Oil pan installation frustration!!!!!!

[my427cobra]

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