oil pan gasket trick?

[89cherokee]

I have an 89 cherokee 4.0 liter engine. a few weeks ago I replaced the gasket on the oil pan with a friends help. Everything went fine exept that I was worried that the rubber seal at the back was pushed out toward the flywheel. Sure enough leaked like the Exxon valdez. Round 2 was today with new gasket kit, still had the rubber seal moving. The front seal has rubber nubs that fit into holes, the cork gasket goes on great...its just the rear rubber gasket near the flywheel that doesn't want to stay put during installation. What's the trick? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[90Xjay]

I have an 89 cherokee 4.0 liter engine. a few weeks ago I replaced the gasket on the oil pan with a friends help. Everything went fine exept that I was worried that the rubber seal at the back was pushed out toward the flywheel. Sure enough leaked like the Exxon valdez. Round 2 was today with new gasket kit, still had the rubber seal moving. The front seal has rubber nubs that fit into holes, the cork gasket goes on great...its just the rear rubber gasket near the flywheel that doesn't want to stay put during installation. What's the trick? Thanks for any suggestions.

• Try cleaning the metal mating surface on the pan lip.
  
• Use carb spray or something that leaves no residue.
  
• Apply a very thin layer of orange or copper RTV silicone sealant, wait about 5 minutes for it to tack up a bit.
  
• Then place the rubber gasket on top of the layer of silicone and let that set for about 20 minutes before you mess with it.
  
• It should stay in place.

 

[dorun_run]

In addition to cleaning the two mating surfaces and using RTV to keep the gasket in place durring installation I HIGHLY recommend using a torque wrench! It will greatly increase the chance that you will seal it up well. Also, since you are reinstalling the gasket you recently put in check it for any flat spots that may have developed. To select a proper a torque wrench the torque spec that you are using should be within a band of 20-90% of the maximum torque the wrench is capable of reading. If you don't have a torque wrench readily available then try a parts store like Advanced auto parts or Auto Zone; they say that they loan tools out for free.
Hope it was usefull to you.

 

[90Xjay]

Wow...good advice.. I can't say I have ever used a torque wrench on an oil pan or valve covers..since they normally only call for about 20 ft lbs.. I just wing it with a 3/8 socket.

 

[Bullet3600]

I used the blue rtv sealant with the gasket and let it dry for a short, it worked well to hold it in place. Be extremly careful not to snug up the bolts to tight, they snap very easy with to much pressure.

 

[89cherokee]

Thank you for all your help. I did use a torque wrench last time and my friend laughed at me. I hate oil leaks...and the torque wrench gives me even torque. I tried the blue gasket stuff the first time, and this time I used the copper stuff as recommended (with a torque wrench) and...probably more importantly... I waited for 30 minutes and the rubber part never moved as I installed the oil pan. Success! Thank you all again.

 

[90Xjay]

..... I hate oil leaks....

Ahh, someone who understands how I feel about them too.:evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[Bullet3600]

Ya gotta love Jeeps, if the is oil somewhere a Jeep has probably been there...lol