Oil Pan Gasket Questions

[Danman765432]

Hey Guys,

Well today when driving around in the wet weather and stopping at a friends house I noticed I was making a small trail of oil. Well it was more of a steady drip. I tried to figure out where is was coming from without actually getting under the car since I didn't have a jack handy. I thought at first it was my oil filter leaking a little bit but I narrowed it down to a spot most likely midway through the engine and on the passenger side. This leads me to think it is the oil pan gasket that finally let loose. It was leaking on me in the past but never dripped.

My question is, how hard is it to install the oil pan gasket without pulling the engine or dropping the k member? I am also worried about when I pull the old gasket off and getting debris in the oil pan. Is there any way to stop this?

I am smaller and have smaller hands. I know to get a one piece rubber gasket to do the job. I also have heard of people just unbolting the pan and snaking it through to get it on. I am about to just call it quits on this car if I can't get this done correctly.


Thanks for reading,

- Dan

 

[madams74]

The best thing you can do is to pull the transmission and then unbolt the pan. You may as well change the rear main since your this far into it. The pan gasket will be difficult to remove from the pan. I used a one piece gasket and it leaked. I did everything exactly as requested by placing it on dry after I rebuilt it. First time I ever used a one piece. I will never do this again. If you use the one piece you still need to make sure that you use some form of silicone around the 4 corners of the pan up against the bearing caps. It leaked and I had to pull the transmission and do just what I explained to you. This time I went back to the trusty MR Gasket High Performance rubber coated ones.

You need some long extensions to get up in there and remove those pan bolts also. I would hope that getting the gasket off without dropping anything in the pan is successful. I do not really think I would have squeezed my hand into the pan to retrieve anything.....

 

[icemetalstang]

I was successful without pulling engine or tranny. It is extremely difficult. 2 jobes completed this way. No leaking after install.

Removed 2 large bolts on motor mounts.

Placed jack under transmission and jacked up engine untill it hit fire wall. Made sure there was no hoses/wires being pinched. I had to rock engine back and forth to get it to let go. Original motor mounts.

My old gasket was a one piece came right off.

Fished the new one through. Yes more to it than that.

I had someone hold the oil pan in place while I lined up the bolt holes,gasket, and brackets. I did not use any rtv and both jobes did not leak. I lined up the front and screwed on bolts a 1/4 turn . This allowed me to line up the back part of gasket on caps. I used a flash light to make sure gasket did not fall out of place.

*one piece felpro gasket*

Taking breaks, eating lunch, and washing off quarts of oil off bottom of car took about 5 hours.
Any questions you can pm me

 

[Danman765432]

Well cleaned it up a little bit where i thought the leak was coming from. Well needless to say I did find it and it is the oil pan gasket right behind the motor mount. Here is a little video of it dripping.

MVI_0730.flv video by danman5432 - Photobucket

Ill be fixing it eventually but not anytime soon...Going to fix up a beater car first so I can take my time with this car and get it running properly.

-Dan

 

[red1995gts]

i didnt pull the engine or trans either. just jacked up the motor till it hit the firewall but i jacked it up from the balancer. i used 1 peice felpro. with no rtv. no problems yet. i also changed the oil pump while i was in there. little tricky getting the bolts back in but not bad.

 

[saleener94]

I did it same way as these guys. no need to remove trans or engine. snake it. but have help. I had to pull out I think driver side tie rod and steering rack bolts for more space to drop pan. dont forget to put oil back in before starting it again.

 

[Road_Runna]

On a similar note:
Would you guys recommend using rubber gaskets for the oil drain plug's (theres 2 of them, im pretty sure rubber ones were used from the factory) or can any plastic, vynil gasket be used for drain plugs.

 

[GTA_V6_Mustang]

Just as some of the other guys said on here I was able to do it without removing engine or trans. And while I was there I replaced Oil pump and bearings. I just removed motor mount bolts jacked up motor all the way and removed rack bolts to move it forward and down enough so the oil pan could clear the rear to remove it. And I used a felpro blue gasket 1 peice and didnt have any leaks.

 

[Road_Runna]

What type of gaskets do you guys use for the drain plugs on the oil pan ?
vynil/plastic sold at the local parts store, or the ones with rubber that can only be purchased at Ford ?

 

[revhead347]

That leak looks like it's coming down a little hard to be an oil pan gasket. I wouldn't commit to it being the oil pan gasket just yet. Usually it's the valve cover gaskets that leak, and they leave an almost invisible trail down to the oil pan.

Kurt

 

[tderrick]

What type of gaskets do you guys use for the drain plugs on the oil pan ?
vynil/plastic sold at the local parts store, or the ones with rubber that can only be purchased at Ford ?

I buy four Ford ones and rotate them out... This seems to give the rubber time to expand back out...

Going on three years now... no leaking and they still squeak when I take them off...

 

[nmcgrawj]

That leak looks like it's coming down a little hard to be an oil pan gasket. I wouldn't commit to it being the oil pan gasket just yet. Usually it's the valve cover gaskets that leak, and they leave an almost invisible trail down to the oil pan.

Kurt

I agree with Kurt.


If you think about it, to drip that fast you have to have a constant "supply" of oil on top of the part that is leaking...an oil pan gasket doesnt have this. The oil sits below that oil pan line. The valve cover on the other hand has oil sitting against it when the engine is running.