View Poll Results: After changing the oil pan gasket, was it leak-free?
Yes, dry as a bone with no leaks!
36
75.00%
No, it still leaked!
12
25.00%
Voters: 48. You may not vote on this poll
Oil Pan Gasket Poll
10-24-2011, 07:58 PM
#62
Rennlist Member
You can put it in gas oil or PS fluid
Regards
Ed
10-24-2011, 11:28 PM
#63
Drifting
Power steering is a quick and easy place to check but look at the boots and fittings on the pump and rack. Do you see any indications of leakage there? I'd Gunk the whole mess thoroughly and wait 15 minutes and then spray with a high pressure garden hose followed by a thorough toweling off of everything and then drive the car for a while. If it's the culprit, the dye will show up fairly quickly since we're not talking about a large quantity of fluid. If you don't find anything there then put some in the oil filler and repeat the same process, i.e., cleaning the oily dirt off with gunk and high pressure hose and rags. Usually, when you have a leak in the front main seal, the inside of the front lower cover over the belts will be coated with oil primarily on the bottom near the crank pulley. If it's seals for the balance shafts, cam shafts or anything else, the oil in the belt area will show up higher up. The Camshaft front seal, cam tower gasket, oil/coolant heat exchange gasket or even in a rare case the head gasket will show up as oil dripping on the sway bar (passenger side) and the passenger side inner sway bar bushing will be degraded by the oil ...a power steering leak in the pump, fittings or steering rack on that side will do the same.
Last edited by mytrplseven; 10-24-2011 at 11:31 PM. Reason: edit
10-26-2011, 12:28 AM
#64
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I like the Permatex grey silicone more than hondabond. It's thicker and easier to work with, and I've never had a leak after the permatex was used. So it's definitely good stuff... as good as hondabond? Who knows... but it's good.
If you use a bead all the way around, then fine, you can wait for it to set before you torque it down if you wish. But if you only use it on the corners, you should torque it down immediately. I imagine the ends of the beads not squishing down flush with the dry part of the gasket and hence leaving a sort of step where a leak can happen. Just my speculation.
If you use a bead all the way around, then fine, you can wait for it to set before you torque it down if you wish. But if you only use it on the corners, you should torque it down immediately. I imagine the ends of the beads not squishing down flush with the dry part of the gasket and hence leaving a sort of step where a leak can happen. Just my speculation.
10-26-2011, 12:49 AM
#65
Rennlist Member
I like the Permatex grey silicone more than hondabond. It's thicker and easier to work with, and I've never had a leak after the permatex was used. So it's definitely good stuff... as good as hondabond? Who knows... but it's good.
If you use a bead all the way around, then fine, you can wait for it to set before you torque it down if you wish. But if you only use it on the corners, you should torque it down immediately. I imagine the ends of the beads not squishing down flush with the dry part of the gasket and hence leaving a sort of step where a leak can happen. Just my speculation.
If you use a bead all the way around, then fine, you can wait for it to set before you torque it down if you wish. But if you only use it on the corners, you should torque it down immediately. I imagine the ends of the beads not squishing down flush with the dry part of the gasket and hence leaving a sort of step where a leak can happen. Just my speculation.
Really good point regarding the corners only, and then torque
10-31-2011, 10:27 PM
#66
Drifting
Been out of town for a week and then came down with a major head cold. Thanks goes out to the lady who was sneezing her brains out behind me in the elevator. Nonetheless, I received my leak detection kit and will start tomorrow to see if there's any other sources I'm not expecting. I power washed the rear axel area and the transmission. Since I had to lay on the driveway all the crud ran down hill to me and I looked like and oil change that went bad. 
11-01-2011, 02:40 AM
#67
Rennlist Member
Been out of town for a week and then came down with a major head cold. Thanks goes out to the lady who was sneezing her brains out behind me in the elevator. Nonetheless, I received my leak detection kit and will start tomorrow to see if there's any other sources I'm not expecting. I power washed the rear axel area and the transmission. Since I had to lay on the driveway all the crud ran down hill to me and I looked like and oil change that went bad.
But I did the same job ( rear diff ) in my carpeted garage with a tooth brush and a spray bottle of gas ...
I must have had a bad ring seal, on the tranny cooler, and the diff fluid was glued onto the rear end, with sand and dirt coating the outside.
Took a long time ...
11-01-2011, 01:58 PM
#69
Rennlist Member
11-01-2011, 04:51 PM
#70
Drifting
anybody got a cigarette?? Gasoline for a cleaner? Now that's really old school. I quit doing that when I heard about all the carcinogens in gasoline. I was even playing with asbestos brake pads and liquid mercury coated pennies. It's a wonder I've lived this long.
11-01-2011, 06:44 PM
#71
Rennlist Member
It was only the one step in like a 4 step process.....
I did the same thing with pennies when I was a kid!! My brother was a chemistry major
11-02-2011, 08:31 PM
#72
Drifting
Well, I put flourescent dye in my oil and am looking for oil leaks. Since it's a new oil pan gasket and I haven't driven the car yet (only ran the motor for 5 minutes) I did notice that oil smoke was coming off the exhaust manifold and It appears to be either camshaft front gasket and/or cam tower gaskets. Dye showed leakes in the front cam tower and cam front seals also suspected. Also, oil leaks in the oil/coolant gasket where it meets the engine block and also the AOS and probably balance shaft seals. I plan to road test the engine for a bit and then recheck the area around the rear main crankshaft seal. I replaced the front one and it isn't leaking. So, as I suspected, there's still a lot of old hard rubber seals to replace before I'm tight and clean. Weekend projects that just seem to come one after the other. Great therapy. :0
11-02-2011, 08:46 PM
#73
Rennlist Member
Well, I put flourescent dye in my oil and am looking for oil leaks. Since it's a new oil pan gasket and I haven't driven the car yet (only ran the motor for 5 minutes) I did notice that oil smoke was coming off the exhaust manifold and It appears to be either camshaft front gasket and/or cam tower gaskets. Dye showed leakes in the front cam tower and cam front seals also suspected. Also, oil leaks in the oil/coolant gasket where it meets the engine block and also the AOS and probably balance shaft seals. I plan to road test the engine for a bit and then recheck the area around the rear main crankshaft seal. I replaced the front one and it isn't leaking. So, as I suspected, there's still a lot of old hard rubber seals to replace before I'm tight and clean. Weekend projects that just seem to come one after the other. Great therapy. :0
I need therapy after working on this car!!
I had a leak in the cam shaft oil seal ( it was dripping on the #1 & 2 exhaust manifold runners ) I did all that, almost a year ago ..
I noticed that the car oil leaks really shows up a lot more when the car is running with boost ( at least for the oil pan gasket ) which I am about to replace ..
Regards
Ed
11-03-2011, 10:55 PM
#74
Drifting
After running the flourescent dye through the engine and driving it for a while, I confirmed the source of several leaks: camshaft front and tower gaskets, balance shaft front gaskets, rear main seal and AOS seals. This stuff is really worth the small cost to find the source of all the inevitable oil leaks. It also confirmed that the front main seal and the oil pan gasket job (so far) has remained tight and dry. I wanted to pull the cam tower and powder coat it in color anyhow so I'll do that and the cam shaft seals at the same time.
11-17-2011, 08:24 PM
#75
Rennlist Member
After running the flourescent dye through the engine and driving it for a while, I confirmed the source of several leaks: camshaft front and tower gaskets, balance shaft front gaskets, rear main seal and AOS seals. This stuff is really worth the small cost to find the source of all the inevitable oil leaks. It also confirmed that the front main seal and the oil pan gasket job (so far) has remained tight and dry. I wanted to pull the cam tower and powder coat it in color anyhow so I'll do that and the cam shaft seals at the same time.
I think my car is talking to yours !!!
It looks like I have, in addition to the oil pan leak, that the lower balance shaft o- ring is leaking a wee bit ....
Huummm whether to tackle that or just try to silicone over it??
