Oil Pan Gasket replacement

[Nick Lamendola]

Hi ,
My '99 Legacy Outback (120k miles) has a bad leak at the oil pan. The auto
parts place sold me a cork gasket, yet the dealer says to use Permatex
"form a gasket". I only want to do this once, does anyone recomend the RTV
over cork, or the other way around. I'm leaning towards the RTV.
Thanks
-Nick

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hi ,
My '99 Legacy Outback (120k miles) has a bad leak at the oil pan. The auto
parts place sold me a cork gasket, yet the dealer says to use Permatex
"form a gasket". I only want to do this once, does anyone recomend the RTV
over cork, or the other way around. I'm leaning towards the RTV.

Humm...

Do you know for sure that it's the oil pan
that's leaking and not the dread front crank
seal?

I'd hate to see you spend a lot of time on
the oil pan and not fix the problem.

 

[Nick Lamendola]

Hi Jim,
Yes, the oil pan is definately leaking, but is it the only leak? No I don't
think so. I know the valve cover seals are just slightly leaking. How big
of a deal is it to replace the front crank seal? Is this behind the timing
belt covers?
It's almost time to replace the timing belt again. I was going to replace
the tensioner, oil pump seal and water pump while I was in there. Do you
know if the main seal is there too? If it is it sounds like it would be
easier to replace than the rear main seal, I bet you have to drop the
transmission to get at that.
Any help is aprreciated.

-Nick

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

Hi ,
My '99 Legacy Outback (120k miles) has a bad leak at the oil pan. The auto
parts place sold me a cork gasket, yet the dealer says to use Permatex
"form a gasket". I only want to do this once, does anyone recomend the RTV
over cork, or the other way around. I'm leaning towards the RTV.
Thanks
-Nick

Permatex Red sure won't hurt you. Here is the deal on it. Take *NEW* gasket
and lightly (I MEAN LIGHTLY) spread the Permatex red on both sides of the
gasket.
Wipe down the area on both the block and pan.Clean them with carb cleaner
spray (not the foamy shit).You want to be absolutely sure BOTH surfaces have
no pieces of the old gasket left on them. The permatex will fill in any
scratches you made while cleaning off the old gasket.
After the permatex becomes sticky, use a few bolts thru the pan as guide
pins, make sure the gasket is positioned correctly.Remove the bolts.Lift the
pan into place and insert about 4 bolts as far apart as you can.Do not
tighten ANY of the bolts, until ALL bolts are place.After they are all
started, finger tighten all of them, watching the gasket to make sure it
stays in place.Snug them down in a crisscross pattern.USE A GOD DAMN TORQUE
WRENCH!!! No exceptions!
If this is done correctly, this will never leak again.I have glued dirtbike
engines together with this shit.....absolutely amazing stuff.

RTV.....I don't think so.While it can take high temps..it takes forever to
set up, and it doesn't fill in or get as sticky as Permatex.

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hi Jim,
Yes, the oil pan is definately leaking, but is it the only leak? No I don't
think so. I know the valve cover seals are just slightly leaking. How big
of a deal is it to replace the front crank seal? Is this behind the timing
belt covers?
It's almost time to replace the timing belt again. I was going to replace
the tensioner, oil pump seal and water pump while I was in there. Do you
know if the main seal is there too? If it is it sounds like it would be
easier to replace than the rear main seal, I bet you have to drop the
transmission to get at that.
Any help is aprreciated.

Here's my long post on the subject:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt....kmicro.com+seal&rnum=1&hl=en#fe85098ab1eaf22a

Have you gunked and pressure washed the pan to
find the source of the leak? The oil seal looks
just like a pan leak unless you get everything
very clean and dry then watch for the oil.

-jim

 

[Nick Lamendola]

Jim,
No I haven't done that, that's a good idea. It looks like it's leaking right
at the flange, but I suppose a leak higher up will do just as you say. I
really don't want to tackle the rear seal. I'm very much hoping it is the
pan (I hope it's not wishful thinking). It is possible to really ID a seal
leak vs oil pan leak, externally? I figured I might have to go at it by
trial and error, and I was going to start with the oil pan. I'll get to the
front crank seal when I do the timing belt which may be in the next week or
two. I just can't stand the burnt oil/rubber smell when I'm stopped, and the
mess I making on my driveway. Not to mention the polluting I'm doing.
-Nick

 

[Jim Stewart]

Jim,
No I haven't done that, that's a good idea. It looks like it's leaking right
at the flange, but I suppose a leak higher up will do just as you say. I
really don't want to tackle the rear seal. I'm very much hoping it is the
pan (I hope it's not wishful thinking). It is possible to really ID a seal
leak vs oil pan leak, externally? I figured I might have to go at it by
trial and error, and I was going to start with the oil pan. I'll get to the
front crank seal when I do the timing belt which may be in the next week or
two. I just can't stand the burnt oil/rubber smell when I'm stopped, and the
mess I making on my driveway. Not to mention the polluting I'm doing.
-Nick

Sorry I wasn't clear. The rear seal rarely gives
trouble. I was talking about the front seal.

Changing it isn't a 15 minute job, but it's way
easier than pulling the engine.

Clean everything off. I used gunk followed by
a pressure wash then get under the car with a
flashlight and see that everything is dry. Check
again the next day and you should know for sure
where it's coming from. No need to pull the pan
if that's not the problem.

 

[AS]

It is very unlikely that the Oil pan gasket is leaking. The oil pan is
glued and as far as i remember it does not have a gasket.

Yes, I would recommend the permatex anytime. Cork gaskets normally lead
to bending the oil pan causing leaks all over.

 

[Nick Lamendola]

The pan has been re-glued w/ permatex. I did see one spot at the back that
looked like a possible sourse of a small leak. The oil pan wasn't glued on
very well, it took just a small rap with lead shot mallet for it to part
from the block. I really thought it would take more effort. It does look
like a front seal is leaking too, as I could see some oil at the bottom of
the time belt covers. That will be my next area to work on.
Thanks
-Nick