Reusing gaskets?

[canoetrpr]

gengine - do you add goop even when you use rubber gaskets? My neighbour is picking on me cause he told me to use goop and now says "I told you so" I thought the right thing was to not use goop on rubber gaskets.

 

[Coyote machine]

Here's the thing; after reading all the pages of this post. You're working without a lot of experience so when you say the gasket looks good it is largely irrelevant. (not intended as a slam, just a point of your lack of experience does not give you the necessary criteria to determine if a gasket is good or not.) Also a clue is the need to use an impact wrench to remove the pan bolts. Whoever did the pan originally may have over-torqued the bolts, or they could have seized up to some extent over years of being in the holes with the engine's heat, etc. Next time use PB blaster or some other bolt loosener- NEVER an impact wrench, unless you want to try to drill and tap out a pan bolt for replacement....
When the pan if off you should inspect each pan bolt hole for elongation or any sign of irregularity. Using a straight edge on the pan's surface has been suggested, and you should also do that. Not with a ruler but with a machined true metal edge.
The rubber gasket stuck to the block could be allowing oil out above the gasket and below the block's surface- even though it 'looks good' from what you can inspect. REPLACE THE GASKET. Seal it with what the manufacturer recommends or the right stuff as already stated numerous times If there is room to install a small star washer on each bolt then you could do so to reduce the unlikely chance of a bolt backing out if torqued properly. Most times bolts are to be torqued dry with clean threads. Replace any suspect bolts rather than reusing them.
Good luck- post back results.

 

[MJPetersen]

Probably what your problem is a common malady. Rubber products take a "set" over time. When rubber is compressed for a time it looses its elasticity and retains the shape that it was put in. That is why you have to retighten those screw type hose clamps (and why they are not allowed on aircraft hoses). You probably have noticed when you pull a radiator hose that the impression of the clamp does not go away.

Anyway, what happened is that your pan gasket also will take a "set" over time. It is "used" to being compressed in a certain way in a certain place. If you could get it back into the exact spot it was originally and tighten it to th exact same tightness then it would not leak, but the reality is that is almost never possible. Therefore, a small seep leak will develop.

Solution, use a new gasket. (I would still use a very thin smear of gasket sealer on one side to hold the gasket in place.) Or, use a very thin smearing of sealer or liquid gasket material with the old gasket. In your case, with the old gasket securely held on the block I would have just made sure it and the pan were perfectly clean and free of oil, smeared a sealer on the pan and put it together. I cannot guaranty that you would not have had a leak, but I am pretty confident that would be true.

One word about gasket sealer and silicone. More is NOT better. if you think that there might be too much there most definitely is. Remember that you are filling a VERY thin space and any excess will either go to the inside or outside. On the inside it can collect on screens, and block small openings. (I have found bits of silicone in radiators and for sure transmission/hydraulic pick up tube screens.) On the outside you have an unsightly red, blue, or black tell-tale band around the part that you had off.

Mike

 

[canoetrpr]

I got under the tractor to see if I could inspect where it might be leaking. Hard to tell. It is somewhere around the front of the pan. I cannot tell if it was at the interface of the pan and the engine block or a couple of bolts at the front in that area.

I want to minimize any possibility of rework this time around. I sure as heck am dedicated not to send the tractor to a dealer for my screw up! I've learned enough here that I'm determined to get this right.

I'm pondering the idea of getting a new pan, gasket and new bolts all around. This way regardless of what it is, it should be addressed by reworking it once. It isn't cheap to get a new pan - all in all it will probably be about $300 CDN. That said, rework with my time isn't cheap either. Lots of other things I would rather be doing that need to get done

Of course its not like it is losing a litre of oil or anything. It is a seep if anything. I cannot tell a difference in the oil level. So I can possibly let it be until the winter by which time I would tack up enough hrs to get another oil change done.

What do you guys think? New pan, gasket, bolts - or should I just try new gasket and bolts first?

 

[patrick_g]

Sometimes adding some kind of goop hoping to somehow get a better seal than a properly prepared set of mating surfaces and a good gasket doesn't happen. The goop lubes the joint and so be extra careful when tightening the fasteners that the gasket doesn't slip sideways. You can squeeze/distort the gasket much easier with goop stuff in use. Use it if you need it but do be careful.

Hope you cure your leak before it "DRIVES" you crazy. In my case it is not a drive but just a short "put."

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

What do you guys think? New pan, gasket, bolts - or should I just try new gasket and bolts first?

New gasket? YES

New bolts? Only if the old ones are damaged.. IE.. rounded heads, rusty. or damaged threads.

New pan? Check the old one first.. remove it and clean it up.. and check the mating surface to see if it is true.. or if it is warped from overtightening... If yo had to use an impact gun to take it off.. I expect there to be some warpage unless it is a heavy pan.. or you got real lucky..

soundguy

 

[SPYDERLK]

Of course its not like it is losing a litre of oil or anything. It is a seep if anything. I cannot tell a difference in the oil level. So I can possibly let it be until the winter by which time I would tack up enough hrs to get another oil change done.

What do you guys think? New pan, gasket, bolts - or should I just try new gasket and bolts first?

Did you lube that rubber gasket when you assembled it? This would have helped it seat into the slight movement caused by disassembly. The amount of your leak sounds like a non issue tho. It may subside by itself after a few hot cycles in the summer. Even if it doesnt it should be a stable very low level loss. Not worth your time to fix.
larry