Gregg K

I've been a mechanic for 30 years, and I've never encountered anything I cannot overcome. Until now. If you have a special tool, or not, I want to hear how you folks are getting to these bolts. I've custom machined 1/4" sockets. I've jury rigged wrench combinations. I give up!
There are two or three bolts that defy tightening. Please, somebody here must have a clue.
Edit- Ok, I haven't really given up. I just don't want to cut my gear wrench. I guess I need a sense of humor.

MikeS4

Best solution is to change your motor mounts...and while at it, change the oilpan gasket, use a some loctite on the oil pan bolts and they'll probably not leak for 60K miles. Otherwise I think you have to drop the exhaust system and steering rack to get to all the bolts, and tightening them probably won't stop the leaking if the gasket is original. In fact it usually makes the leaks worse.

Gregg K

It's a fairly new motor put together by one of the better outfits. No leaks until recently. But I hear what you are saying. I can tighten them, but before I start hacksawing wrenches (I've already lathed down a socket, and it did the job on the A/C location.), I'd like to hear if someone has a bright technique that works. Actually the stock 10 mm wrench does almost all of them. I just hope that if I do get them tight, the leaking stops. It's only a slight leak. Quite tolerable in fact.
Nice avatar, by the way.

Old & New

"SNAP" brand "Motor Sealer"

;-)

<permanent flame suit in use>

Normy

Gregg- you have to drop the crossmember in order to access all the bolts. That means the steering rack has to come down too, of course. Most people do this while replacing the rack and/or the motor mounts, which are NOTORIOUS for failing on these cars.

You are dealing with a cork gasket, and I'm sure that you know that you really cannot tighten down on a cork gasket and ask it to stop leaking. The only way is to replace it altogether while you have the x-member pulled. Obviously, the pan has to come down then...making access to the main bearings easy. Seems many people change these out while they are in there anyway.

I changed out my mounts and rack earlier this spring; since my pan has a small amount of seepage but no real leaks, I left it alone. THAT was probably a mistake...but I was sooooo sore from doing the rack and mounts that I didn't want to do any more work on the car than I had to!

Normy!
'85 S2 5 Speed

Gregg K

Hey, thanks guys.
That sealer idea is my first choice if I don't solve this. I don't think it's a cork gasket from the looks of it.
Normy, I cannot complain. I just got the car, and the engine has 20k miles on it. The rack is brand new! I'm smiling, even if there's a drop of oil on the floor.
Gotta run. There's a car waiting for some attention.

Old & New

Gregg,

This kind of talk is heresy on this board, of course...

I had an Opel Kadette 1.9 when I was a kid. It was gushing oil from all sides of the motor; the PO had blocked the crankcase ventilation & blown all the gaskets out. It still lost a quart a week after I fixed the cc vent.

I put a can of the aformentioned in and it worked like *magic*. I never had another problem with the motor and ran the crap out of it. I haven't seen the stuff in years, but would consider putting a little in my car given the right circumstances. I wouldn't recommend anyone else doing it though, especially with such a fresh engine!

I bet it dries up on its own now that you have tightened most of them.

Gregg K

O & N,
If I may call you so, I know what you mean. I gasp at the thought of pouring some sacrilegious goop in my nice aluminum V8.
As a follow up, I just finished tightening all of the bolts. No pattern, no controlled torque. Between about four wrenches, it's possible. This is a rather boring subject, but hey, it's an automotive forum.
I have an old Case backhoe. I found the oil looking like whipped cream one day. A little can of that ceramic type engine sealer, and it hasn't had a problem yet. Under the right circumstances, those cans o stuff work wonders.
Upper spring perches just arrived. The most fun job of doing the rear suspension install is about to occur, right about NOW.

Eric_P

I did the pan gasket on my '79 4.5 last summer. While it STILL LEAKS, I was able to get to all the bolts, by lifting the engine slightly with a cherry picker. No cross member dropping, no special tool machining, just a combination of every possible 1/4 drive and open end 10 mm wrench...Hated it, took forever, but when I do it again this summer, I'll fly. Bring it on!
HTH.

Bill Ball

10MM gear wrench - the kind that ratchets in 5 degree increments is ideal for snugging the pan bolts. You can get to nearly all easily. The gear wrench is a godsend. There might be a couple that are hidden by the crossmember and loosening the starter helps make a few more easily to get to.

The gasket should be cork - or really a cork/rubber material that looks like cork to me. It does compress a lot. Progressive re-tightening will squeeze it out over time. So, sung with Locktite and leave it alone unless the bolts come loose (i.e., back out).

Bill
89 S4

urnotthesameina928

This is an area I looked at and with all of todays Hi tech sealants and bonds there is no reason to have to suffer with future leaks.
Check out this site from locktite. They have a virtual engine that guides you to the right product for the application it will work under. Also may want to check out page 17 of the right user guide at the link below..Dave.
ex. threadlock 242 and 587 Blue
<a href="http://www.loctite.com" target="_blank">http://www.loctite.com</a>
<a href="http://www.loctite.com/literature/" target="_blank">http://www.loctite.com/literature/</a>

Gregg K

Hey, thanks. Those are all great ideas. Lift the sucker! I like that. Even an eighth of an inch would help. I did get a gear wrench, and that sped up the majority of the bolts. Locktite is pretty important. I've got an old backhoe and the right side of the oil pans bolts stay tight, but the left side of the oil pan bolts unscrew themselves. It's related to some vibration of the engine, but wierd. So I just loctited the left side, and everything's happy. Thanks again...