oil apn gasket

[ivy]

autozone sells a felpro gasket set for my 03 frontier 2.4 engine oil pan.

Nissan parts says it calls for silicone gasket only.

I’ve read different forums where some use one or the other or both at once.

The engine leak is slight. I need to wipe out the drip pan once a month or so but never need to add oil. I’d rather not do silicone if I don’t have to.

I really don’t like the idea of a silicone gasket only. Sounds kind of tricky and messy. But only want to do it once. Anyone have any experience with this?

Topic

[ivy]

meant to write oil PAN gasket

[Lorrin Barth]

Dry gasket, gasket with RTV, RTV only, I’ve done them all and they all work. So, I’d say do what you like to do. If it is on now with RTV figure on having to do some cleanup. With any of the above to seal you need to start off with a clean oil free metal surface. With a gasket, if there are any joints or places where a gasket might not expand into, a little RTV there will assure a seal.

You mentioning silicon reminds me of how I once was assembling an Olds 403 engine. I ran out of RTV for the manifold and instead of heading for the store I went inside and found some bath tub caulk. That was 20 years ago and that car is still being driven although mostly in storage.

[Stephen Bowen]

I’d go with the gasket with a thin coating of ‘tack seal’. (Opinions vary…) It’s just a way of tending to any minor imperfections that you come across while cleaning the surfaces. Just ensure you torque the bolts down in the right order and spec. Should be fine.

S-

[ivy]

Thanks for the reassurance! I kind of thought so about either method. I think the important thing is removing the bolts in order – removing the pan without damaging it or its mating surface on the engine – and installing the bolts back in order and using the right torque. I kind of think Nissan uses silicon because it’s cheaper and easier for them. They probably have machines that apply the silicon just right and they’re dealing with a clean surface to begin with.

[Bill]

There are several methods of sealing engines. I usually stay with what the manufacture uses. They spent thousands of dollars on researching the best sealant to use on their engines.

On oil pans, I find that if done properly Silicone works best. You have to make sure you use the right silicone however. I believe older Japanese engines use grey silicone designed for Asian engines.

Permatex makes this product and should be easy to find. You need to make sure the surfaces are clean and dry and that the bead of silicone is not disturbed when mating the two surfaces together.

You can check out all of their products here….http://www.permatex.com/products/product-selector

OR

http://www.aftermarketcarcare.com/permatex-ultra-grey-rigid-high-torque-rtv-silicone-gasket-maker/

[Author]

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