I am puttting my white Valiant together for the races at Hagerstown and Kearney coming up. Last year I started out for Hagerstown but turned back because I was leaking so much oil. I am putting another engine in it for this year and I want to try to make sure that it won't be another leaker. I haven't put the pan on the new engine yet. Yeaterday I pulled the engine that was leaking so bad out and today I pulled the pan off to try to determine why it leaks so bad. The front and rear pan seals and the corners seemed to be holding up pretty well but it looks like the oil justs gets out thourgh the passenger side pan rail. That gasket is saturared with oil. I hadn't used any kind of sealers except in the corners with a regular cork pan gasket.

Oil leaks have been a continuing problem with that engine regardless of how careful I am about putting it together. I wonder if the fact that that engine has an old Mopar Performance windage tray has something to do with it. Its function would seem to be to through all the oil up against that pan rail, has anybody else encountered a similar problem?

The engine I am putting in has a modified Mike Jeffrey windage tray and a inshtar?? Johnson scraper. Today I laid down a bead of Tuff Stuff gasket maker between the block and the scraper and the spacer on the other side and then screwed the pan down to set it in place. When I go back I will take off the pan and prepare to seal it up for good. Gary Bruner says that smearing both sides of the pan gasket with hardening Permatex is the best way to go. That stuff realy makes a mess, anybody else have any ideas how to get the best seal between the block and the pan? I read Doug's article about oil pan sealing but he concentrates mostly on the front and rear areas and doesn't say much about the sides.

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If you didn't drive it there, it's not a street car.

I only do the outside of the pan gasket once it's bolted in place, and lay a fair bead into the space/trough where the gasket is all 4 sides. It seems to work fine until the rear main leaks or you replace the timing cover...
It's an ugly "goop" job but it's good insurance for the time being.

-D.Idiot

The only places I use a lot of sealer are the 4 corners where the rubber pieces meet the gasket. I also lay a bead of sealer around the whole pan joint after it's on.

Remember Seymour, a Slant is like a Harley. If it's not leaking oil, it's empty.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

So Slantzilla and DI are saying install the cork gaskets dry but then force sealer into the groove between the gasket and pan or block after the pan is bolted on. That can't hurt and wouldn't be as messy as trying to coat the gaskets. I always try to do that after the leaks start but of course then the sealer doesn't really bond because the surface is oily. This time I will do it when its still dry. Another ideas?

I am thiniking that having the scraper in is good because it will deflect the oil instead of throwing it right at the gasket. It always leaks the most when you cruise at 75-80 eventhough the ring seal is pretty good.

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If you didn't drive it there, it's not a street car.

I should clarify, I use a very thin coat of silicone sealer on the cork gaskets.

You're not overtightening the pan bolts are you? That will cut the cork gasket pretty quickly.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

While I am not familiar with the slant six windage tray I am with the 440s. Are you using two oil pan gasket sets? one for the block to windage tray and one on the windage tray to oil pan? Or does this windage tray bolt to the mains?

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50 chrysler,54 Plymouth, 64 Valiant conv 4 speed, 66 Valiant V8 wagon, 70 Challenger R/T 440+6 conv 4 speed,80 Colt, 98 Neon ACR,84 Honda V45 Magna
Taking care of 57 300C conv,48 T&C conv. Missing my 67 GTX and 36 Ply coupe

Tray bolts to the mains like a small block. The crank scvraper goes on the oil pan rails with silicone, and the gasket goes over it.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Yes, cork gaskets stink (the latest in 1930's technology). Everyone has their own method that "works" for them. I use silicone RTV (room temp vulcanizing) sealer at the corner joints. I think it's too "slippery" to use on the side seals. For those I use permatex's Spray High Tack sealant. You spray several coats onto both sides of the cork gaskets to saturate them, then one coat on the block. let it dry 5 min then install the gasket (it will "glue / stick" in place.) I always use blue lock tite on the pan bolts & torque to service manual spec.
If your windage tray does mount to the pan rail you need extra sealer between it & the block.

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

Could you be building crank case pressure? since you say it leaks bad on the highway at higher speeds and rpm?

Kev

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One thing I always do us use a ball-peen hammer to tap down the high spots where the bolts go through the pan. The holes are usually "pulled out" toward the block. This makes a high spot when the pan bolts down and prevents a good seal in the spaces between the bolt holes. Put a straight edge on the pan bolt surface and you will see what I mean.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

I just tightened the pan bolts tonight. First I did some hammering on the pan like Chuck recommended, some of the bolt holes were dimpled. I set the scraper and spacer on the block with Tuff Stuff and than tightened the pan down and let it set up for a day, then I laid the cork gasket on top of the scraper and spacer with Tuff Stuff and tightened down the pan again and let it sit another day. I was able to clean up any sealer that had oozed inside the engine after these two steps. Then today I smeared more Tuff Stuff on the cork gasket and in the corners and set the pan on, hopefully for the last time. This time I tightened the bolts up to the recommended 200 inch pounds. This seemed to be too much as the gasket is bulging out several places but I didn't see any point in backing off the bolts after they were tightened. I used two different torque wrenches with the same result. My worry is that some sealer oozed inside and will get into the sump. Tomorrow I will work more Tuff Stuff into the crack between the pan and the block. I hope I never have to take this engine apart again, if it leaks again I will be very disappointed.

If I had to do it over again I think I would use a thinner coating of silicone where I used the Tuff Stuff and only tighten the pan bolts to about 150 inch pounds until after the sealer sets up then maybe go up to 200. Any thouhgts?

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If you didn't drive it there, it's not a street car.

When I apply a silicone sealer, I use a very thin amount to prevent the oozing.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster