oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I am preparing to drop the oil pan to clean it. Les Andrews says (p. 1-135) to soak the rear main cork gasket in WATER for 24 hours. This is surprising to me, as I thought I should keep all water away from this area of engine assembly. I just wanted to make sure I should do this before putting water--even a small amount--into the oil pan. Do I want to do this?

W. Michael

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

he may have been in the hot sun too long and needed a drink.

I would never even think of doing it this way.

If re-installing the pan from below (engine in car), I use a small amount of contact cement on the gasket and the pan to hold the gasket strip in place while setting the pan up.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

Not needed todays cork does not dry out like the old days

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

Don't worry about that small about of water in the engine. You get condensation (water) in the engine on cold/cool days unless you run it for more then a minute or two.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

Soaked my cork gaskets in oil. Makes them a little more flexible and prevents dry cork from cracking.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I soak mine & let them dry in a half moon shape to fit the rear main . works for me !

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I store mine in rattle can paint lids wrapped around the inside. Take them out and they have a nice shape and easy to install. Just have to trim the end. No soaking is required.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

It was common for gaskets that have been stored to shrink, water is a way to make them "fit" ---this is when they were mostly made from "natural" cork, now most are cork crumbs with a binder, they don't shrink as much if at all ---so if it is too short soak it, if it fits don't
too much soaking can make the gasket too big, getting the gasket wet, but not keeping it underwater i have used many times

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

50 years ago, the gasket kits supplied 2 different sizes of the cork gasket.

One was slightly wider. Depends, as I remember, on whether you have an early forged rear main cap or the thicker cast iron cap.

I do not remember which was wider.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

IF a cork pan gasket is shrunk, I first spray it with 3-M trim cement, THEN soak it. THEN, spray the block & wait until it doesn't feel sticky. You'll be AMAZED, that the wet gasket WILL stick to the block well.
Bill W.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

You can't get any water out of cork gaskets, soak it for 10 minutes, damp it off with paper, air dry for 5, or use a window fan, and there is no water, it;s Cork.

The only thing to get right, is the fit of the gasket, on the rear cap.


If the gasket fits the cap groove perfect, the gasket is made wrong, they should be about .010, to .020 thousandths wider then the groove, and use indian head cement, and cement the cap and take a small screw driver and push, or work the side in all along the gasket from one end to the other, and trim the end.

The pan rails are fit, and put on first.

Herm

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

Thank you all for your replies. I will report my results later next week--I hope I'm able to have this project done by then.

W. Michael

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

Mr. Benson, there is no different sizes, all cap gasket areas are .400 thousandths wide.

I have only seen the cork ones to narrow in the last 20 years.

Herm.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

[QUOTE=Kohnke Rebabbitting;1042319]Mr. Benson, there is no different sizes, all cap gasket areas are .400 thousandths wide.


Herm,
No different sizes...that did not follow what I have seen.
I had 25 caps so I measured them. 12 were .374" wide and of this width, all had the 3/8" drain pipe, 13 were .400" and all of this width had the 5/16" drain pipe. Thus the justification for the two widths of cork gasket available from some suppliers.
From the 25 caps in my sample, the narrow width cap gasket areas were all on cast caps with the thicker bolt area. The 13 caps with the wider gasket area...10 were designed for the shorter bolts and 3 were the long bolt (cast) design.
I also measured a couple cork rear main cap gaskets the wider batch (sample lot of 10) ranged from .432" to .440". The narrow gaskets (sample lot of 10) varied from .380" to .390".
As you state above and I have observed, the narrow gaskets do not work well in the .400" caps.
Up until about 5 years ago, I did get two cork gaskets from my main supplier, one narrow and one wide like described above. The current kits I get only have the wider cork gasket included. The wider gasket can be used on the narrow groove cap but it is a bit more work to get it seated.


W.Michael,
I do not soak these gaskets in anything before I install them. I have all new gaskets so mine are not overly stiff or dried out. I pre-cut them to 6-7/8" before the start of installation. I lightly coat the surface of the cap groove with Permatex #2, and then start on one end working the cork gasket into the groove with a medium size screwdriver. Herm describes the same method of installation.
Good Day"

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I have only ever got 1 rear cork in a gasket set ever, and only in the last 20 years, have I seen the ones that lay down the groove at about the same width.

There is at least two gasket companys for the A, if not more. The gaskets in the set with the narrow rear cap seal, are paper, and of poor quality.

At this time, I looked through my cap stash of about 65, and mine are all .400, as the next A engines come in, I will look for a narrow one for my collection.

Herm.

P.S. Mr. Benson, I have revised my cap data!

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I DID IT ! Thanks to all. I took everyone's advice and did it like you guys told me. This is with the engine in the car, the front up on jack stands, and me wallowing around on the dirt floor--so, not the best conditions. I dropped the pan with little trouble. Les Andrews didn't tell me I would have to remove the flywheel inspection plate to get the pan past the bolt heads, but that was the only glitch. The oil pump didn't drop out, and I couldn't pull it out. Turns out the plug on the side had been replaced with a longer set screw that was holding the pump in place. Not much mud in the dipper tray, but the bottom of the pan had 1/2 to 3/4 inch of mud. I threw the pan down on the grass just as I had read in early threads on the Barn and the tray popped right out. I soaked the front seal in oil over night curled in a can, and I left the rear cork dry, but also curled up in a can. I used Permatex High Tack gasket seal, because it listed one of its uses as holding gaskets in place during assembly. The pan gaskets stuck to the bottom of the block with no trouble. The only problem I had was installing that rear cork. It's just difficult to do lying on my back. If Mr. Kohnke had not explained how to do this, I would have given up, thinking I had the wrong seal, as it just didn't seem to fit. But I worked it in using a small screw driver just as he suggested. I used the plastic oil pan installation guides, and they made it very easy once I got the pan back in place--just snap it up onto the guides.

This engine was rebuilt in the late 1960's or early 1970's. The oil pump did not have either gasket in it. One of the oil pump bottom plate bolts did not have a lock washer, and one of the screen cover screws did not have a lock washer. Only two of the twenty oil pan bolts had lock washers. I added the gaskets and the lock washers to the oil pump and to the pan bolts.

I have not run the engine yet, so I don't know if it leaks, or had badly it leaks, but it's back together and I'm happy ! Thank you all for your input and instruction.

W. Michael

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

YaY!!
congrats!!!

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

You did GOOD! The main thing, this, on this, or anything else, is just don't "GORILLA IT", just be patient & use care. It's a BITCH, workin' on your back & in the DIRT! Hope it wasn't COLD.
Bill W.

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

I am in the process of installing an oil pan. Les Andrews' book (first addition, page 1-226) says to tighten the pan screws to 20 foot-pounds torque. This seems to me to be way, way too much for a cork gasket.

Does anyone agree with me on this, or what do you recommend?

Re: oil pan to rear main cork gasket
 

For a dirt floor I buy the thickest plastic sheet I can find, which is usually about 8 or 10 mil. I cover the floor with it, then cover the plastic with good used carpet that I find for free. This make working on the car much warmer and cleaner. It also helps the car by blocking ground moisture from the bottom.