360 stroker oil pan leak, pan out ready to re-seal couple of Q's

[JonathanI]

Hi all,

I've been searching forums like crazy, have a 67 cuda with a 360 stroker in it. The oil pan gasket was leaking all over the place. I pulled pan, bought a new one Kevko (it had a clearance issue) and am ready to re-install. I was debating on using gaskets or just using RTV and no gasket, what's the consensus here? Also think I should install a crankcase evac is that generally recommended on stroker motors, just not sure why this thing was leaking so bad. It had a 1 piece gasket and this moroso oil pan.

 

[moper]

I always use gaskets. The plain old-school cork with rubber ends. Only two things cause a leak: the gasket installation (not choice.. just the installation) or some other influence on it that the gasket was not designed to seal. In most cases it's lack of ring seal, or blow-by that is pushing the oil out and that's the spot that's weakest. Did you do a leak down on this thing at all? That will tell you if the rings are sealing or not. In other cases it's surfaces that are not clean and oil and grease free. That includes oil from your skin. All surfaces have to be cleaned with solvent before the gaskets go on. I use weatherstrip adhesive to glue the cork sides on the pan after the rubber end seals are on it, then a little ultra grey RTV on seams and corners. I torque evenly in steps "from the center out". Be careful not to over tighten.
No engine "needs an evac system". They all need some form of airflow through the crankcase. There are thousands of longer-than-stock stroke engines running stock PCV systems with no buildup of crankcase pressure. Some guys like the header evac systems, some like just breathers, I've always been partial to the PCV system. But nothing will work 100% if there's blow-by of any significant amount.

 

[TrailBeast]

I always use gaskets. The plain old-school cork with rubber ends.

And I have always preferred the black fiber pan rail gaskets with sealer.
They are not nearly as picky about torque and don't end up seeping later like cork always does.

 

[furrystump]

I like the Milodon one piece with steel core

 

[rustycowll69]

it's a little tricky to seal. Most important is a straight pan gasket rail. Next, the bolt holes cannot be raised above the rail, because they'll prevent the pan rail between the bolts from properly squeezing the gasket. I've seen some people actually use the ball-end of a ballpein hammer to slightly depress the bolt hole, so that when the bolt is tightened the rail flattens out. Finally, I never "torque" the fasteners because I think the factory specs are too high. I use a 1/4" drive ratchet and "feel" the torque. If you take the time to really feel the pan rail pull up and squeeze the gasket, you'll know when to stop.

 

[Blue Grey Duster]

Which 360 ?
This was a while back, but on my Magnum, I had to trim the black rubber, and rtv on cork doesn't work, it just squished out of place, wet or cured rtv.



Might want to look into this:
Dual Flow Adjustable PCV Valve – M/E Wagner Performance Products
With the Help from my racing buddy, IIRC, I ended up on fixed orfice mode, making adjustments.
And ended up with @ 3/4" more vacuum at idle, before the Winter set in.
Gotta get back to that.

 

[JonathanI]

Which 360 ?
This was a while back, but on my Magnum, I had to trim the black rubber, and rtv on cork doesn't work, it just squished out of place, wet or dry.

Might want to look into this:
Dual Flow Adjustable PCV Valve – M/E Wagner Performance Products
IIRC, I ended up on fixed orfice mode.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what 360 It's been professionally built (whatever that means) and when I bought the car he did mention the company but I have since forgotten. The pan had so many road rashes on it I figured maybe thats what caused leaking but when I dropped it, it had some spots of gasket sealer in various spots around the pan which I think that may have contributed. It was a one piece gasket looked like it should have worked. The motor has very low miles and ran awesome, just had lots of leaks, I bought the cork gaskets, and lots of RTV Black. Just not sure which way I should go lots seem to say no gasket will work but I've never done that before...

 

[rustycowll69]

Unfortunately I'm not sure what 360 It's been professionally built (whatever that means) and when I bought the car he did mention the company but I have since forgotten. The pan had so many road rashes on it I figured maybe thats what caused leaking but when I dropped it, it had some spots of gasket sealer in various spots around the pan which I think that may have contributed. It was a one piece gasket looked like it should have worked. The motor has very low miles and ran awesome, just had lots of leaks, I bought the cork gaskets, and lots of RTV Black. Just not sure which way I should go lots seem to say no gasket will work but I've never done that before...

I've never gone sans-gasket/ all silicone on an engine oil pan, either. There are several reasons why. One; I doubt it would work. It will work on a rear axle cover, but I don't think it will work on an engine. Two; I'm leery of introducing silicone boogers into the critical lubrication system of an engine. A loose booger of silicone could find its way into a narrow pressurized passage and block it, causing all kinds of havoc. I'm sure some new engines are manufactured that way, but they have programmed robots doing the application in a heavily controlled situation, like precision CNC machined mating parts. The average guy can't replicate it consistently.

 

[Marcohotrod]

use a gasket and some thread adhesive on the bolts, or studs with nyloc nuts. is it a 1971-1992 360 or a 1993+ magnum 360-do they use a different gasket? I think the 1 piece gasket is magnum. does it have a high volume oil pump- if so it needs a gasket-cuz with silicone only the pan will hit the pump. and so much for the kevko pan loved by many=clearance issues

 

[diymirage]

Unfortunately I'm not sure what 360..

Pop the hood and count the valve cover bolts
5 per side is and LA, 10 is a magnum
And 4 bolts right down the middle means some dummy dropped in an LS1

 

[TrailBeast]

Pop the hood and count the valve cover bolts
5 per side is and LA, 10 is a magnum
And 4 bolts right down the middle means some dummy dropped in an LS1

What if it's a Magnum with 5 bolt valve covers?

 

[JonathanI]

Pop the hood and count the valve cover bolts
5 per side is and LA, 10 is a magnum
And 4 bolts right down the middle means some dummy dropped in an LS1

5 Per side so it's an LA. Cool. I ordered up the felpro gasket kit, looking at the old pan looks like the 1 piece had shifted all around some parts of it were way in the pan. I also have the cork so can decide which one to use. I like that PCV valve that looks cool.

 

[diymirage]

What if it's a Magnum with 5 bolt valve covers?

Then that is probably the true source of his oil leak

 

[rustycowll69]

I've never tried it, but I saw a guy once use simple sewing thread to hold the gasket in position on several bolt holes until you can thread in all the bolts.
Often times, when using silicone adhesive sealant on a gasket I'll use the 2nd Gen silicone, it's more tacky/less slick & shiny, and let it cure for 10 min or so before bolting the parts together, so the gaskets don't slide out of place.

 

[AJ/FormS]

After you spend umteen hours , laying on the cold garage floor,cleaning the silicone off the oilpan rails, I bet you'll never do that again.
You can run up to 4psi regulated air pressure into the dipstick tube, with the valve cover sealed, and soap and water will find all your leaks.

I installed header evacs once, They work real good. until I entered a RallyCross event, and about 40 seconds into it, A huge cloud of smoke began to follow me all the way down the back straight. That's working too good. It seems, I filled the valve covers with oil and the evacs sent most of it into the mufflers. It finally stopped smoking half way home.
The following winter, at it's annual freshening, I cut some oil drain-back channels in my almost new aluminum Eddies.And now the evacs are languishing on the shelf with so many other also-ran ideas.