Oil pan leak: WTF am I doing wrong?

[alex10superman]

Originally Posted by gltasn

check your oil pressure sending units. i had a leak there i thought was a pan leak. j sin

Other side of the pan.

Originally Posted by Alex3000GT

Are you absolutely, completely sure that the leak is coming from the pan and not your rear main seal which is just above the little dip on the passenger's side?

I thought about that too, which is why I tried to trace it up higher and it wasn't coming from anywhere, just the lip on the pan. Plus, I had ZERO leaks before I went to swap pans.

[alex10superman]

Well, i think I decided that it is the gasket maker that I am using. This is just a bump for anyone else that wants to give there opinion. Because as far as I know the RTV should have worked

[ZephTheChef]

I agree with the others, the right stuff really is the right stuff.

[Alex3000GT]

Originally Posted by alex10superman

Well, i think I decided that it is the gasket maker that I am using. This is just a bump for anyone else that wants to give there opinion. Because as far as I know the RTV should have worked

Describe your process of installing the oil pan in detail. You're not just throwing the pan on there and torquing down each bolt immediately are you? No, I'm not calling you stupid but it's just something people pass up because they're in a rush. Are you using a brand new gasket with this pan? Does it look pinched at all?

Go through the bolt pattern and make each bolt just finger tight first then go through and do the torque with the bolt pattern again. Are you using a little torque wrench or a big one? The reason I ask is because big torque wrenches are notorious for being way off with small ft-lb quantities.

[alex10superman]

Originally Posted by Alex3000GT

Describe your process of installing the oil pan in detail. You're not just throwing the pan on there and torquing down each bolt immediately are you? No, I'm not calling you stupid but it's just something people pass up because they're in a rush. Are you using a brand new gasket with this pan? Does it look pinched at all?

Go through the bolt pattern and make each bolt just finger tight first then go through and do the torque with the bolt pattern again. Are you using a little torque wrench or a big one? The reason I ask is because big torque wrenches are notorious for being way off with small ft-lb quantities.

I'm not using any type of gasket.... as far as I know they don't exist for this car
-I'm using this: Stealth 316 - Oil Pan
-I clean all the surfaces (block and pan)
-Add RTV in equal amount around the entire rim of the pan
-place the pan onto the block and I put one bolt in each corner just enough to hold the pan
- I then go through and put each bolt in finger tight (not really in a patern but not one right after the other either.... just kinda switch sides each time)
- Then I go through and tighten each bolt in the pattern described on stealth316.

[oohnoo]

Might have been overlooked but one think to check if is if the pan sits flat on all sides. Just set it on table or something flat and make sure it sits flat evenly all the way around. Same goes for the holes where the screws go thru, make sure they're flat to the edges and not protruding at all.

[alex10superman]

Originally Posted by oohnoo

Might have been overlooked but one think to check if is if the pan sits flat on all sides. Just set it on table or something flat and make sure it sits flat evenly all the way around. Same goes for the holes where the screws go thru, make sure they're flat to the edges and not protruding at all.

I thought about imperfections in the pan. I didn't lay it on a table but I visualy inspected it and it looked great. Plus, as far as I have heard there have been zero problems with the SCE oil pan not being straight! But, I'll check that as well the next time I take it off (probably this weekend).

[My92Stealth]

Originally Posted by alex10superman

I'm not sure what you mean by "that long" but I placed the pan after about 5 min. of putting the RTV on it. then I let it sit on the car for about 24 hours!

My bad, I read it as you put the gasket stuff on the pan/block, then let it sit for 24 hrs, then put it together.

[alex10superman]

Originally Posted by My92Stealth

My bad, I read it as you put the gasket stuff on the pan/block, then let it sit for 24 hrs, then put it together.

Haha, no biggy! Thanks for the thought anyway!

[mcshooter]

as oohnoo says check it with a straight edge or a flat table as every oil pan i removed i had to straighten when held on with sealant .