trans pan leak battle

That Jeep pan is great; lots thicker steel. But I can take any old beat up bent up twisted pan and get it to seal with NO SEALER and a $3.50 gasket. DUPRENE fiber in black or reddish brown; but the trick is to not try to just straighten the pan rail. You have to pound on the holes so you pre-stress the area between the holes when you torque it down. Check the pan by laying it on a flat surface and maybe use a flashlight to check the rail. You don't want the hole areas touching the flat surface. The external rail should be straight, but the area adjacent to the hole by about 1/4" shouldn't contact the flat surface. It will when you tighten the bolts. And I tighten the bolts to the extreme; the gasket won't split. An added precaution against gasket splitting is to sand the rail in the direction of the rail; it will help the pan to grip the gasket. Do the case too. I save the rubber and neoprene/cork gaskets for aluminum pans.