount that needs to be removed. The problem with all this is once the oil pump has dropped into the pan you can't really reach it because our hands and wrists don't bend that way. So pulling the engine. Removing the gasket. Getting the surfaces clean with something that does not leave a dry film or residue like brakeclean. Some like using laquior thinner or other non residue leaving cleaner. I use braeclean. The use permatex ultral copper plus rtv because its worked for me many times in the past 25 years with no leaks.. Ever. This forum has a lot to offer about these trucks and engines. Please ask before you turn a wrench so we can advise you on the easy.. Not really the correct way to wrench on these engines or trucks. We have more collective experiance than any dealership on the planet. Many of the members here have found easy ways to repair these rigs. I'm sure you have found simple fixs in your line of work too. One example is the easy way to remove an injection pump is just remove the 4 bolts holding the gear cover to the engine. then lift off the pump with the lines connected. Thats the wrong way to do it because the pump is still connected to the injection pump gear in the housing. There is no way you can just simply replace that gear and get the gear timing correct. Its a big long deal to make that mistake right but we can guide those thru it if they mess up. There are other common mistakes new owners make but they usually are not as bad and much easier to fix.

 

[Ruger_556]

I was going to try and peel the gasket off without pulling the pan off completely. I hasn't been on there for more than 4,000 miles so it might still come off in one piece?