VWGUYGOESPORSCHE

As I have stated before, my 928 is an 81 Automatic. I am currently waiting for some parts and need to order more but I wanted to inquire about doing the oil pan gasket. Since I have got her kind of running I have noticed a pretty significant oil leak coming from the rear of the oil pan. I did notice that pretty much all of the bolts were loose and this girl had been sitting for 23 years garaged and covered. I snugged up all the bolts I could including pulling the starter and getting those bolts. The leak is still there and continues to leak and I haven't started her in over a week. Question is........how much of a task is it to change out the oil pan gasket and is it even feasible given the fact that there is not a lot of room. I am hoping no one says I have to pull the motor. Thanks in advance for any advice in my continued learning about this awesome car. Steve

Mrmerlin

You can change the gasket in the car drain the oil out clean the engine and pan with brake cleaner remove the starter lower the pan

depending on how sagging the MOTORMOUNT’s are the pan will drop and you can remove the old seal clean the surfaces and install a new gasket I would suggest to use the silicone gasket also get the rear cam tower gaskets made of silicone

Note you might have to jack up the engine a bit to give a lil bit more working space

BlauerStahl

I had a similar leak in my 1980. Was dripping from what looked to be the rear of the oil pan, down the starter, then dripping off the lower bell housing and slave cylinder. Mine is a manual. I am having the oil pan gasket changed too but that wasn't the real culprit of the leak. The rear main seal was the leaker. My car had also mostly sat for about 12 years. Sounds similar to yours so although I am sure you will want to change the pan gasket that might not be the only leak.

Wisconsin Joe

#1 - As noted, it may not be the pan gasket. It might be the rear main seal.

#2 - The motor does not need to be pulled to do the pan gasket. It can be done from below by dropping the crossmember. Read Dwayne's write up on motor mounts. Everything you need to do to get to the MMs is what gets you to the pan gasket. I'm going to guess your MMs are squashed & need to be replaced too.

#3 - Stan has a really nifty trick for sneaking (snaking?) the OPG in without dropping the crossmember, but it's tricky and the MMs need to be good. I still don't understand how he can get to all of the pan bolts that way, but he's smarter than I am (and LOT more experienced on these cars, too).

#4 - The original cork gasket is available, as is a silicone one. They both have pluses & minuses. I would suggest searching around a bit and making your own decision.

VWGUYGOESPORSCHE

The leak I am having is dripping from the exact same place. Looks like I will be changing the rear main as well. Prob should anyway. Probably original.

VWGUYGOESPORSCHE

Also wanted to inquire about changing out the rear main seal. Can I assume that I will have to pull the transmission all the way out? Or is there a crazy trick to pulling off the bottom part of the bell housing and being able to get to it that way? I appreciate all of your help/suggestions guys. This resurrection has been a lot more than I thought but I think that is par for the course for me. Thanks again. Steve

76FJ55

At a minimum you will need to pull the torque tube to get to the rear main seal. it is possible to bull the torque tube and leave the transmission in the car, but if you haven't replaced the torque converter seal and the transmission front pump seals, you may want to use this opportunity to do those, so it may be worth pulling the entire trans.

SwayBar

I can tell you that on a 5-speed, all you have to do is drop the clutch to replace the rear main seal - no removing the torque tube or transmission is required.

buccicone

+1