Hello guys;

I replaced my oil pan gasket just 13 months ago, and it's now weeping oil along the rear edge. When installing, I made sure the gasket was well-seated, and torqued the pan bolts correctly and in the specified order. It was fine for a year, and now it's weeping.

Any ideas or tips on how to make sure this doesn't happen again? I'm picking up a new gasket today.

And another gasket question...with some of the "paper" gaskets, such as throttle body, induction elbow, even the transmission pan...is anyone using RTV in addition to the gasket itself? Is that standard, or a no-no? I'm asking because I replaced my transmission pan gasket about 2 months ago, and yes...you guessed it...it's weeping.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.


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Are you certain that every single remnant of the old gaskets were removed so you started fresh with a 100% clean surface prior to the new gaskets being fitted?

Bits and pieces of old gaskets left behind is the leading cause of new gaskets beginning to leak....

 

I have not used any type of sealant on either pan. No leaks.

 

In addition to a thorough surface cleaning as Jon suggested, it is generally a good idea to supplement paper gaskets with this spray: Buy Permatex High Tack™ Spray-A-Gasket™ Sealant 80065 at Advance Auto Parts

 

Have you tried re-torquing the bolts to specification? Sometimes the gasket settles a little, loosening up the fit.

Also this, are there three mating surfaces, instead of two? For example, two halves join together and a third piece "caps" the two. This makes for a "T" gap. This is the situation on the S Type's valve covers. Metal half-circle bungs are fitted to the head. The half-circle may not sit parallel to the head - valve cover mating surface. This can cause a high spot on one side of the bung, and a low spot on the other. The assembly instructions state to add a little sealant to the valve cover gasket at the junction point of the bung, head, and valve cover. There are 4 of these junctions per valve cover.

Perhaps your situation is similar, that 3 or more pieces join at the gasket surface. Using the "T" model, maybe you have a gap in the base of the T though the seal across the top of the T is good.

Another problem with applying sealant is that sometimes a "clump" of it, though tiny, might dislodge from the mating surfaces when you are fitting the pieces together. That clump then circulates within the reservoir defined by the mated pieces. If that is an oil sump, it could partially clog the strainer. Or if it gets past the strainer, jam the oil pump. Same with the transmission. The end result is bad news.

 

Thanks for the comments, guys...yes, I've always made sure that the mating surfaces were very clean before re-installing with new gaskets. For the transmission pan, that meant an hour under the car scraping very carefully with a razor blade until the surface was pristine.

I did re-torque all the bolts to spec, but the weeping remains.

Steve (WhiteXKR), thanks for the recommendation on the Permatex high-tack...I've purchased some and will give that a whirl on (another) new transmission pan gasket. That one throws me a bit...just a flat, light green gasket, to hold back all that transmission fluid with its ability to get anywhere. The oil pan gasket is a ridged rubber piece, which seems appropriate.


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