Jsmply

Hey all, I had to change the oil pan on my car today and thankfully Hardtopguy came to the rescue and overnighed me one before he left for the dragon. I am used to older cars that normally had a gasket in between it, not RTV. Hardtopguy told me that it takes a decent bead of RTV (hondabond/permatix ultra grey) and that putting to much would not be a big deal as it would not harm the engine if it fell on the inside.

The installation of the pan went no problem, however after I put the pan back on and got the bolts tightened between 8 and 10 feet pounds (in the proper order), a decent amount of gasket maker gushed out the side. I'm thinking if it came out the outside a decent amount might have done the same on the inside. Now theoretically I don't think it would make it past the oil pickup filter, however I guess if a ton of it got stuck there it could cause oil deprivation or something? I didn't use what I would consider extreme excess, but after looking at the neat solid beat on the factory oil pan I can see that I used more than they did. Althugh for what its worth the factory pan had it run over the outside of the pan as well. I used about half the tube of permatex on the pan going arond the whole thing and all the bolt holes. Do I need to worry about that stuff clogging something it shouldn't or braking down in the oil and contaminating it in anyway?

Just to be safe, I am waiting overnight to add new oil as opposed to t he normal 30 minutes that it says you can wait on the Honda write-up. I figure if there is excess it will be good and hardened by the morning so at least it might be solid and not brake off into the pan.

I'm contimplating changng the oil again tomorrow evening after driving a few miles on it. Any input?

jeggy

^^ yes. that would be your best best to be on the safe side.
if the bead of RTV you put on was about the thickness of a pencil, you should be ok.

after you let it sit overnight, see if the excess thats on the outside is vulcanized yet. if it is then the inside of it would be as well. youre safe to move forward.

Jsmply

I would say it was about the thickness of a pencil. If it was larger it could not have been much. A bead the size of a pencil all the way around is pretty thick and I don't see how it would not ooze out the sides (in and out) a bit when sealed. If you do it perfectly should it not ooze? Like I said, my factory oil pan was oozed a bit on the sides so I guess even the factory did it. Admittingly my oozing was probably more than the factories, but still.

I will let it sit overnight, I put it on about 3:30 in the afternoon. I won't start the car till about 2:30 PM tomorrow (my first appointment for work thankfully is very close by so I won't need to drive till the afternoon) so it will be nearly 24 hours. My question is, even once its vulcanized, can it break off inside the pan and cause any harm, it will it sit in the bottom?

I just don't want to be driving 40,000 miles from now and end up having oil starvation because my oil pickup is filled full of RTV, lol.

Jsmply

Also out of curiousity, do most of you spread the RTV around (IE: with your finger) or simply leave the bead and let the contact points move it around when its put together? I've heard both ways.

Its a slow day at work so I have time to wonder about these things, lol. I'm going to fill the car with oil this afternoon and might drain it again shortly after just in case.

AusS2000

I'm a smearer. I like it to touch all the contact face and be only a couple of mm thick.

Jsmply

Well I just fired it up. It took a whole 6 quarts to finally get it up to the full mark. When they write the oil capacity I don't think they publish the quantity needed for new oil pan

Anyways it fired up no problem and despite my cursing it for the past few days when it was down, I take back everything I said. Just one drive around the block and once again I attest to drive this car till the chassis rusts and falls apart . . . and then I'll just JB weld it back together and keep on driving, lol.

On a serious note, I'm a bit paranoid about to much gasket maker (I have OCD with the longevity of my car . . . I clean the funnel 31 times before adding oil, lol). I asked a buddy of mine who was a mechanic and he said even if there is to much RTV used and it gets inside, it won't make it past the oil screen anyway (unless its real small) and if it does it will be harmless anyway. What do you all think?

I'm thinking about changing my oil tomorrow wil fresh oil and sending a sample to blackstone labs to check for Silicone content lol, or is that to soon? Maybe I'll just change it and cut the filter open with channel locks and check for RTV, lol.

jeggy

you worry too much sometimes its a good thing but this time, it's not needed.

whats on the inside is the same as whats on the outside. pick at the excess RTV thats on the outside of the pan. it'll be just as hard as the excess on the inside. so you dont have to worry about it just falling off and getting sucked up the oil pickup tube.
your friend is correct. it wont get past the pickup screen.

Jsmply

I picked the little pieces off the outside. They sat for 24 hours. They were hard, but still squishable with my hand, definitely not a totally solid substance. Thats why I worried about it falling off inside the pan, lol. Out of curiousity (I'm always one to ask questions lol), if a small enough piece were to make it through the oil pickup screen/tube, would it cause any harm or just become more mass on the piston/cylinder wall?

So do you at least recommend changing the oil again in the next day or two, or run it the full normal interval?

RWD_RCKT

<Subscribing>

But I also had a question. What is the harm if the Hondabond gets past the oil pickup? It is still a hell of a lot softer than the oil pump gears. 90psi through to the journals should just force it through (since the oil pump would chew it up into smaller pieces than the pickup screen let get through) to the oil filter???

I always thought the same thing as you... but tried to reason my way out of worrying. Denial is my friend...

RWD_RCKT

FWIW I would not change the oil... maybe the filter if you want to go Monk on it.