Before I did anything, I would wipe down the underside of the engine really
well and then start the car and then take it for a run..... when you come
back, see if you can find where it is leaking from.....you may find that the
pan gasket is not the guilty party at all. It might be the rear engine seal
,the front seal on the timing chain cover, the oil seal on the mainshaft,
the rear seal on the output shaft, the gasket on the overdrive solenoid
cover or........
My point being, the pan gasket and the two 4"x1/4" cork gaskets at the main
caps are the easiest to repair but, also the least likely to leak....chances
are it is one of the aforementioned none of which are an easy job to
address.
The most likely guilty party in a leaking healey (and there are lot's of
guilty parties), is the rear engine seal...and the only effective solution
to this is an aftermarket seal kit (from Moss, Denis Welch etc). They can
be installed without taking the engine out of the car. However, the
transmission does have to come out and you do need to machine your rear
engine plate (or buy a machined one). A leaking rear engine seal can look
like a leaking pan gasket in that the runs down the rear engine plate on the
engine side of the plate and looks like it is coming from the rear of the
pan.
I've found that the pan itself only leaks at the end caps where the 4"long
by 1/4" square cork gaskets are inserted. After numerous experiments, I
found that putting silicone in the grove where this cork gasket goes before
inserting the gasket stops the leaks.... With respect to the pan gasket
itself, I always put a thin coat of Hylomar on each side of the cork gasket
before putting the pan back on....I do not use Loctite on the pan
screws....also, do not overtighten the pan screws as all you do is squish
the cork gasket to a point that it is no longer effective.
If the front timing cover seal is leaking, it should be obvious However,
the pan does not have to come off to fix this...the damper does which means
the radiator is likely coming out etc etc.
You won't be able to tell if the transmission input shaft is leaking without
pulling the transmission....If oil is coming out of the bell housing, it
could be the input shaft seal or, the rear engine seal.
My point being, before you start pulling stuff apart, find out what's
leaking.
Good luck
Paul
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