There is no reason to not use the oil pan gasket with a very light coating of RTV. Not using the gasket is just asking for trouble. Just ask anyone from Oklahoma...

If your gasket leaks after install, you did it wrong.

 

I have to agree with Chris-Bob, and his brother Billy Bob as well. And Uncle Jim Bob.

A couple of dangers with using just rtv is that you may not get even coverage and you may end up with excess RTV in places you do not want it, like inside the engine, blocking an oil port or passage.

 

I did it with only the cork gasket and it leaks. Lesson learned. Must work up motivation to fix.

 

I'm ashamed to say I didn't use a torque wrench on the oil pan the first time. I didn't own one at the time and just thought it wouldn't matter (I know, I'm an idiot). Anway, I've learned my lesson to the point of being paranoid about everything and sleeping with the RAVE under my pillow. I'm still worried that on the teardown I didn't take the intake manifold bolts out in the right order. I read the diagram wrong b/c I hadn't taken out the coil pack yet so I got out of order taking the bolts out - will that matter?

Danny, can you trust the RAVE on which bolts need Loctite and which don't? Is there a list on the forum somewhere?

I'm leaning heavily towards the gasket with light RTV on the oil pan - and a torque wrench!

My radiator had a couple of leaks and is at the rad shop. Interestingly the guy told me that he didn't recommend rodding it out unless the car had been overheating (mine had not). He said the LR radiators tended to come apart after having that done (maybe he wasn't doing it right?). Anway, he's going to flush it and resolder the leaks.

 

If the shop is worried about rodding out the rad, don't have them do it. They may not be good at it.

As for the oil pan, a common reason for failure is over-torquing the bolts and uneven torquing. A torque wrench is overkill to me, but good insurance for those that are not familiar with the process. Better safe than sorry. If you put too much RTV on the gasket, it has a tendency to slip and move during installation. You want just enough to fill the tiny scratches and dings that the gasket has a hard time filling. I use an acid brush and apply a thin layer to one side of the gasket, put the gasket RTV side down on the pan, then apply to the other side. You should not notice any RTV squishing out when tightening the bolts. When tightening, be sure to go over the bolts a second or third time to verify even torques on all bolts.

 

The cork gasket will compress, and then not be tight enough to seal well. Tightening the bolts every time they get loose will cause the cork gasket to split. I have seen this happen constantly during the 14 years I rebuilt transmissions for a living.

Putting RTV on a cork gasket will not help. Cork will slide on the RTV and split when you crank it down. Now you will end up with RTV AND bits of cork inside the sump.

The ULTRA GRAY is very dense. Follow the DIRECTIONS on the package and you won't have an issue. Putting the pan up is not that difficult, use some long guide bolts if you must to locate the pan properly before it even touches the block. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Use a thin bead, not a spatula!

Don't you guys have any finesse?

 

I soaked all my lifters in Marvel Mystery oil while the shop was working on the heads. They tend to get gummed up and tick after a while. Of course pre-lube them and put them back in the same bore they came out of. Just my 2 cents.

 

I may try the Marvel Mystery Oil suggestion.

Can anyone tell me what this sensor is? From what I can tell, the RAVE says it is an instrument pack temperature thermistor. It looks kind of rough and I thought I'd replace it, but I can't find mention of that part at AB, Rovahfarm, etc..

Also, I'm using a Scotch Brite sponge/pad to clean most things with. It's yellow soft sponge on one side and the green rougher stuff on the other (synthetic material). I've been trying to use the green side lightly b/c of the aluminum, but the tops of the cylinders are seriously dirty and don't want to come clean very easily. Thus far I've been very gentle, but how hard to too hard when cleaning the aluminum?

 

You have two coolant temperature sensors. This one only connects to the temp gauge on your instrument cluster and is known for being terribly inaccurate. The other two-wire one is the one that matters. It reports coolant temperature to the ECU.

Light surface scratches are ok, just don't make any deep ones you can feel. Don't forget the Chemtool B12. Between those two anything should come off.

 

Sensor in pix is the gauge sender, and if you use a brass wire brush to can clean off all that gunk it will read better, in that it will start out lower on the meter scale. The gunk provides some additional ground path and will slide the display off slightly. Many find that the two wire one, monitored by scanner or Ultra Gauge, provides a better idea of what is going on. The single wire one seems to stay at mid point even as you approach 235F.....

As far as which one matters, the gauge is important as it gets you to stop and look at the coolant, but an Ultra gauge will do it quicker.