mj1pate

Is there a definitive guide that illustrates adjusting (rebending) and validating the trans pan mounting ears positions prior to reattempting mounting? I would like to make sure I have it as much correct as I possibly can before I remount and refill. How should the ears position/angle appear in inspection before mounting?
thanks !

mj1pate

answer to my own question in the thread below. It’s what Greg said, but with illustrations. Was this you Greg, in a previous Mercedes incarnation?
https://mercedessource.com/problems/...-oil-pan-leaks

mj1pate

Well, I’m back. I have a perfectly good ‘88 donor transmission but after doing all the checks and remediations in the article:
https://mercedessource.com/problems/...-oil-pan-leaks
The pan still seeps bad enough that I must do something else about a serviceable pan.
I thought about the MDF use test (above). But that MDF has to be seriously, contiguously flat.
Why can’t the transmission surface itself be used for checking a donor/used pan pan evenness? Like perhaps using rubber bushings in place of the gasket and bolt the pan up to the transmission just so that the ears meet the transmission and do the paper (shim) checks? Can this idea practically work as a test if a candidate, donor pan?

The idea above might be my most practical method of determining surface flatness, maybe.
But it seems that what we most need is a telescopic transit to measure mounting surface flatness.
hmmmm… what about a low magnification telescopic site with a wide bullseye reticle, whose horizontal line we could use to visualize mounting surface deviations? Geez…. How did it ever get to this?

Zirconocene

For what it's worth, I just went through a similar thing on a Cayman automatic, where the trans gasket is just paper thin and, even with being super careful about the tightening sequence and torque values, it leaked horribly and the gasket tore easily.

My solution: buy some of that green gasket material and cut a nice, tough gasket. Then, to be doubly sure that no fluid would come out, I used some Permatex ATF-resistant gasket sealant. Overkill? Maybe, and if I ever have to make a new gasket I'll be a little bit bummed, but it might be the first time in that car's history that the trans pan isn't leaking.

ETA: Maybe never mind all that. I did the trans pan in my 928 a long time ago and I had forgotten that the gasket sits down in a channel, so a green gasket is probably not going to be the right solution here. I guess you could go the other direction indicated in the Mercedes forum post and make it so that the stop tabs were bent out of the way (so that they didn't stop the pan), in which case something like the green gasket might work.

Cheers

GregBBRD

8 years later:
We've come to the conclusion that virtually every pan is slightly warped and will, very likely, leak.
​​​​​That's a frightening thing, when one is faced with servicing a completely dry pil pan (usually factory installed.) Leave the 40 year old fluid and filter alone or risk it leaking, when re-assembled?
Once new replacement pans became stupid expensive, a solution became necessary.

A new oil pan gasket, made from a different material and thickness, was one approach, but I'm certain there are other better, cheaper, solutions out there.

soontobered84

If you are able to correct the tab location and the tabs were bent before, it seems to me that you could braze the tab to strengthen it and prevent some of the excess bending?

mj1pate

I have a donor pan I’m going to try, last ditch before I shell out and buy a new one.
I have this feeling that we might should hang on to older, leaky pans for a bit.
Some enterprising person(s) may develop a slightly squishier gasket that can compress and fill in slight surface deviations a bit more.
It’s a challenge, there’s a lot of pressure in that pan when returning hot fluid backs into it, after shut down.
and here’s ANOTHER idea…someone build a rig that might can restore pan shape, receive our leaky pans (free shipping, no other reimbursement) and resell reshaped pans at maybe half cost of new. It would beat metal recycling of pans that might be usage recyclable.

The Forgotten On

A billet oil pan would do the trick, not necessarily cheap, but it won't warp if designed correctly.

Speedtoys

It would make the OE one feel cheap..

The Forgotten On

Still cheaper than a new mold for an improved gasket...

Darklands

Isn't it possible to 3D print the pan?

Kevin in Atlanta

What you need is an aluminum pan spacer in place of the OEM gasket. It would mimick the contours of the pan, be bolted to your OEM pan and sealed either jbweld or rtv.

Use same green gasket between the spacer and the transmission.

Then use studs instead of bolts to attach the sandwiched pan to the bottom of the transmission.

Now you've eliminated the near impossible task of applying the proper torque without bending the pan.

Gary Knox

Consider using a thin bead of Drei Bond either on each side of the gasket, or even in the groove AFTER the pan is installed and is leaking. I've had great luck with cleaning the contact area of the engine at oil pan/gasket/block, then carefully applying a thin bead of Drei Bond - finally smearing it slightly with my finger to be sure it is in contact with all three surfaces. Not even a 'seep' after a year of this treatment on a pan that was previously leaking pretty badly.

Gary

mj1pate

So, my quest for a non-leaky pan for the excellent, crisp trans that I bought from a valued forum member is possibly at an end.
The solution illustrates the perverse nature of these pans.
I bought a used pan on eBay for a little over a hundred. It arrived as a crusty item, whose underside, bottle mount surfaces looked never to have been cleaned. This would replace the beautiful, clean pan that irreconcilably leaks. The old gasket nearly required a laser to remove. This all gave me hope, because the second leading cause of pan failures is repeated services flexing and weakening the mounting ears.
Sure enough, the ear surfaces were consistently 3mm above the pan contact surface. Bolts passed easily thru the bolt holes, not requiring “threading” thru the holes. After a good cleaning, I installed it. No additional adhesives.
and so far, so good… no leaks.
I’m reticent to suggest members start acquiring crusty, ugly pans. But this illustrates the ironies we deal with with these simple parts.
Again, if someone thinks they can make a jig that can recondition leaky pans, they can have my old pan. Otherwise, it’ll be recycled for metal in a few weeks.

Speedtoys

Out of casual consumer materials, no.

Could someone printing parts for F1 do it, yes...rigidity now becomes a problem, much more so than it already is.