Does the Oil Pan have a gasket?

[NickR]

My daughter has just returned from tree planting in Northern Ontario in her 92 Tercel. That poor, brave, little car. She was driving it on the most awful dirt roads imaginable, and somehow managed to hit a large rock, which has made a truly massive dent in her oil pan, shearing off a couple of the bolts which attach the oil pan to the block, loosening the remaining bolts, and causing the oil pan to leak where it attaches to the block (thankfully it didn't split the oil pan itself, by some miracle, or the car would now be abandoned in the bush, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest road).

So now I must replace the oil pan. Does the oil pan have a gasket? Haynes says to just use a bead of RTV sealant, but when the oil pan was replaced two years ago (ironically, because the original oil pan was leaking, due to rust, and it rusted because it never leaked) the mechanic billed me for a gasket. Can anyone confirm whether it does or does not have a gasket (I need to go buy the parts tomorrow).

Thanks.

[TdotTercel]

no gasket, use the black gasket maker

[NickR]

Thanks, Tdot!

[TdotTercel]

np, just remember to give that shyt 24 hrs to dry before you fill up the oil and start it up.....
I made that mistake once.....ONCE!

[NickR]

The guy at the parts store confirmed what you said, about there being no gasket on the oil pan, so I picked up some RTV sealant. But when I removed the old oil pan, I found that there was a gaskte there (looked like cork). Possibly my mechanic had used a gasket when he previously replaced the oil pan, because he didn't want to wait 24 hours for the RTV to dry?

Anyway, I got the old oil pan off without difficulty. By disconnecting the exhaust where it attaches to the exhaust manifold, I found there was enough flex in the flexpipe to get the exhaust enough out of the way to remove the oil pan (Haynes said you had to take the exhaust right out).

Only one difficulty: one of the bolts attaching the oil pan to the block had sheared off. I am having some difficulty drilling or chiseling out the remains of that bolt, and am wondering if it really matters if I leave off one of the bolts (it's not one of the end bolts)?

[Donald]

When I did my engine swap, I bought a bottom end gasket kit for the 5E-FE engine I was installing. It came with a cork gasket for the oil pan, there was an old cork gasket on the pan when I pulled it off. The 3E engine that I replaced also had a cork gasket on the oil pan.

It might be best to drill and easy-out the remnants of that bolt. It might never leak but then again it might. A little extra work now might save you having to repeat a lot of work later on.

[NickR]

Thanks Donald. I persevered and eventually managed to get the remains of that bolt out. It was very hard working above my head, but by drilling a hole in it, and inserting needle-nosed pliers into the hole, I managed to twist it out. No oil drips any more. A successful operation!

[Donald]

Originally Posted by NickR

Thanks Donald. I persevered and eventually managed to get the remains of that bolt out. It was very hard working above my head, but by drilling a hole in it, and inserting needle-nosed pliers into the hole, I managed to twist it out. No oil drips any more. A successful operation!

Great!!

[TdotTercel]

Good Job Nick