Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair

   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #1  

mmranch

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2010
Messages
250
Location
Crested Butte, CO
Tractor
TYM T603
I have a TYM 603 tractor/CAT engine that began to have an oil pan gasket leak awhile back. Sent it back to the dealer and they pulled and replaced the oil pan gasket. Seemed to work fine for awhile. Then later it began to leak again. The majority of the leak appeared to be along the rear edge of the oil pan gasket by the bell housing (oil pan is basically a rectangular shape) but there were a couple of lesser leaking spots up front too.

Because the dealer is far away and I would have to pay to transport the tractor to the dealer and be without my machine for a week or two, I told them to ship me the gasket and I would replace.

There are about 25-30 small bolts that hold on the pan and they are spaced about 1 inch apart... maybe 1.5 inches. As I removed the bolts, the bolts along the rear edge near the bell housing are in a tight spot and there are two large bolt heads which simply hold on a cover plate on the bell housing. These bolt heads prohibit getting a socket wrench straight onto two of the oil pan bolts. So I used a small universal adapter to remove these bolts. As I did, I noticed that one of the bolts seemed very stripped and the other only had a slight amount of strippage. I realized that when the dealer replaced the gasket, they stripped one of the bolts because they couldn't get a clear shot at them because of the two bell housing bolts. And I'm not sure yet whether it's even possible to have removed the bell housing bolts because they may not be able to be installed after the oil pan is installed as the space is very tight and they might not be able to get into their holes with the pan blocking them. Even before I removed the pan, I noticed a chunk of gasket sticking out the side of the flange and when I removed the pan it was clear that the gasket had been pinched and sliced and this was the main cause of leaking. Bolts torqued too tight.

Anyway, so one bolt showed significant strippage. And I got a new bolt.

So I removed the pan, cleaned everything and got ready to re-install. The CAT gasket is basically blackish in color on one side and reddish in color on the other side. I used high-temp Permatex and applied it to the flange of the oil pan, carefully placed the gasket on the pan flange (with the red side towards the pan if I recall correctly) and applied Permatex to the top of the gasket (black side) and installed the pan. When I got to the rear bolts, I had the same basic problem as it's impossible to get a clean, straight shot onto two of the bolts because of the bell housing bolt heads that are in the way. So I started them both by hand and the less-stripped hole bolt went in just fine. The more stripped bolt hole was much harder to get started. At a certain point, you can't get the bolts to go in any further with your fingers and so I used the small socket with universal to get them in. Less stripped went all the way no problem. But more stripped only went most of the way in and I could feel it was going to strip out if I went further so I stopped with that bolt head about 1/16" away from the pan flange. I put all the bolts in lightly and waited awhile before torquing them all the way per the Permatex instructions.

I had asked my dealer for a copy of the oil pan change section of the manual to no avail. I was hoping to read any special info about torque specs, etc. I knew I should not over-torque so was careful but I didn't use a torque wrench. And that one bolt never made it all the way in but with the close spacing of the bolts and the Permatex, I thought it should be fine. I was concerned about the possibility of oil leaking from around that one bolt so I put a big glob of Permatex over the whole bolt head. I let it cure for 18 hours before starting the engine.

I was in the middle of a heavy work project with a lot of backhoeing and dirtmoving and all went fine for about 3-4 days. The forward backhoe mount lives bolted to the frame near the oil pan and takes a lot of abuse as the backhoe frame slams around. The gasket began leaking again primarily from this rear edge and dripping down the bell housing. It also was leaking on one of the front corners and dripping from a single bolt. I kept working for days just watching the oil levels closely and seeing the leak increase in volume slightly.

I contacted the dealer about the new leak and they did some research. Apparently TYM (or maybe I should say CAT) has had a problem with oil pan leaks on this tractor/engine. Basically, they said the answer was to use very low torque on all the oil pan bolts (9ft lbs) as opposed to the original spec of like 30-40 ft lbs. They sent me a new gasket and I am in the process of replacing it again. This time, I will use my tap & die set to try to clean up that one bolt hole before installing to see if that helps. As I inspect the zone, there appears to be no chunks of gasket sticking out and the Permatex looks exactly as it was at installation with none dislodged. I will be removing the pan shortly.

My questions are:

1. Have others experienced similar oil pan leak problems with their tractors?

2. Anyone know which side of the gasket (red or black) should go which direction?

3. The dealer recommended using a Helicoil to drill and replace the threads in the stripped bolt hole. I have not done this before and am VERY leery of drilling into the engine block but ultimately may have to go this route. Have others used this process before?

Thanks for any ideas!
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #2  
If the upload works this should be the instructions for disassembly and assembly of the oil pan on your tractor. Afraid the instructions to not mention anything about which direction the gasket goes. I checked the TYM site and saw that the 603 is equipped with a Cat C2.2 engine. I took a stab at a serial number prefix and selected C6M but I don't think it makes any difference in this area. Afraid I am not much help but wanted you to have the instructions.
 

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   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #3  
Sorry, not familiar with your engine, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

On the helicoil question, if you can get a straight shot at the hole, yes they work excellent in blind holes. If you don't have good access you can end up doing more harm than good. Alternatively, if there are still good threads deeper in the block possibly use a slightly longer bolt to engage the good threads. A third choice, Permatex makes a liquid thread repair kit that works in low torque situations like yours. I would also recommend using blue Threadlocker (not red or green) on the bolts no matter what repair method you use. 9 ft-lb torque isn't very much.

Also, in limited access areas I try to replace cap screws with socket head screws. Hex bits 5-6 inches long in 3/8 drive are common and can give a bit more working room.

Ken
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #4  
If the oil pan can go straight up onto the block and doesn't require you to to tip it into place, you could get a stud and thread that in securely. Then install the pan. This would allow you to make sure you can't strip the hole. Then just put a nut and washer on it.

Chuck
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #5  
Just curious, were you able to get your oil paj leak repaired yrt?

Ken
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #6  
Never use permatex on a gasket. The gasket cannot do its job properly and the permatex will let it slip. You should use the gasket by itself. If you are going to use permatex do not use a gasket.
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #7  
Never use permatex on a gasket. The gasket cannot do its job properly and the permatex will let it slip. You should use the gasket by itself. If you are going to use permatex do not use a gasket.
wow..


I know I'm gonna be labeled as a bad guy if I correct this...................Can someone else do this to save me the grief??????
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #8  
wow..


I know I'm gonna be labeled as a bad guy if I correct this...................Can someone else do this to save me the grief??????

Go ahead correct me
 
   / Leaking Oil Pan Gasket Repair #9  
Permatex is a 'brand name'

Permatex makes all kinds different products for different purposes..................Permatex - Adhesive & Sealant Solutions...Made for the Professional

Some gaskets actually do require sealants and/or adhesive substances to hold them in place during installation.

It's always best to read the 'installation instructions' to be sure what the manufacturer recommends.

And I'll even go so far as to say...............yes..........you can eliminate an oil pan, or valve cover gasket.............but you better know what you are doing. I've done it...........but only in extreme cicumstances.
 
 
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