B serious

iTrader: (1)

My oil pan gasket is leaking on my EM1. It's a 99 with the original B16A2 in it. The car has 136k miles on it now.

The gasket started leaking last week after I changed my clutch out. I had to support the engine with a jack. I supported it on the oil pan using a couple of folded up boxes to distribute the weight because I didn't have a wood block.

I noticed the leak and saw that the pan was missing 2 bolts. I replaced the bolts and it kept leaking.

I replaced the oil pan gasket with a felpro one from Autozone. I usually use Honda gaskets but the dealer wanted a ridiculous amount and the shop I usually get stuff from is 40 miles away from my house.

Anyway, I applied silicone gasket maker to both sides of the gasket as per the haynes manual.

The gasket seemed to bulge out after I put on the pan and tightened the bolts...but I figured it was normal since it was a very soft rubber.

Anyway, the F'ing thing is leaking again. ARRGH. It leaks right where the pan meets the clutch housing cover.

So:
1.) Are Honda gaskets the only ones that actually seal pans?
2.) The haynes manual said to apply silicone on both sides. The stock gasket only has
silicone on the oil pan side.

Former User

Hmmm...The silicone-based red RTV sealant always does the trick for me. Did you try to give the sealant 24h to dry? Did you torque the bolts to spec in the recommended order?

honda.lioness

x2. Also, use Hondabond gasket sealant, on both sides, for the win. You can get a tube of Hondabond at Honda motorcycle shops for around half the price of the Honda auto dealer. Aftermarket gaskets are not advisable for Hondas, in my experience. Redo the whole job, using an OEM gasket.

dth0ng69

are you 100% sure that its coming from the oil pan? a rear main seal leak can appear to come from that side of the oil pan also. But since you know how to change a clutch a rear main seal should be already been done..

Former User

Haha...are you sure that you have a rear main seal leak and not an oil pan leak?

worlds-slowest-EG

the bolts were over torqued. try it again with another gasket and use a shorter wrench.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The rear main seal argument intrigues me. That would suck ***. The clutch really hasn't been slipping or anything, but I do notice a spray of oil coming from the clutch housing. That would be weak as hell lol.

It could still be getting in there via the oil pan...I guess I'll have to take another look.

I don't think I overtorqued the bolts. I choked up my grip on the ratchet pretty far.

Also, thanks for the tip on getting Hondabond cheaper at motorcycle shops.

MigsD16

I realize this is a super old thread, but I'd like to reiterate some things that I found important. First, the Genuine Honda OE Oil Pan with genuine Hondabond (Permatex "The Right Stuff" grey is also good) is the way to go. The Honda gasket has the metal grommets in it and the material it's made from in general feels stronger than the after market gasket I originally purchased that squeezed out like crazy. Aside from that, there is no need to use RTV on the whole thing. Stick to the factory service manuals instructions and you'll be better off. Even if you get it to seal with copious amounts of RTV, if it's oozing on the outside, it's also oozing on the inside, and you don't want that stuff clogging up the oil screen. Lastly, don't overtighten the bolts, tighter is NOT better in this situation, and make sure the torque is evenly distributed. Using a calibrated torque wrench is ideal, otherwise, tighten all bolts finger tight in the order stated in the manual, then snug them up a bit on the second round and then do one final torquing to make sure they are all evenly tight and if you see the gasket start to squeeze out, it's plenty tight.