[TR] Oil Seals

[Brian Jones]

Terry,

Randall's advice about a straight edge is good. I went about it differently,
though. Outside of daylight hours, put a flashlight (I used a small,
free-standing camping light) on a flat surface, like a kitchen counter.
Invert the oil pan over the light and look edge-on at the point the pan
meets the flat surface. Streams of light will guide your work.
Over-tightened bolt holes stand like mini volcanoes where the tight bolt has
compressed the gasket and stretched the steel. This method works for me
because it gives you the 'whole picture', instantly.

I didn't have or need an anvil. I put a piece of hard wood (oak, or similar)
flat on the surface. Mine was a left-over oak tread, but you'll use what you
have. I used another piece of oak end-grain on to flatten the lip, helped by
a bfh. Check your work as you go with the light.

Once I had the pan as flat as I could get it, I glued the gasket to the pan
very carefully and thoroughly with a 'modern' sealant and allowed that to
dry for a day, inverted on a flat surface. I cleaned up the sealing edge of
the sump and then used a non-hardening sealant (Hylomar, I think) to seal
between the pan's gasket and the sump when I fitted the pan. I put Hylomar
on the bolts as I put the thing together. It has proven to be dry.

In the same way, as I have gone over the car, it has been my practice, where
I can, to secure the gasket to the thing I can remove, and use a
non-hardening sealant between that item and 'the car' - like the timing
cover, for example. When it comes to remove it, the gasket should come away
with the part. Scraping clean something in your hand for a new gasket, on
the bench, is a lot easier than cleaning up the other mating surface in or
under the car. It also helps, I think, to have on assembly, one half of the
joint sealed and cured, rather than have bolts squeezing ozzing goop on both
sides of the gasket. Gradually tighten all bolts in turn, so you evenly
bring the two mating faces together.

The advantage of fixing the gasket to the part you can remove was was
brought home recently. I had to remove (for the first time) my timing cover.
The gasket was fixed very securely to the block with a very hard adhesive.
It took HOURS of scraping to remove it. In the car, access to to scrape and
clean the front of the block is, let's say, impeded.

Anyway, my 2c.

Brian
Valley Forge, PA



On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 5:50 PM, <terryrs at comcast.net> wrote:

> All right, I'm ready.B Done.B It's time to move on it.B Gadfrey.
>
> I'm using the original oil pan and a valve cover from E-Bay.B  The valve
> cover
> leaks, even with that terrific silicon gasket.B  The oil pan, I'm not sure,
> but there's oil everywhere under there.B  The front and rear seals are
> new.B
> The rear is the modified new type.
>
> What valve cover do people recommend?B  And if anyone has a good one
> hanging
> around, I'm interested.
>
> But before that, what exactly is it about oil pan distortion caused by
> erratic
> torquing of the bolts. ISTR discussion that this is noted as a reason for
> them
> not to seal properly, and has almost certainly happened on my 50 year old
> pan.B  Is that a myth?
>
> I fail to see the humor in dead pan.B  Or is it, dead-pan humor???
>
>
>
> Terry Smith, '59 TR3A
>
> New Hamsphire
>
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