mytrplseven

I keep hearing about problems with installing the oil pan gasket and using dental floss. what exactly are we talking about?

krazykarl

It involves holding the pan and gasket evenly close to the bottom of the block while you work your way thru all the bolts holding the pan in place. From under the car it can be hard to line everything up properly in order to avoid leaks later on.

M758

You use the dental floss to tie the gasket to the pan. Once you ge some bolts in loosely you remove the floss and the gasket stays in place with th bolts.

The issue is made worse by packageing. The package for the gasket is flat, yet the natural shape is far from flat so it can be hard to keep the gasket in place when work from under the car.

mytrplseven

Ok, I have that now. I've seen other discussions (many) about sealants, which I won't go into but I was just wondering: how much sealant around the corners? A small bead? Just a thin film? Using Permatex Ultra Grey, how long to let it set before I install? Put it in wet or slightly dry?

badcoupe

use Right Stuff it's much better, I made several 9 second passes in my mustang with no bolts in the rearend cover to prove how good it is to a buddy a few years back. I glued it on with the bolts, let it sit overnight and let him remove them before we put it in the trailer to go racing, never did leak!

Techno Duck

As per the manual you only need to do the corners of the gasket. I have only used the recommended Silastic sealant so i cant comment on how any other stuff works..

xsboost90

just a small blob in the corners of the block/crank girdle- on each end.

M758

I have done many pan gakests over the years. (I figure 5-6) both on engine stands in in the car. I have never used any sealant on them. I install the gaskets dry and they don't leak. That is you use the floss. It will keep the gasket in place, but not leave any glue on the surfaces. Often times the glue allows the gasket to slide around as you tighten it down and that is a contributing factor to buldging and leaks. Do it dry.

St3mpy

My question is: why the hell does the manual tell me to put gasket maker on my $50 gasket? 50 bucks and the gasket is still crap?

YoungerThan944

Don't listen to that manual. As M758 said, do it dry. I just did my pan dry and it isn't leaking one drop.

Mike C.

Dennil Floss? it's in a little white box they... sell uptown...

ritzblitz

I used Right Stuff on the entire gasket on both surfaces. No leaks.