Oil Pan Gasket

Depends. Do you have a removeable cross member underneath of it?

No everything is stock. Is that something I can buy.

yes you can buy or make the removable cross member ... still not an easy task but it can be done ... the emergency brake bracket will also have to be removable.

Yes I found at least one removable cross member on line, but what about the emergency brake bracket? Is that something I have to modify or is that also available?

Yes, a removable emergency brake bracket is also available from the vendors.

Just did that yesterday, not the best job to do but can be done. I would not remove the frame brkt just to pull the pan. You can saw zall the e-brake brkt off and weld it back on after you are done if you want or put on a removeable one also.Let the motor sit for a day or two to get as much oil in the pan as poss. that way the drips stay out of you face.

so you're saying that I don't have to remove the cross member in order to drop the pan? I thought I had to.

The cross member has to be removed in order for the pan to be dropped in addition to removing the e-brake bracket.

Mark

Okay thanks, I wasn't quite sure what billg72469 meant when he said he "would not remove the frame brkt just to pull the pan".

Dennis, try the lazy solution. If it leaks at a corner, wipe and brush that corner with gasoline from beneath (wear goggles). Let dry. Apply plenty of RTV. Let dry 24 hours.

I know this is a stop gap solution, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I did it once with success, knowing that the engine would have to come out next year anyway, and it worked. Worth trying?

Or you can cut out your orig cross member, bolt in new. But lowering the oil pan and getting gaskets to seal upside down, is a nightmare.

quote:

Originally posted by No Quarter:
Dennis, try the lazy solution. If it leaks at a corner, wipe and brush that corner with gasoline from beneath (wear goggles). Let dry. Apply plenty of RTV. Let dry 24 hours.

I know this is a stop gap solution, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I did it once with success, knowing that the engine would have to come out next year anyway, and it worked. Worth trying?

...May Work, You might get Lucky! But Don't use Gasoline! Use 'Lacquer Thinner'! Gasoline will prevent the RTV from Sticking to Both Surfaces, because it does NOT Evaporate Completely and Leaves a 'Oily' Film Behind! At Work We Use 'RD Red'. DON'T Loosen the Pan, You'll just Open Up More Leaks!! Try to 'Inject' the RTV into the Leaking area. Believe Me, I've Sealed Many Gearboxes with Industrial RTV; when We 'Ran Them In', they Never Leaked a Drop of Oil!

If Your Lowering the Pan with the 'Crossmember' In Place; scraping ALL of the Gasket off, is going to be Very Tricky!! You'll have to Use a 'Inspection' Mirror to see what You are doing, to make sure You get all of the Old Gasket Off of both the Block and the Pan. And then what about the Junk that falls into the Pan?! Then there are the Two End Pieces, the Piece that has to Go Under the 'Timing(Set)Cover Plate' Is Hard to get Right, even when the Engine IS Out of the Car!! Because You must 'Clamp' the Pan STRAIGHT DOWN upon Both Front and Rear Ends Pieces Simultaneously!!! With This Level of Discipline You'll Never See Another Drip of Oil Again!! I Don't! But I Installed 'Pan Mounting Studs' and went 'By the Manual' and was sure to Tighten the Nuts Starting from the Center Outward. Be sure to use the Best RTV Money can Buy, and Smear it On Both Sides of the Gasket and Contact Surfaces!

Yes! A Nightmare! A Pain in the A** Difficult Even with the Engine Block Right in Front of You, On a Engine Stand with the Pan Surface Straight Up! And You want to Try It Up-Side-Down?

A 'Band-Aid' Solution at Best! If IT was Me, I would just keep adding Oil and Put up with the Mess(Lay Down a 'Drip-Pan'); Until I was Ready to 'Bit the Bullet' and Pull the Engine! Take My word for it...If You do all this work with the Engine in the Car; when You get done with Your Brand-New Gasket, Your going to find, You Still have leaks! Probably Worse than Before!! You'll realize that Pulling the Engine would have been Far easier than working from Underneath with Your 'Fingers Crossed'!! Besides...then You can 'Freshen-Up' the Engine and Work On the Engine Bay! One last tip, if You go This Route...After You Clean and Inject RTV Into the Leaking area; see if the Bolts will Tighten-Up Some, Use a 'Swivel' Socket on a One Foot Extension, Hey, You Can't Tighten It TOO Tight! It's Already Leaking, Right!

It's Your Call! Good-Luck!

Dennis617 I have replaced the pan gasket 2 times in my 1979 it came from the factory with removeable cross memeber and e braket bracket. Its tedious and if you have the time alotted its possible to be done sucessfully with no leaks. One trick I use is HIGHTAC on the gaskets which your going to put in place on the engine as a means of holding them in place and only use RTV high temp silicone in the corners where the pan gaskets and the rubber oil seals meet .. and a little over the top of the rubber oil seals. the rest spray the HIGH TACK on the pan also. I use brake cleaner to clean the surfaces because it evaporates ... it would be real nice if someone made" One-piece rubber bonded on steel reinforced pan gasket for a 351C .. but they dont.


Ron