Dorkenheimer

Okay, so not so much of a game really. D16z6 was leaking oil, as evidenced by the residue on my pan, axles, tranny, sway bar, ON TOP of transmission, etc, etc. I replaced the dizzy O-ring, that leak stopped. I did my oil pan gasket the same day...but did it wrong. To make it a short story, how do I get proper torque on the squishy Fel-Pro gasket for the oil pan without the gasket oozing out of its seat? Before I get any tension for 9 ft. lbs torque, the gasket is just squishing out of place.

I used RTV Grey in the manufacturer recommended spots. I have reinstalled it like 3 times. I'm going to buy another one this weekend and make a fresh attempt at it.

ALSO...

I have oil residue on my flywheel, as is seen when I remove the trans dust cover. Bad rear main? Thanks for any input guys.

How do I use that tag feature.....someone get RonJ up in here XD

TomCat39

Felpro may not be setup for the OEM torque specs of 9 ft-lbs. OEM is a rubber gasket and 9 ft-lbs is all that you need.

I think the way I would go about it is to clean everything up with non-chlorinated brake cleaner first so all mating surfaces are free from oil or residues.

Then I would put all the bolts to finger tight in proper sequence to start with the flange sealant in the proper location. Then I would attempt half a turn and stop as soon as I saw the gasket even remotely trying to squeeze out. Do this in sequence all the way through. If half a turn doesn't seem to squeeze any gasket out, then I start following up with quarter turns until I saw gasket showing signs of slight compression.

What I am not sure of is just how many times you can compress the felpro before it's useless. OEM being rubber can go a few rounds if not horribly abused.

Good luck.

tony_2018

I've always had problems with torqing down the oil pan gasket. I've had to constantly recheck, retorque them. I even used locktite. I believe that the gasket expands when heated by the block it requires additional torque, in sequence.

Dorkenheimer

I did my best to clean the block of all oil, but the residual draining from the crankcase just seems to creep back onto the mating surface.

I will be attempting this again with an OEM gasket as compared to Fel-Pro. It seems the Fel-Pro is a little thick IMO. It allows too much compression of the gasket before proper torque is achieved, thus making it squeeze and ooze out of place. I think a thinner gasket (is the OEM one even thinner?) could possibly prevent this.

My next plan of attack will be an OEM gasket, RTV grey in the four corners, and torque in sequence to spec. I just really want to avoid having to apply a thin layer of sealant to the block. God help the guy who will have to scrape that stuff off during the next gasket change, lol.

Any other tips/experience are appreciated.

tony_2018

Make sure you start early, and clean the surface completely dry of any oil. you probably have a leaking crank and rear main seal....

-Justin-

As long as you prep the surfaces properly and follow the torque procedures, you are fine, unless you have a bent oil pan.

delsolintegra

I know an experienced Honda mechanic who admits the oil pan gasket is a challenge. He does it on a lift of course and uses a support pole to hold the pan carefully in place while he goes around the pan and installs the bolts/nuts in the proper sequence. Doing the oil pan gasket on the ground is just a bitch.

Another oil leak source on the D16z6 was the oil pressure sending unit just above the oil filter. You have to remove the filter to really see the source of the leak oil stain.

TomCat39

Also, you might need a new inch pound torque wrench, an old torque wrench is quite likely out of calibration and your 10 ft-lb setting is probably more in line of 13-15 ft-lbs etc.

That is another common issue as the light side of torque is the hardest to keep calibration for.

I use one of the old pointer torque wrenches for light torques as it seems to be highly accurate on the light side over the click types.

One like this:

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

Something worth pointing out is the OEM gasket has a few strategically placed rings embedded into the gasket. The Felpro gasket I had used did not and I actually bent my oil pan during the install. I bent it back and reinstalled it with an OEM gasket. I've had no issues since.

NOTE: Not saying there's anything wrong with the Felpro gasket as I do have one on my other civic with no issues.

tony_2018

Correct!

tamboo

myhondahabit gasket and stud kit is worth the extra clams imho.

myhondahabit | eBay

Bently_Coop

@Dorkenheimer
H2B Swap would solve it.

Dorkenheimer

Bently Coop wins for most logical answer.

But really, thanks for the feedback guys. I checked my Honda habit, they don't make one for D series. 24TEN, I'm with you on this. I'm going to go OEM on the next round.

My torque wrench is barely used, still new condition...I don't suspect that it's the cause of improper install. But, that is something I will consider in the future when wrenching.

I wiped off as much as I could ABOVE the oil pan. There doesn't appear to be any new residue leaking from up there.

Reason as to why I suspected it could be a rear main seal, is that there's evidence of much more oil on my passenger side (trans side, mind you) leaking. There is always a couple droplets forming on the bottom of the trans, as well as oil being blown (from road speed) down the pass. side frame rail/swaybar/linkages. The driver side is much cleaner. Maybe my oil pan is just leaking on that side, I'm not sure yet. However, I'm going to start with the $30, 1 hour fix before I attempt the 5 hour, half of my Saturday fix.

Bently_Coop

How long did the RTV cure for?

tony_2018

You only use the rtv at certain sections, corners.

Dorkenheimer

Not long enough probably. The first time I definitely didn't let it cure, the second time I waited a few hours.

Bently_Coop

A few hours should be more then enough time. RTV black does hold a higher resistance to oil so that is an option, also clean the surface of the pan and block with some lacquer thinner before assembling.

tony_2018

Or hondabond...

Dorkenheimer

OEM gasket, acquired.

Dorkenheimer

Here's some shots of the oil residue on the flywheel.

You can also see a SLIGHT bend in the oil pan due to over torque. Oops.

OEM gasket is on and seems to be holding oil much better. I let the sealant dry overnight, although, I did forget to give the block a final wipe of any oil before putting the pan on. There wasn't much to wipe off anyway, so I'm not too concerned about it I guess. After looking at the block much closer and spending my time on it, I did miss removing quite a few little pieces of old gasket during initial install. So this time around I removed those. Notably around the oil pan studs is where old gasket remained hidden. I also clean the pan surface with a brass wire brush to get ALL the old gasket off. I haven't gotten back under the car for a close look yet. Today, I pulled in from work, revved it to 3k for a few seconds, got out and let it idle for about 5 minutes while I was peeking under the car with a flashlight. I saw no new droplets of oil on the pan, but I did see a small droplet forming on the trans still. However, it didn't grow any bigger as the car was idling.

EDIT:Sorry for sideways pics....again, ugh. I gotta memorize how to hold my phone so it doesn't do this!!!

Jimi Hondrix

I used a Felpro when I replaced the oil pan gasket on my D16Y8 recently and it has a tiny leak in the front inner corner. Here's why: FSM states to hondabond or RTV inner corners of gasket. Before I installed mine I researched the net and several responses on various sites say that Felpro recommends: No RTV/hondabond in conjunction with their (blue) silicone gaskets. I also called Felpro before installing the gasket and the technician I spoke with confirmed no use of sealant in corners with their (Felpro) silicone gasket. I prepped the mating surfaces very well, torqued it down evenly in a crossing pattern, and torqued to spec.

Another issue with the Felpro silicone gasket is there are two types
a) Felpro PermaDry: (per website description) "These premium molded rubber gaskets are for applications originally equipped with molded rubber gaskets.
Advantages include:

Precision designed for perfect amount of “squeeze”
Molded-in metal stops or grommets to prevent overtorquing
One-piece design eliminates hassle, reduces potential for errors"


b) Felpro PermaDry Plus:
"These problem-solving gaskets feature proprietary advances created specifically for the aftermarket repair environment, including:

One-piece, molded silicone rubber construction provides superior
blow-out resistance
Lasts up to five times longer than competitive cork-rubber products
Precision sealing beads reinforce critical areas
Superior heat resistance for longer life
Time-saving rigid carrier system provides an instant fit and perfect alignment
Torque limiters prevent over-tightening"

The PermaDry Plus is more expensive than the PermaDry and from what I've read on various sites works really well without any additional sealant in corners. Although the PermaDry isn't supposed to need additional sealant to prevent leaks it wasn't the case with my experience and looking back I should have allowed the FSM to trump Felpro's technical advice or just went with an OEM gasket + sealant. I should be allowed to charge Felpro for my labor time..Lol.