ive recently been having problems with my oil pan leaking and im pretty sure its the gasket not the plug and i was wondering how tough is it to change the gasket im thinking it shouldnt be tough but i wanted to make sure before i started.
remove two engine bolts and engine bay brace and jack up the motor and it should clear enough to pull the pan out
There are two different one piece gaskets (Felpro) one for the front sump pans, the other for the rear sump pans. Both need to be used with the later model pan rail stiffeners and fasteners for the best results.
I prefer the old style 4 piece myself...unless the engine is upside down on a stand. The weight of the one piece kicked my tail trying to hold in place with one hand and oil pan in the other. With the cork style Permatex will hold the gasket in place.
I take it you didn't recognize the 4 blue plastic studs in the box for what they were. There's no need to hold the gasket with your hands once you pop it into place over the studs.
Didn't get nothing but a gasket in the box...what studs are you referring to? I have bolts all around the pan.
When you buy a 1 peice oil pan gasket they now put 4 plastic studs in the box. They hold the gasket in place and also act as guides for you to put the oil pan on. You simply screw the gasket into place with the studs, then slide the oil pan over the studs and put a couple of bolts in it to hold the pan in place and then remove the 4 studs (usually blue if you buy a fel-pro) and put bolts in their place. No dobs of permatex or worrying about that one drip of oil that you might not have gotten clean coming from the rotating assembly is as easy as that.
I guess the plastic studs are the difference between a $30 Mr.Gasket pan gasket and a $45 Fel-Pro gasket.
I've never used the one piece ones either. I've always had better luck with the cork style than the rubber ones on oil pans and valve covers. I just use some Ultra Copper Permatex to glue them to the pan or valve cover. The rubber ones seem to want to walk out after a bit of heat gets to them. Could be me, but I'll stay with what works for me....
You get what you pay for. The plastic studs make all the difference when doing this with the engine in the car. I do it differently from markso125 though. I screw the studs in place, then use a dab of sealer in the corners of the main caps, then pop the gasket over the studs, then the oil pan and pan rail stiffeners. Once you have all this in place, you can get 3-4 bolts per side in then remove the studs.
