Ostrich2.0

I just swapped out my oil pan and gasket since the old pan had a hole in it.

Everything went on properly and it didnt start leaking until the next day. I figured that maybe the bolts were too loose so i tightened them just a tad more, not enough to strip them.

It didnt leak at all yesterday and its leaking from the same spot. The gasket is all lined up along the edges and i made sure that all the studs went through the holes.

I did not use hondabond or a gasket sealer, is this where i went wrong? I figured i would be ok since the last gasket didnt leak and i didnt find any gasket on it or the block.

This almost seems to dumb to be an issue, but im tired of having to pull my header off and redo the same thing over and over again.

Ostrich2.0

and yes i know they need to be torqued to 8.7ft lbs.

Former User

Please give more details, like what engine?

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

where is it leaking?

Ostrich2.0

its a b18a1, and its leaking right next to the flywheel cover, it never leaked there before i changed it. after i took it apart an retorqued it, it still leaked on the same spot. Its not leaking in any other spot around the pan

Ostrich2.0

mcvtec, it looks like its leaking near where the liquid gasket should be towards the skinny side of the pan.
thanks for the graphic

94EG8

Put some hondabond on the places show in the diagram, torque to spec. Let it sit overnight before you put the oil in it or start it.

Ostrich2.0

let it sit overnight?

that might have been part of the problem. i had to drive home right after i put it on.

thanks for the help guys, off to autozone for a new gasket and a half hour in the rain. They say third times the charm

94EG8

At the very least 3 or 4 hours. When I worked for Honda we had a ton of comebacks on R18 engines that had a TSB for a leaking rear cover, because they came in hot, we put the new liquid gasket on, and immediately drove them out then they were driven to who knows where. Once we started making customers leave their cars overnight and pushed them out when they were done we didn't have any more issues, we also switched from permatex grey silicone to real hondabond at the same time (hondabond is good stuff, I hear it's cheaper at cycle shops)

Ostrich2.0

Thanks 94EG8, you have been super helpful.

People like you really keep this board alive

Project Dad

Just for your own knowledge, thoses areas of almost all motors need a liquid/paste type gasket during installation.

Ostrich2.0

i told my buddy that i thought i needed it because of the research i did. He was so sure that we didnt that i just said WTF. This will be the third time tommorow doing the same thing.

Lesson Learned: Next time, Listen to HT not retarded friends

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

When I did my B-series pan gasket, I talked with a Honda mechanic beforehand. He told me to get in there and look extremely closely at the two studs next to the transmission. He said the gasket has 2 metal eyelets inside and lots of times the old ones get left behind on the studs. I knew the eyelets came out with the gasket 9because I saw them in the old rubber). But when I looked closely, I noticed the rubber from inside the o-ring had been left behind. There were two small hard rubber/plastic rings still remaining on the studs right against the block. I had to pick at them quite a bit to get them off. I was really thankful for this tip becuase I'm sure they would have caused a leak from the flywheel end had I not found them.

Good luck.

PS: B-series only gets honda bond on the block right where the rear cover and the oil pump mate with the block. The pan gasket is perfectly flat and does not have the humps like shown above.

94EG8

Glad to help

Btw, make sure you clean the mating surfaces up really well, spray them with brake clean and wipe with a clean rag. If there's any old hondabond on the pan or the block carefully scrape it off with a razor blade. The cleaner everything is the more you reduce your chances for leaks.

Ostrich2.0

Got the sucker done right finally

Thanks guys.

CT-Matt

Glad to hear that you got it fixed, and thanks for the good information - I'll be doing mine soon and had some of the same questions.

Ostrich2.0

Definitely use a torque wrench, make the bolts too tight and the gasket starts to get all mashed up.

I picked up permatex gasket sealer from advanced. It spreads nice and easy and dries quickly.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

For future reference when people are working on B-series oil pans:





I followed this to the letter and probably tightened the bolts around in 10 steps instead of three. My oil pan is dry as a bone for the last couple months. Also check for those plastic or metal rings left behind from the old gasket on the two studs closest to the rear main seal. They are very small, but can/will cause leaks with the new seals.

philthy216

why didnt you use sealer thats prolly ur problem

civicsmoke

^ really? you think so? someone didnt read the whole thread.

NotAJDMFanBoy

What brand of gasket are you using? I've had good luck with Fel Pro's permadry silicone gaskets. They don't require any RTV since they're designed different than regular gaskets.

If you're using a rubbery type gasket, you could probably get away with reusing your gasket if it's fairly new. The reason head gaskets and such are one time use is they get smashed down to seal.

And cleanliness is very important. I clean everything with a razor blade and then whatever solvent I can find. Takes a couple minutes, but it works.

mikeintegra93

I'm considering an oil pan gasket change.

I had the oil changed about a month ago, and just checked it yesterday.

The oil is just a hair under the top hole on the dipstick.

The oil drip is unsightly, but it the car doesn't really leak all that much.

If it were you, would you change it?

How difficult is it?

It's a 98 hatch dx with 77k miles.

Thanks

Ostrich2.0

i did it myself in an hour and a half. The most time consuming part was pulling off my front bumper because my car is to low for my ramps. Thats only because the previous owner rigged the bumper so it was difficult to unbolt around the wheel well. Just take the header off and disconnect 02 sensor, and remove flywheel cover, then unbolt pan.

I used a Fel Pro gasket.

AgentH

I know it's old, but I'm glad I found this post. I don't know what engine I have. I have a 93 Civic, auto trans, 4 door that I've unsuccessfully changed the gasket 3 time now. I'm considering calling it quits, but the fact that I've failed to do this relatively simple job 3 times is eating away at me. This last time I changed it, I felt as though I did adequate research and prep. I made sure both pan and block mating surfaces were clean and free of debris. Admittedly, there is still a small amount of gasket residue on the engine block along the curved surfaces by the pump and trans where it's too tight to get my fingers in there to work. I used red scotch bright and an alcohol based cleaning solution to clean the old gasket material off. I bought a honda brand gasket this time ($45) just to be extra sure. Previous 2 attempts were with a Felpro, but I didn't have a small enough torque wrench and didn't follow the correct tightening pattern. Per Honda tech suggestion, I applied a small bead of RTV (permatex ultra black) to both oil pan and block from one corner, up the circular section to the just past the other corner. I also put some on the block side where the oil pump seam is. I put the pan in place and made the nuts and bolts hand tight. I then made them snug in this pattern:


I then tightened them down with a 1/4" torque wrench to 9 ft lbs with the same pattern.

Maybe 45 min later I had oil in it and I'd say 45 min after that I took it for a test drive.

Oil is definitely leaking out at the top of the circular area on the oil pump side. It also appears to be leaking on one side by where the oil pump seam is. And there is a small leak coming from the transmission side.

Did I simply not wait long enough for the RTV to dry? I think the instructions say to wait an hour. I waited 1.5 hrs. A local trusted mechanic said that the slightest bit of left over gasket can cause leaks. There was left over gasket material, but I felt as though it was negligible.

94EG8

I really would have waited longer. Also Hondabond tends to work a lot better than grey RTV. Besides all that everything really does need to be extremely clean, you don't want any old hondabond or grease/oil on the mating surfaces or it just wont seal.

Are you sure you don't have a leaky front and/or rear main seal as well?