Installing pan gasket with motor in car

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mellow_utah

mellow_utah

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Well I wish I had looked on here before I bought that fancy 1 piece oil pan gasket. After install and continuous leaking I looked on here and found out its for magnum engines (although I dont know the difference). Anyways, I am swapping the k member and front suspension and was wondering (with the engine hanging from a cherry picker in the car) if the K member is pulled, I assume the pan gasket should be easy to get out. I didnt use sealant befor because it was a rubber gasket. The new gasket is rubber on the ends and paper on the sides (milodon gasket). My question is can I use High temp RTV or something to gold the gasket to the block or would it be better to apply the gasket to the pan side? I ask because I imagine it could be dificult to get everything aligned without some sort of adhesive. Any help is appreciated.
 
I would think the pan would be easier. Make sure the holes all around the pan rail are flat, sometimes they will be cupped from tightening the bolts.

Flatten the pan rail, clean it real good and run a thin bead of RTV around the pan circling the holes. Put the gasket in place and drop the bolts in from the top to keep it aligned and let it sit over night. Install it the next day, or when you're ready.
 
Get everything absolutely clean and grease free (use brake cleaner) and brush on a good coat of Permatex #3 "Aviation Form-A-Gasket" onto both sides of the gasket and any threads that go through into the crankcase. OR, throw the gasket away and glue the pan on with a 3/8" bead of RTV. Don't use RTV with a paper gasket.
 
Dont use rtv with paper gaskets? Curious as to why just because I hadnt heard that before? That might be the reason for my thermostat housing leak cause it is a paper gasket and I used RTV. Can somebody get the aviation gasket maker at just any auto part store? Do you guys have a preference between gasket/gasket maker vs just RTV? I will check the holes before hand to see if the holes are bent (done that before). I am hoping theyre good because the one piece seal had metal sleeves to keep from crushing the gaskets.
 
mellow_utah said:
Dont use rtv with paper gaskets? Curious as to why just because I hadnt heard that before? That might be the reason for my thermostat housing leak cause it is a paper gasket and I used RTV. Can somebody get the aviation gasket maker at just any auto part store? Do you guys have a preference between gasket/gasket maker vs just RTV? I will check the holes before hand to see if the holes are bent (done that before). I am hoping theyre good because the one piece seal had metal sleeves to keep from crushing the gaskets.
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I bought some at NAPA. The 4 ounce bottle is part #80019.
 
mellow_utah said:
Awesome, Thanks! That is a sweet looking barracuda by the way!
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Thanks Mellow. That particular Permatex is the best gasket sealant I've found. The only complaint I would have about it is that it will tend to seep away from your gasket for quite a while after putting it on. Maybe I've been using too much? - But I usually figure that I will have a bit of sealant cleanup to do when I use it.
 
do you apply it like bad sport said above, letting it sit overnight or can it go right on there?
 
mellow_utah said:
do you apply it like bad sport said above, letting it sit overnight or can it go right on there?
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You can put it right on, I usually let a gasket set overnight to help keep it from squishing out.

You do have paper though, which I missed in your post, so it may not be an issue. Cork and/or rubber tend to want to squish out when tightening.
 
Do what Bruce/Badsport said with letting it sit overnight. I originally did the RTV with not waiting and the gasket was squishing out the sides. The purpose of the RTV is to "grab/seal" onto the pan. The block is perfectly flat so the gasket will seal there perfectly. Now my gasket was cork, I dunno if paper makes a difference or not.
 
Yeah, I don't think the paper would squish out like cork or rubber. I've never used one though.
 
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