Oil pan installation frustration!!!!!!
 

I need oil pan installation advice after two frustrating attempts and two gasket sets, to install the oil pan on my 351 Cleveland. The engine is in the car and I have good access to removing and installing the pan from below.

The frustration is getting the molded nitrile rubber end seals to stay in place. I’ve read many different “instructions” on how to install the gaskets and end seals. The problem is they all interchangeably use the terms “adhesive”, “adhesive sealant”, “sealant”, and “silicone sealant” (some times in the same sentence) when referring to the end seals.

Here is what I’ve done twice unsuccessfully. I’ve tried using “Permatex Ultra Black RTV Silicone Gasket Maker” (which comes in the pressurized caulking tube) to stick the molded end seals to the crank end caps. A small tube of Permatex Ultra black came in the oil pan gasket set, but I did’t use it.

In spite of painstaking effort to clean the end caps (with a 3M abrasive pad and brake cleaner they were spotless and oil free), the Permatex will not hold the seals in place while I lift the pan up. The seals just fall off after a couple of minutes.

I am using “Gasgacinch Gasket Sealer” to hold the cork pan rail gaskets in place and that works real well.

I was then going to put a bead of Permatex Ultra Black all along the pan rail and along the end seals for additional sealing.

So before I try a third attempt and a third gasket set, I am now thinking to clean the end caps again and then use Gasgacinch to hold the molded end seals in place.

Any wise tips?

Greg

Where's it been leaking from?

Yes to gaskasinch to help hold end seals in place
How about one piece rubber oil pan gasket from ford racing

I have more trouble with the one piece gaskets than any others, especially when dealing with new timing chain covers. I fight them on Windsors and on the 385 series stuff as well.

If it's the 3rd try, then he needs to figure out what the issue is first. Most common areas of leaks come from the corners where the pan meets the timing covers and in the back where the pan snugs around the rear main cap. You really need to use a good bit of RTV there (or Right Stuff), to the point where it starts to squish out a hair.

I run small beads of RTV inside the rear main cap groove as well as the timing cover groove, making sure I leave a little blob down in the holes where the tabs go, then lay the end seals down in them. After that, I run another small bead on top of the end gaskets. I also put a thin coat of RTV on both sides of the cork side gaskets.

Hi blykins. No leak from the oem pan, just dented and beat up. Putting on a new chrome t-pan.

Greg

Hi carmine. They only make a one piece gasket for the 351 Windsor. Unfortunately they don't make a one piece gasket for the 351 Cleveland.

Greg

yeah that is frustrating i know.....i tend to go old school on those..
i use either aviation gasket seal, (jar with brush) or the tube of permatex #2
the brown crap looking Goo. they both are sticky enough to hold the end seals, as far as the pan gasket goes, glue it to the pan first. then with a couple of screws started you can use an awl to shift the gasket to get the other screws in.....if your doing it alone you will have a harder time. works better with a set of hands holding the pan while you put the screws in


Fred

Make sure you pay close attention to how the pan fits in the front and back.

Also, make sure you check pickup/pan clearance. Oil pans can be all over the place in dimensions/tolerances.

sounds like its in the car? i would use pan studs and black rtv on the pan and install that way.

Glue the gasket to the pan with 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive, letting it set up for several hours to make sure it is in place. Then put a thin coat of Permatex 2B on the gasket and install it.

I've used this method for year, learning it from my dad who used the same technique for 40+ years

I just saw a tv commercial for denture adhesive. Maybe I'll-------- no I guess I'll use the Gasgacinch. Thanks for all the tips.

Greg

weld it on.....:p

+1 for the 3m weatherstrip adhesive

Studs and self locking Jet nuts forever. No 3rd hand necessary.

I used Permatex Hylomar with a dab of The Right Stuff at each end of the crank shaft seals. I am not using a one piece seal, I used Moroso oil pan gasket seals. No leaks. I used the Hylomar when I installed the 2 piece rear main seal and again,no leaks. I had intake gaskets leaking oil and hylomar solved the problem. It's like Franks Hot Sauce, I use that s__t on everything!

I have actually heard that some of the Chrome pans are made a little differently and will never fit right.

I would take both pans off and put them together bolt holes to bolt holes and make sure they line up. Put a string between them and measure the depth of the curved ends to make sure the new chrome one is the same depth as the old dented one.

I did this once a long time ago and the new chrome pan was deeper in the curved areas. That is what was causing the leaks on mine. I went back to the old pan and solved the problem.

Just something else to look at and check.

________________
Ferrari Killer
Steve

Must Sell Right Now

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I use Permatex High Tack on the block and on the block side of the cork gaskets and on the end seals. If installing with the engine in the car I put it on the block and gasket mating surface only and let it dry for a while. Then I place the side gaskets on first and then the ends over them if it's a three piece set. Letting it dry for a bit makes it act like contact cement and it will hold in place. Then I put dabs of silicone in the corners and a small bead on the end surfaces on top of the end seals, or if you are looking from the bottom, the bottom of the seals where they will mate with the pan. This material seems to work the same as the 3M method. I have done this method for years and never had a problem.

Wayne