Car oil sump gasket

How to detect the oil pan gaskets failure

It is recommended to inspect the oil pan gaskets at each routine oil change or engine repair. Cracks, chips, breaks, warping and hardening identify the need to install a new sealing component.

You can indirectly estimate the part state, without removing the oil pan, in the following way. You have to mount the vehicle on a pit or a ramp, clean the pan from dirt, start the engine and warm it up, then put the car into neutral and increase the rpms to 4000: due to temperature and pressure, the oil will leak intensively in insufficiently sealed places.

You may notice that the oil pan gaskets need a diagnosis by the following signs:

• oil stains on the pan;
• pressure reduction in the lubrication system;
• increased oil consumption;
• oil stains under the vehicle after a long parking.

Causes of oil pan gaskets failures

Deformation is among the most common oil pan gaskets faults. Often, it is provoked by excess pressure of crankcase gases or their excessively high temperature, which result from ventilation holes clogging, the cylinder-piston group wear, oil separator gumming up or frequent driving at high speeds.

Besides, the part can be damaged when you ride over an obstacle, or due to ingress of foreign objects into the crankcase oil pan.

In many cases, the oil pan gaskets premature wear is due to the impact of aggressive chemical substances, for example road chemicals. Sometimes the material from which the parts are produced is destroyed because an unsuitable or poor-quality lubricant is used.

Replacement of oil pan gaskets

It is not difficult to replace the part on your own. For this you have to:

1. Mount the car on a pit or a ramp.
2. Dismantle front mudguards and the engine undershield.
3. Slightly warm up the engine, and then drain the oil into a prepared container, after unscrewing the threaded oil drain plug.
4. Unscrew the oil pan fasteners and remove it.
5. Remove the part.
6. Clean the mounting seat from dirt, oil, the old part residue or sealant.
7. Install a new part, greasing the mating surfaces with a special sealant.
8. Install the oil pan in place and screw the bolts according to the layout specified by the car manufacturer.
9. Screw in the drain bolt, after replacing the O-ring.
10. Pour the flushing oil into the lubrication system.
11. Start the engine at minimum speed and let it run for a while.
12. After the engine has slightly cooled off, drain the flushing oil through the drain bolt and fill the system with new oil