Gaskets? Near-emergency

[Rittmeister]

Is there a shop in town that can cut custom gaskets? I have got to find a solution to a problem, pronto.

It's a long story but basically I need to get an oil pan to seal, and I've tried a number of times with RTV as per the FSM, with no luck. I want to find a gasket that'll work but it's a RWD SR, which means even if there's a gasket (and there likely isn't since it's meant to use RTV) it won't exactly be stocked at Autozone.

I'm going to call a couple motorcycle shops tomorrow, as I've heard they do this (just a rumor but I'm grasping at straws) and I am also going to call Ohio Hydraulics in hopes they can help.

Any other advice would be most welcome, this problem needs to get solved as fast as possible.

Thanks!

[BTM]

what kind of sealant are you using? if the surfaces are clean and oil free and the right sealant is used then it shouldnt leak. the black and blue silicone rtv is not the stuff to use. i have had good luck with the grey that drys fairly hard. you could also try to use actual nissan stuff, which is as good as it gets.

[BTM]

also, if you really want to have a gasket instead, you can buy rolls of gasket material. you lay it out and cut it the way you need it. for the lower pan this shouldnt be too bad, but the upper pan would be a pain in the ass to cut right.

[dsmawd350]

can you not buy a sheet of gasket making material and use the pan as a template and do it yourself?

[sbcxtreme]

Yea what Brent said. Make sure youre using the right stuff, if it still leaks than you have another problem. Can you tell where its leaking at? If you can spot the origin of it, and the surfaces look fine, then you are building up excess pressure or something. Is the pcv system working correctly or does it smoke at idle?

[Jesse]

What those guys said, I'm almost positive the zone or advance carries roll of that, I've made a few gaskets out of the cork rolls, they've held up fine. Do you have a one peice pan or the stock 2 peice? Is the lower or upper leaking? Damn SR's I've got a couple KA oil pan gaskets laying around

[Joey]

If you want I could find you a SR oil pan gasket in Japan..

[Rittmeister]

Here's the situation, cut-and-past from Zilvia:

OK, S13 SR20DET.

I've been running an Ebay ripoff Greddy oil pan for several years, no problems, except that the casting is thicker than it should be with the result that it doesn't hold as much as I think it should.

Two years ago I tried a Tomei pan, but for the life of me could not keep it from leaking at the flange. I installed it four times, no luck. Always applied RTV in the pattern and thickness dicated by the FSM, always torqued the bolts in the order dictated by the FSM. Returned it and went back to the Freddy.

Last week I took delivery of a Moroso pan, thinking that maybe the steel Tomei pan just couldn't conform enough to the mating surface of the engine. After all, the stock pan and the Freddy pan had never leaked, right?

Well, I just got done installing the Moroso pan for the second time, and it too leaks at the flange. Same damn thing. I even followed a slightly different regimen with the sealant that was recommended to me by 240SXmotoring (who sold me the pan), involving sealant on both the pan and the engine, and waiting 24 hours before filling with oil, and it still didn't work.

So here are my questions - first, is there some property of red RTV that makes it less sticky than gray? I know the FSM calls for gray, but I always figured that red is just the same stuff rated for a higher temp, and I've used it successfully on everything but the Tomei and the Moroso pans. It's sealing my water necks, valve cover, and I used it on the Freddy pan and the stock pan. But is gray stickier? Will gray RTV solve this issue?

And second - I know I know I know that RTV is the sealant of choice, but I also know that plenty of cars out there use some kind of gasket on the oil pan. Does any company make one for the RWD SR?

I am both fed up and out of time to screw with this any longer; I have too much other work to do on the car in the next week or so to lose another day (or more) messing with this. Any help would be appreciated.

Cliff notes: two different sheetmetal lower oil pans leaked, despite multiple attempts at installation, always following factory guidelines (except for using red RTV instead of gray, but I use red on everything and this is the ONLY thing it's failed on). The stock pan and a cheap-shit ripoff cast aluminum pan have never failed me. The mating surface on the engine was always cleaned to a T, degreased, etc, and is not scratched or marred in any way. The leaks always occurred in different places around the flange, sometimes in the front, sometimes in the back, etc. There was always a tiny bead of RTV that squeezed out all around, so I know it spread properly.

In other words, I cannot for the life of me figure out why these fucking oil pans keep leaking when I know they're quality products and nothing's wrong with the engine.

[240Jeff]

I would give the gray RTV a shot. I've used the gray with the one oil pan I've removed and never had any issues with it. I've also heard good things about the copper RTV for oil pans. But that's just what the rednecks have told me shopping at autozone for their hillbilly drag cars.

[Kisor]

Right stuff.



this is all we use at work. the only other thing i could recommend is the Ultra grey or Ultra Black... both are similar to the Right stuff.

I know KOI has it... probably others

[Dunc]

Originally Posted by 240Jeff

I've also heard good things about the copper RTV for oil pans.

I put a smiggen of this around my oil pressure fitting since it had a little leak. It hasn't leaked in over a year now. Copper rtv is good stuff.

[hksdsm11]

Ultra Grey, end of story. If it's a different color, it's not the same shit, it's that simple. Hell, the FSM even tells you what product to use, use it. A gasket is not the cure, and will likely make the problem worse, as you're doubling the contact surfaces.

[PiranhaMatt]

Originally Posted by Kisor

Right stuff.



this is all we use at work. the only other thing i could recommend is the Ultra grey or Ultra Black... both are similar to the Right stuff.

I know KOI has it... probably others

This stuff is awesome, sealed my most recent sr20 oil pans together nicely.

[Rittmeister]

Well, I'm going to try the ultra gray. I struck out on anyone cutting a gasket. I'm not waiting any 24 hours this time though, I've got too much other stuff needs done. Since we're saying the FSM is gospel, it only requires 30 minutes before filling... I'm also going to try using a slightly larger bead of the sealant.

I'm just blown away that the red worked for the others, but not this. We'll see what happens. If if doesn't work, I'm probably going to send it back; I don't really have any more time to fuck with it.

[BTM]

grey will work.

[Rittmeister]

Gray may have done the trick. No leaks when filling/idling. Just came back from a test drive, long enough to get the temp up. I'll check for drips later but am optimistic.

[240Jeff]

Sweeeet.

[Rittmeister]

Dragging this back from the dead. The pan still leaked, though far, far less than before. Leaked around two bolt holes in the back. Re-sealed it again Thursday night, and it's not dripping yet but I see some oil seeping out around one bolt hole again. Dammit.

This time, on the recommendation of my mechanic, I ran two beads of gray RTV, and also surrounded the bolt holes with RTV. I just seem to have no luck at all with this.

I'm at my wit's end. I either want to try a custom gasket (still don't know who can cut one) or have someone try to seal it for me. Ordinarily I don't like having someone else work on my car but clearly I'm not competent to do this particular job. I know the mating surfaces are OK, that's not the issue.

So, an offer: if someone who's recognized to be a decent mechanic is willing to drop by my place and try their hand at this, I'll make it worth your while. I'll take the pan off and get everything cleaned up so all you have to do is caulk it up and bolt it on. I'll feed you dinner and beer if you want. If, in two weeks or so, there are no leaks, I'll paypal you some cash monies.

If there are leaks, I'll still paypal you, just not as much :D If you strip out any of the bolt holes, I'll kill you right here in my driveway. :D

OR, I'll pull out my dremel and cut a shallow groove in the oil pan's flange, since it doesn't have one where the Freddy and the stock pan do.

Anyone?

[BTM]

maybe get rid of the knock off and get a good pan. my knock off leaks some and i think im going to get a moroso to replace it. the castings suck on the knock offs to the point where oil can leak through the metal.

[Rittmeister]

Um, I have a Moroso; that's the pan this thread is about. The knockoff never leaked; the Moroso and the Tomei are the ones I've had problems with.

I sold the knockoff, or I might re-install it. I'm trying to get the Moroso to work.