Oil sump gasket replacement

[steveg]

Got the aluminum sump installed today. Tom's Toys rubber gasket glued to sump with Aviation Form-a-Gasket. Hylomar Universal blue between gasket and block. I used a bead of Permatex Universal black across the slots in F & R main caps. Just for belt-and-suspenders, used bonded sealing washers on the sump screws:

 

[Lin]

Hey Steve,
I got my nitrile sump gasket from Tom’s Toys today. Really like it. It is pretty thick though. Between the pliability (is that a word?) of the gasket and the bonded rubber washers how do judge appropriate tightness of sump bolts? Did you stick with the eight foot pounds of torque? Still have leak-free results?
Thanks,
Lin

 

[steveg]

Lin - So far, it's leak free, but I've only driven it a couple of blocks to turn it around in the garage - that and running the engine at idle for 15 min or so to warm it up.

The 1" bolts with sealing washers don't engage all the threads in the engine flange. Didn't torque them, just snugged them up with my little 1/4" drive ratchet. I found 1-1/8" SS allen screws on eBay, which I'll substitute. Due to other commitments, probably won't get to this for a couple of weeks.

However, this Saturday will drive the car around 20 miles round trip - hopefully it won't leak. Will report back after that.

 

[red57]

I guess I'm missing something here but I'm curious why you want bonded rubber washers? The bolts (most of them anyway) go thru the block flange to air and I think a few at the mains go into blind holes

so no oil to seep down the threads.

Have you found the bonded washers important?
​

Dave

 

[steveg]

I guess I'm missing something here but I'm curious why you want bonded rubber washers? The bolts (most of them anyway) go thru the block flange to air and I think a few at the mains go into blind holes

so no oil to seep down the threads.

Have you found the bonded washers important?
​

Dave

Confession: I don't think they're important. I just used them because I had them. I originally installed them with my old gasket because they were inexpensive and I was hoping they'd stop the leaks at the front and rear main bearing caps. If the Tom's rubber gasket with goop works properly, no oil should be coming down the threads anyway.

 

[red57]

OK thanks, I'm often guilty of using what I have on hand too. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something (been known to do that too).

Dave

 

[90DegreesSouth]

You guys have been so instrumental to me as I get back into Healey ownership after a 25 year hiatus. The BT7 I recently purchased appears to have no gasket between the aluminum oil pan and the engine block, just a thin layer of black rubbery sealant. Any ideas on how to remove this without damaging the aluminum pan?

 

[steveg]

You guys have been so instrumental to me as I get back into Healey ownership after a 25 year hiatus. The BT7 I recently purchased appears to have no gasket between the aluminum oil pan and the engine block, just a thin layer of black rubbery sealant. Any ideas on how to remove this without damaging the aluminum pan?

The aluminum pans are robust. Be reasonably careful and you'll be fine.

You should be able to pull the pan off and carefully scrape the gasket material off both surfaces with a single-edge razor blade or paint scraper.

If it's something that's hardened, paint remover should remove it.

I don't have my car right now, so no pic - there's a hole in the flange of the block near the right-side motor mount. You can insert a bolt or Phillips screwdriver through this hole and push or tap the pan off. If it resists, use a putty knife on either side to free it up.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

If it's garden variety silicone you should be able to stick a metal putty knife between the pan and the block--like Steve suggested--and if you get that half-done you can pry them apart. If it's 'Right Stuff-type' adhesive it will be a bear to remove; I sawed through it with a serrated knife (and damaged an elbow in the process).

 

[vette]

This discussion has given many good ideas to these problems of sealing different surfaces.
Steve, what method did you ultimately use to seal the gaps typically sealed with the #5 cross pieces in the previous drawing? If you previously stated it I'm sorry for the redundant question.
As I read this I thought of a similar situation that I had trouble sealing. On my 383 ci Vette engine I was blowing out the "china wall" seal which is the gap at the front and rear of the intake manifold where the intake manifold is sealed to the front and rear of the V8 valley. the original design is that the factory sealed this area with cork strips. Aftermarket intake gaskets sometimes have rubber or silicone gaskets that are suppose to get snugged up into this area. This particular engine after the initial build blew out the original cork gasket, then blew out another pair of "corks" which were coated in Black RTV. The last time I decided to just fill the void with RTV "Ultra Grey". It's been at least 5000 miles since and still holding.

 

[90DegreesSouth]

Update! Thanks for the replies. I had forgotten about the “punch hole” to help remove the pan. The passenger side was the side I was looking at, and with the tiny gap I don’t see how they had a cork gasket in there, but they did. I found the cork gasket when I looked on the driver’s side.
When looking down from above — at the front left corner — the oil pan extended about 3/16 inch beyond the engine block (under the brake reservoir). I had a crazy idea to tap that part of the oil pan with a wooden dowel and a 2lb rubber mallet. Low and behold, three moderate strikes and the whole oil pan shifted. It had come completely loose. Of course, I had it supported by my floor jack about 1/8 inch lower than the pan, and it came off without so much as a dent or ding in the cork gasket. This is ideal since I want to clean the (plentiful) sludge out of the pan, reinstall it, then run an oil flush to clean things out before installing the new gasket (if needed) and the more expensive 20W-50 Valvoline Racing oil with zinc ($7.99/quart). Feeling blessed.
Thanks guys!

 

[steveg]

Vette,
I filled the gaps with Permatex Universal Black RTV (most oil-resistant). The rear one worked perfectly - no leaks at all (Toyota trans & crank seal kit). The front's been an ongoing problem - still leaks. I almost think it's leaking between the front engine plate and the block - that's another project as I'll have to remove the timing chain and gears to seal the plate to the block.

Tom Monaco told me they use the black RTV with the rubber gaskets and not the stock cork "blocks".