How do YOU GUYS fix the oil pan leak?
 

I know this is pretty common, but how do you folks fix a drip from the oil pan without taking it off? It's been re-done with a ton of RTV when my engine was rebuilt, but I still have that aggrivating drip. I tried tightening the bolts, but they tend to snap off :eek: .
Is there any product out there that I can put on the seam to stop it? Thanks!

"It's been re-done with a ton of RTV when my engine was rebuilt"

thats ghetto.. just do it once the right way and it will be good...

Yep. Go to the Mazda dealer and get the gasket. It only cost me twelve bucks. Sometimes it's just as cheap to do it right, and this is one of those times.

Well, the engine was just put back in..don't wanna go to that kind of trouble (I'm a lazyass!).

Is there something i can put on the outside seam to stop the leak? I have narrowed it down to coming from one corner.

Its one thing to be a lazyass but don't be a dumba$$ about this. Drain the oil, take the pan off and clean off the RTV and install a new gasket with a thin layer of RTV on each side of the gasket. DO NOT OVER TORQUE THE BOLTS.

Or you could just weld the oil pan to the engine.

Yea man, Just get the gasket. It's cheap, and effective.

"Well, the engine was just put back in..don't wanna go to that kind of trouble (I'm a lazyass!)."

dont be lazy.. do it ONCE, do it RIGHT

-greg

:werd:

If you are too lazy to go to the Mazda dealer than go to Napa and get "the right stuff" and take off the oil pan and clean the edges and put on "the stuff" and bolt it back on. It is about the same amount as work if you do it with the gasket and teh "right stuff" is supposed to be better than OEM gaskets. Either way though, if you want it done, then just do it right and get it over with...

Zachstylez

when i build a motor and im down to the pan #1 make sure the pan its FLAT #2 make sure is got all the other shit off it even paint is gone. then i do a light coat of Blue Glue (aka RTV) on the pan and on the motor. let it sit for about 10 min and then bolt it all together. i get very few leaks and the most common leaker is a pan with a baffle plate or windage screen for the piston minded. then its block gasket bafflegasket pan and they almost always leak. my newst adventure on a baffle plate is a shit load of Blue Glue on the pan and motor and sandwich the baffle. this seals good but you get the extra rtv outa evert place known to man but its thin and sealed

GEEZ..you guys are into 'tough love', I see..:p:

Ok, guys message recieved.

Now, can I just take the bolts out and drop the pan enough to do the work, or does that cross-piece have to be dropped as well?

You can slide the pan out without removing anything else.

you MIGHT have to drop the oil pickup tube or lift the motor off the mounts... eazyer to drop the tube.

I've not taken off my 12a oil pan, but I assume the following applies.

Many oil pan and automatic transmission pan leaks that occur after the pan is dropped and reinstalled are due to deformation in the pan around the bold heads. The pans are made of thin, stamped metal, so when the bolts are tightened, the head of the bolt deforms the pan directly under the bolt head. So, you don't have a flat surface mating up to the engine block / tranny housing. Leakage then occurs regardless of whether you use goop or a gasket.

To get around this and correct the deformation, do a couple things. First, ensure both surfaces are absolutelly clean. Second, rest the edge of the pan with the inside up on flat, steady surface like a workbench, and give each hole a good rap with the round side of a ball peen hammer. This will "correct" the deformation of the pan. Lastly, torque the pan down using the proper specs. Overtightening simply deforms the pan again and causes it to leak.

Again, I've not done this on a 12a pan, but it works every time on every other vehicle I've had, and I never use goop; only gaskets.

I rebuilt an engine that had a funny leak for a while. I used RTV and a gasket. I also retorqued the bolts to maybe about 15ftlbs. I pulled on the wrench untill it stopped and never snapped a bolt. Anyway, it turns out the leak was caused by excess oil that got pushed into the little exhaust breather holes in the ports durring break-in. It all eventually burned off and there were no more drips after that. Also, the drip was on the intake/exhaust side of the engine. The sparkplug side was bone-dry.

Moral of the story is to never over-tighten pan bolts. I got lucky and didn't snap any, but it turns out I didn't need to retorque them at all.

As for doing a pan still on the car, it can be done, as others have said. It's just not as easy as you'd like it to be.