I have my oil pan off right now and I am waiting on a new gasket in the mail. I notice the rubber of the old gasket got brittle in the 110,000 miles or so it was on the car. If I had to guess, I would say this is why it leaked. I know it is not typical to apply RTV to a gasket, but in this case I think it may make sense, especially because the choice of gasket material seems to be questionable.
Unlike the top face of the bedplate which has a groove for the RTV (that just about will never leak) the bottom face of the bedplate and the mating surface of the pan are smooth to make contact with the ribs in the gasket and form a seal. This works fine until the gasket material gets hard.
Normally you would not apply RTV to two completely smooth mating surfaces because it would just be pushed out when you tightened the bolts. Also as the parts expand and contract due to heat cycles the thickness of the RTV between those two smooth faces may not be enough and a leak could form. This is why the bedplate has a groove for the RTV.
The oil pan gasket has that strip of metal which prevents the gasket from getting crushed. I think that with a thin coating of the black RTV on the top and bottom of the gasket, once the rubber became hard the RTV would still be soft and the seal would not leak. I suspect there would be enough RTV in the grooves of the gasket to allow enough flex in the RTV to not allow a leak to form, ever.
Do you guys think this is a good idea, or should I just put the gasket in without RTV?
Unlike the top face of the bedplate which has a groove for the RTV (that just about will never leak) the bottom face of the bedplate and the mating surface of the pan are smooth to make contact with the ribs in the gasket and form a seal. This works fine until the gasket material gets hard.
Normally you would not apply RTV to two completely smooth mating surfaces because it would just be pushed out when you tightened the bolts. Also as the parts expand and contract due to heat cycles the thickness of the RTV between those two smooth faces may not be enough and a leak could form. This is why the bedplate has a groove for the RTV.
The oil pan gasket has that strip of metal which prevents the gasket from getting crushed. I think that with a thin coating of the black RTV on the top and bottom of the gasket, once the rubber became hard the RTV would still be soft and the seal would not leak. I suspect there would be enough RTV in the grooves of the gasket to allow enough flex in the RTV to not allow a leak to form, ever.
Do you guys think this is a good idea, or should I just put the gasket in without RTV?