help me stop my oil leak (any thoughts on a silicone gasket)

[colbystephens]

ok. so i just got my rebuilt engine on my truck and on the road and i've got a pretty severe oil leak - i've leaked about half a quart in almost 500 miles. there are three leaks - one from the front of the oil pan, one from the rear, and one from the oil cooler lines. the oil cooler lines i can take care of - no big deal.

in regard to the oil pan, however...
when i installed the oil pan, i used the gasket in my gasket kit - it was just one of those flimsy paper-like gaskets. i'm wondering if that's my problem. should i drop the pan and use silicone instead? it's frustrating b/c it's about time for it's first oil change (only got 50 miles to go) and i'm going to install amsoil - too spendy to be wasting on asphalt!

 

[79k20350]

not sure if they make them for 6.2's but i love the 1 pieces rubber ones

 

[colbystephens]

i wasn't aware that they made rubber ones. what's the advantage to the rubber over other options?

 

[daleearnhardt01]

You probably over tightened the bolts fudging the gasket. Either get a new paper gasket and be carefull not to overtighten or get one of those nice rubber ones. I like those way better, they have metal rings in the holes to prevent over tightening and they are reuseable.

 

[colbystephens]

i think it's very likely that i overtightened b/c i didn't have a torque wrench for that low torque (my big torque wrench is a POS too. ) i'll check on the rubber gasket. in the event that one isn't available for my 6.2 application, any thoughts on the silicone?

 

[Masiony]

...i've got a pretty severe oil leak - i've leaked about half a quart in almost 500 miles. ...

thats it? thats not a leak. my 305 loses a little more than a quart every 200 miles or less.

 

[Kyle Strong]

thats it? thats not a leak. my 305 loses a little more than a quart every 200 miles or less.

ya, same here. I've lost...let's see...I don't know, like 2 or 3 quarts in maybe, MAYBE, 200 miles. But I burn a lot of it, and a lot of it went everywhere while I was wheeling. But what ev, I'm going to drop a 454 in soon anyway. And as far as the gasket goes, I'd personally run a rubber one, but I'd think the silicone should work fine.

 

[colbystephens]

see, that's gonna get rather expensive since i'm running amsoil tho! any thoughts on the silicone?

 

[daleearnhardt01]

I guess silcone would work but I wouldnt use it personally, Id be afraid I would squish it down and a piece would come off and then Id have a piece of trash in the crankcase..Thats just me though

 

[Propayne]

if you feel like risking getting silicone in your oil and into your crankcase, then you can try it.


personally, the rubber gasket sounds like a good idea

 

[4xcrazy]

You were supposed to put some RTV in the corners just like you do with the intake manifold, bet thats where your leak is coming from,,,,,the corners.

 

[colbystephens]

those are two things i was entirely unaware of! it's a good thing i didn't do it on my intake manifold - yet, b/c i had to take it off and put it back on about 5 times during the rebuild. do you think i could get away w/ dropping the pan and doing that? i think i am leaking from the corners on the rear - don't know for sure on the front - it's hard to tell w/ that crossmember. if i drop the pan and can avoid ruining the gasket, does the rtv go under or on top of the paper gasket?

 

[mxfireman]

not sure if they make them for 6.2's but i love the 1 pieces rubber ones

Second that one I have had zero problems since I replaced mine with rubber gaskets....

 

[ryoken]

the gasket will be shot.. if your going thru the trouble of dropping the pan, have a new set on hand.. and anytime your using a multipiece gasket, you always need to add a dab of silicone to the corners.. but if they make the rubber one-piece with metal ringlets one for your diesel, i'd get that, they work sweet... no silicone required.. no idea if its droppable for you with the x-member...

 

[colbystephens]

i know it can be taken off. it is a one piece gasket - but it is like a big U shape - open at the rear of the engine. i'll try a new one w/ some silicone.

 

[littlejimmythatcould]

Two words: Ultra Black. It's made by permatex and comes in a black tube. It's like tar if you get it on you or your clothes. When I tore down my motor b/c of spun bearing when I bought my truck , the guy before me used that ultra black and the motor only had about 200 miles on it and I could barely get the dang thing apart! Not to mention trying to scrape it off of parts to reassemble the engine. I've used it on a buddy's rear end on his camaro to seal it up and we didn't even use a gasket and it's been about a year and it still hasn't leaked. I used it on my whole motor in conjunction with the gaskets (except on the heads) and have had no problem. It only has a work life of about 15 minutes though (depending on temperature) so you have to work fast. But I swear by that stuff.

Edit: you can use it on oil and water passages.

 

[mouse]

not sure if they make them for 6.2's but i love the 1 pieces rubber ones

I didn't read any further because this is what I was going to say. I bought the 1-piece for my 350 and it is the best gasket I have ever bought. A little spendy, IIRC ~$33. Hasn't leaked from the oil pan since it was installed. I used a Felpro unit.