Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Pan seal

Alright guys, I'm about to take a BFH to my oil pan. I can't get the rear oil pan seal to stop leaking. I put in a new seal today, and every time I tried to tighten it down the seal would bulge, then come out. Finally I cut down the small extensions at the top of the seal, that extend above the "wings". I cut those flush, and it helped. A small part of the seal managed to bulge out again, but I had to get this project wrapped up. When I cranked it up, there was a thin constant stream of oil coming out. The oil only came out when it was running. Even after I shut it off, then cranked it back up and shut it off again. I need help. I'm about really to kick the oil pan. Thanks. John

One maybe silly question here first Are you sur eit's theoil pan seal and Not the Rear Main seal doing the leaking?? Also at the corners where the rubber meets the the cork Main rail gasket are you adding some RTV If not This could be where you are leaking your oil from.Hope this helps
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Just as larry said,Sounds like a rear main seal leaking. Did you turn the seal the right direction? The lip of the seal faces the frt. of the motor so when the oil hits it, it pushes the seal against the Crankshaft. just some thoughts-Paul

It's definately not the rear main. When I pull the pan back off (Saturday) I'm going to double check everything. Did y'all have to trim the seal like I explained before? I'm hoping it's only leaking because it's pinched a little bit. I'll try adding a little RTV also. Hopefully I can nip this in the butt. Thanks. John

you shouldn't have to cut anything The main rubber seal goes under the pan rail gasket add just a touch Rtv to the area and You should be good to go leak free. I would also maybe look very closely to the Oil pan maybe it some warpage?? hope this helps }[oooooo]

That's pretty much what I thought in the first place. The only problem was, when I started to tighten down the bolts (forward to rear) the seal would actually bulge out from between the pan and the rear main. The Power Manual says that the tabs are left in place, and to install the wings over the side gaskets. Does the over or under make a big difference? Thanks for the help. John

I just did this yesterday. I think the pan rails go under on one end and over on the other. I don't remember which one is over and which one is under. I did trim the cork at a little angle to match the front tab. I used prematex #2. I used silacone on the one I had taken off and the cork was split and bulging out the side where it met the front and rear tabs. I think I over tightened the bolts with the silicone. I started it today and no leaks. The silicone pan did not leak either.

The Gasket for the main Rail Goes over The top of the wings. Think about this for a sec When You put the motor together The oil pan is the Last thing to go on. Timing cover is already in place so is the rubber Gasket and the rubber gasket for the rear main
now
main
rail
gasket for the oil pan. So where is it sitting Over the tabs. So before you install the main rail gasket add a little RTV then lay the rail gaskets in place. Hope this helps.}[oooooo]

I am wondering if it is possible you are over tighten the bolts and it is crushing the cork.I always use yellow 3m weather stripe cement on the block to hold the gasket in place. Then rtv or ultra on the ends as Larry mentioned.Yeah,I no that Monkey glue is hard to remove...hehehehe the bolts just need to be a little tigher than snug maybe like 20-25 INCH lbs.

i just did my timing chain gaskets n that....i used that red silicon stuff....then tightened everything fairly tight by hand....i dont have a torque wrench but some things will work fine without it....i have absolutely no leaks from the engine now...and it was leaking like a siv before....

I'm planning on dealing with this tomorrow. I'm not having any problems with any of the cork gaskets, front seal, or the rear MAIN seal. Oly the rear pan seal. I'm not overtightening the bolts either. When I start to snug them down, the rear pan seal begins to bulge. I've got a couple extra rear pan seals, so If one way doesn't work then I'll use another. Thanks guys. I'll let y'all know how it goes. John

well i just did my tranny gaskets today....i experienced the bulge thing...i took the pan back off and the spot that bulged had tranny fluid on it...but i couldnt stop it cause it was a slow drip from the trnny....i added some non hardening gasket in that spot and didnt tighten it as much and i havent noticed any leaks yet....but make sure your surface is clean and dry....

Try a dry run without the end rubber and see how much of a gap you have. Sounds like a simple case of using a gasket thats too thick for the application. Small block Chevy gasket sets always include two different thicknesses of pan end gaskets for this reason, maybe you need to get a different one than what's included in the gasket set you have. If the gap isn't real excesive, you might be able to make your own buy laying in a good bead of silicone and letting it firm up, then add a little fresh stuff to the pan and then install. Let everything dry before running the engine.

Alright guys, I kinda feel dumb on this one. My rear main cap is grooved. Well I didn't have the driver's side top of the seal in the groove. That cause the seal to bulge. The bad thing is, I cut the seal again before I figured that out. It still leaked, but less. So I got another one, but I'll have to do it tomorrow. Hopefully it'll work with out cutting the tabs.

BTW, the Fel-Pro gaskets had a piece of paper with installation instructions on it. It said that there were 2 types of rear caps. A grooved and a non-grooved. With the grooved, you had to trim all but 1/16" of the vertical tabs, because of the rear main seal's wings. With the non-grooved you left the vertical tabs because the rear main seal didn't have wings. My rear main doesn't have wings, so I'm going to leave them on and try it. Thanks again guys. John