What is the procedure to replace an oil pan gasket?

Answer 1

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NEVER use silicone sealer on an oil pan gasket or any other composite or rubber gasket. (Most people call composite gaskets cork gaskets because they contain some cork but pure cork gaskets have not been used for oil pan applications for more than 50 years.) Use of silicone sealer on an oil pan gasket will dramatically increase the chances for a leak and make it harder to get the proper torque on all the bolts around the pan. Let the gasket do the sealing job it was designed to do.

• Trust me if you do it yourself YOU WILL HAVE AN OIL LEAK! there is more to it then 123, you will also need to know how much to pressure to put on the bolts. Please just take it to a shop.

• It is not "for sure" that you will have a leak if you do it yourself. Don't let a dealer rip you off. Buy a repair manual for your car. Follow the directions. Take the pan off after draining the oil. Clean off the old gasket material, install the new gasket using silicone sealant and tighten the bolts with the correct tightening sequence(pattern), which it should say in the manual. The tightening sequence is vital when replacing any gasket.

• It also depends on what kinda of vehicle you want to do this on. On one particular vehicle the only way to get the oil pan off was to lift the engine (I'm not kiddin') and another one you had to take a part of the exhaust out of the way to get at it.... anyway, ya, other than the few pain in the butt ones, the rest ain't so hard. 1)drain the oil 2)remove the bolts 3) scrape away old gasket material or sealer from both surfaces (being careful not to scar them) 4) Clean the oil pan well (you don't want any extra junk in there when you put it back on. 5) Put on sealer/gasket 6)put bolts on 7) If you can find the proper tightening specifications, then go right ahead and do it, but if not, and you don't have some idea, then it's best to take it to a shop. Cork gaskets should be tightened to about 100 inch pounds (max 120, 100 being safe). I recommend using a torque wrench. It's best that you replace the oil filter too since the oil is already out and .... why not.

• Some people can actually follow directions and do things themselves. People wouldn't be so broke if they realized simple things like this can be done by an average person. I have never done this but I imagine that it is really easy and as simple as the 1,2,3 steps above. The only issue would be getting a clean surface. When I was doing my differentials I used brake cleaner i think to get rid of the oil. I'm not sure if it would work in this case but you do need a clean surface free of oil to get a good seal and yes not tighten the bolts too much.

well it all depends on the vehicle,some engines you will have to raise the engine to allow clearance to remove the pan after removing the bolts,and even some may have to be raised higher that others because of the oil pick-up tube,the tube plugs into the oil pump and sets close to the bottom of the pan,usually in the lowest part of the pan by the oil drain plug,after removing the pan,you must clean off all the old gasket from the pan and the engine,and its a good idea to change the rubber seal on the bottom of the timing chain cover,after affixing the new gasket to the pan or engine block,some times it works better to use some gasket sealer under one side of the gasket to hold it into place,but i wouldn't use silicon because it will turn to rubber and you will have leaks before long,use gasket sealer,it's tacky and will hold the gasket in place,and if you need to move the gasket a little you will be able too,when tighten the bolts do not over torque the bolts because you may MASH the gasket in half or bend the pan,you can find the torque pattern in a manual ,it will show you the sequence to tighten the bolts and will show you how many pounds of torque to tighten the bolts,and after you run the engine for awhile,,you may want to re-check the torque on the bolts to make sure they are still tighten to the correct pressure

The Truth is... There is no way this question can be answered accurately without knowing more about your application. Some engines will require removal (or at least elevating the engine a few inches) to get the oil pan out.

Most modern engines will allow the following, being front wheel drive. RWD's will probably need to have the engine lifted.

Replacing an Oil Pan Gasket

• Disconnect negative cable from battery.
• Drain oil through plug located at the bottom of oil pan.
• Remove bolts around edge of the oil pan. There are probably around 8 of them.
• Drop oil pan.
• Clean gasket material from both block and oil pan.
• Install new gasket.

Answer 2