stupid oil pan still leaking

[ivantruckman]

i reciently pulled my ea82 engine out of my 92 loyale, did a full gasket reseal , and t belts etc. used the oem cork gasket, used a torq wrench to set the pan bolts. it leaks almost as bad as it did before, now my 86 wagon is all apart, for the same work, has anyone ever used a silicone gasket material for the oil pan. i wanna try to make a gasket out of a sheet of silicone material, maby make some large rectangular washers ?????. its gotta be better than cork

[Skip]

since the EJ series use aneorobic sealer

it probably would work if applied correctly

 

Subaru sells their brand as do may parts houses.

 

 

Cork is hard to work with, did you soak it in warm water first?

 

Was it an inch-pound torque wrench? What torque?

Cork gaskets are used on many Britsh cars

 

I never "torqued" the bolts just "nip" them down.

 

Too tight and it splits the cork causing major leaks.

[azsubaru]

RTV?

 

My Altima uses only RTV, it works fine, and the surfaces look pretty much the same as the EA82.

 

I don't know if anyone has done it on an EA82, but I am thinking of trying it the next time I seal a Soob oil pan.

[GeneralDisorder]

This is one of those "OEM only" gaskets. Other brands use some very inferior cork.

 

Take the (new) cork gasket and coat it in a thin layer of RTV. LET IT DRY before using it.... instant rubber gasket. Never had one leak yet.

 

GD

[cookie1]

I am about to put a new pan gasket on as well.

Going to try GDs suggestion. Thanks

[slideshow86]

I did the same to my eng when I put it in 2.5 years ago. If you make sure your surfaces are clean then you should be good. I ALWAYS use ultra grey RTV. Just smooth it over both surfaces, it doenst have to ooze out and let it FULLY dry before use and your good. Mine still doenst leak. Good luck.

[cookie1]

Well thought I was going to put a new gasket on it today. Took it apart a couple days ago and the gasket came right off. Looked at the pan today and someone stuck a new gasket on top of the org. one. No wonder it leaked and the 1st one came off so easy. The org. is really stuck to the pan. work on it for about 45 min. and close to half way off. What some people do.

[ivantruckman]

what about locktite on the bolts ?

[Subieguy]

I just did this a few weeks ago with my 85 GL-10. The original cork gasket was a pain to get off. It took me almost a n hour on a bench grinder with a wire whell to get it off the pan. I put some RTV on pan side of the cork gasket and slapped it on. Bolted it back up to the motor without torqeing it. It does not leak a drop.

[GeneralDisorder]

It does not leak a drop.

 

It will if you didn't coat the whole gasket. Even faster if you didn't use an OEM gasket.

 

Cork just sucks as a gasket material.

 

It absorbs oil over time. Engine heat then breaks that oil down. Then you have shoe leather. That's why they are always stuck to the pan.

 

If you coat it in RTV (very thin layer) on both sides and the edges you are preventing it from absorbing oil. This in turn allows the cork to retain it's "springyness" and maintain pressure on the bolts so they don't loosen. Letting it dry allows you to reuse the gasket next time you pull the pan, and you won't ever have to clean the surfaces again. It's a compression fit so the adhesive qualities of RTV are not needed, only it's oil-repellant qualities.

 

This goes for the valve cover gaskets on the EA81 as well. N/A to EA82 valve covers as they are rubber. Effectively you are making your own rubber gasket with the RTV layer over the cork. In fact I've never had to replace one.

 

GD