Oil pan gasket

[BBGMC]

Ok so I officially need to replace my oil pan gasket bad, I tightened my oil pan a week ago due to a small leak/ drip and now have 3 medium leak spots on my driveway one on each side of the rear of the engine. I was wondering how hard would it be to put up a 1 peice oil pan gasket on a big block 396 while its in the truck? I dont have a lot of time or money and limited tools to do it plus it is my only means of transportation while at school. also is it safe to run Delo oil in these old trucks?

[tecky11]

oil is oil is oil! as far as the oil pan gasket, shoulb be easy, tiem it so when you do you oil change. drain you oil, drop the pan, replace gasket and pan fill engine with what ever oil you normaly use

[turp mcspray]

Wost case senario...you may have to jack up your engine to get the pan off. Otherwise pretty simple. I would recomend Felpros one piece pan gasket. It's more expensive but worth it IMO to fight off those pesky leaks.

[mclairmo]

Use one piece seal and add ZDDPlus to your oil to give it the zinc it needs to keep the lifters and cam nice and happy. Check the oil pump pickup for debris, gunk, metal, plastic, etc and clean out if needed.

[BBGMC]

Ok thanks guys! I do have the 1 peice perma dry oil pan gasket from fel pro I'm actually anticipating the timing cover gasket for it too so then I will have a complete set of these awesome gaskets. Awe man that wouldve been a good idea I just changed my oil before the leak got worse On another note why is Zinc so important on old vehicles? I paid $15.00 for a bottle of comp cams Zinc additive on my pontiac and I really cant see the reason for it at every oil change especially at $15 bucks a pop and its not even a quart. also I know that the oil companies arent putting Zinc in now that cams are Roller and there isnt really a need for it but what does it areally do to benefit the old flat tappet style cam

[eightbanger]

On my BB the oil pump pick up would not let me remove the pan, so rather than loosening off the mounts and jacking up the engine I removed the pump....a pig of a job...and I used the Felpro 1 peice and I still got leaks.

[mclairmo]

I think I would rather jack up the engine than remove the oil pump. I jacked up an engine before to change an oil pan and it's very easy to do. Jack it up, insert wooden blocks between the rubber engine mounts and the metal frame mounts and remove jack.

[mclairmo]

Originally Posted by BBGMC

Ok thanks guys! I do have the 1 peice perma dry oil pan gasket from fel pro I'm actually anticipating the timing cover gasket for it too so then I will have a complete set of these awesome gaskets. Awe man that wouldve been a good idea I just changed my oil before the leak got worse On another note why is Zinc so important on old vehicles? I paid $15.00 for a bottle of comp cams Zinc additive on my pontiac and I really cant see the reason for it at every oil change especially at $15 bucks a pop and its not even a quart. also I know that the oil companies arent putting Zinc in now that cams are Roller and there isnt really a need for it but what does it areally do to benefit the old flat tappet style cam

I believe the zinc lubricates the metal surfaces where the lifter rides on the cam lobes. I think ZDDPlus is $10 a bottle from astwood and others online. Have not found it locally yet.

[leddzepp]

Since you are putting new gaskets in, now is the perfect time to upgrade to a synthetic oil.

[cdowns]

best to fully remove the pan// while its out check to make sure the holes arent dimpled out from over itghtening

[Sinister]

I would check the pan rails for deformation due to possible overtightening of the bolts