TR4/4A TR4 Front Sealing Block

[KVH]

I'm getting ready to put my oil pan back on. It was leaking badly.

Something just isn't right. The entire gasket was soaked with oil and the bolt holes really aren't terribly distorted. The oil soaking included the elongated troughs between the bolt holes.

I'll work with the holes a bit, but the front sealing block was also quite wet with oil.

I assume I can remove that and replace the felt side seals with something I can make? Any advice there, and could this help with my problem?

Since the entire gasket was oil soaked, literally all of the surface (and, by the way, all of the bolt heads were showing oil before I removed them), I'm assuming that oil my have infiltrated from the front and worked its way back.

I realize I may be reaching, but I'd like to think that I won't be pulling the pan again soon.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hondo402000]

the TR6 sealing block is made of Aluminum, and the front holes usually get stripped out and then you cannot tighten the front bolts, Is the TR4 the same way and have an aluminum sealing block? the TR6 you can purchase a steel replacement which is what I did during the rebuilt, then their is the issue of the front plate gasket could be leaking too. a little more difficult to replace at least on the TR6 engine because you have to pull the timing chain and gears anf front plate. dont know if its the same on the TR4

good luck

Hondo

 

[TR3driver]

You might double-check the bolt lengths and that the threads are in good condition. When TS13571L came to me, most of the bolts were wrong and several holes were stripped. The DPO had used longer bolts to grab the last couple of threads at the bottom of the hole, which then bottomed in the hole and didn't pull up tight against the pan & gasket.

If you remove the front block, it will almost certainly tear the gasket for the front plate. So you're going to have to 'butter' that side with some kind of form-a-gasket. ISTR I used the red "high temp" RTV because it had more body than the other RTVs at the time; but lots of folks seem to like "The Right Stuff" so I might try that next time. Get the area as dry as you can first, since nothing likes to stick to oily metal.

The side seals for the front block were originally cork, so you should be able to cut those from cork gasket sheet (FLAPS).

Helicoils for the threads in the aluminum block are a good idea, IMO, or I believe there are folks selling a steel replacement.

Be sure to work the pan's sealing surface back to flat, as it will undoubtedly be deformed around the bolt holes. Use new lockwashers, of course.

Also check the engine block for distortion around the bolt holes. I like to lightly rub a flat machinist's file over the surface, as it will just lightly polish the area that is really flat, while cutting into any raised areas (and leaving dark any dimples). This almost always picks up at least one high spot that I didn't see by eye and often I can see the marks where the original machining was less than perfect. Of course you'll need to thoroughly clean afterwards, don't want any of the filings to wind up inside the engine (although they should wind up either stuck to the magnetic drain plug or in the oil filter where they won't do any harm).