Is it a rubber gasket like stock or did someone use a cork one?

My '89 had a leak and it was the gasket pushed out around the starter. I loosened the bolts around one side and slipped the gasket back in. Been fine for 3 yrs now. Stock rubber gasket.

 

its rubber

 

No. That "fix" will Not work.

You can typically drop the pan down (yet keep in in the truck), clean the block and pan mating surfaces and put a new gasket in in just a couple hours.

Just make sure everything is clean, RTV in the corners by the front/rear main, and use a FORD rubber gasket. Then torque it to spec

 

just do it right.. drop the pan completely.. it is going to be a PITA but you really don't want chunks of old gasket in the pan.. if you can do it yourself great, if not it is a costly job and may just be more cost effective to tell the potential buyer about the leak and hoping they won't mind

 

If I became aware of a "fix" like that in a vehicle I was considering purchasing, I would keep looking because I have no idea what other redneck "fixes" like that exist elsewhere I'm not being told about. "Fixes" like that say a lot about the integrity & values of the owner and cause a large amount of distrust in me.

The 2-hour time estimate, though, I think would apply to someone with decent mechanical experience & abilities & tools. If the work is being performed by a newbie mechanic, replace "hours" with "weeks" IMHO. At least a weekend....

 

oil pan gasket on our 4x4 80s-early 90s trucks aren't 2 hour jobs more like 6 hour jobs.. atleast thats what the pay manual says.. but you're right about your first statement ctubutis.. if someone doesn't care about their ride it shows.. and who would want a truck that is this old and not taken care of..? this is a common thing with our trucks because the stock rubber is just getting too darn old and needing replacement anyways.. while you are there it is a GREAT IDEA to replace oil pump even if its not acting up.. because they are cheap enough and the job getting to it is an annoying one..

preventative maintenance is what i was taught and what i do so obviously this is just my opinions

 

In reference to the oil pan gasket on the 4x4 trucks, I've done 2 on the 351 motors. It is damn helpful if your going to replace it with the motor still in the vehicle to remove the upper half of the intake manifold, so that you can lift the motor high enough off the motor mounts to enable you to clear the oil pump. Usually the rear mains do go south on these trucks, and dump a lot of oil on the y pipe, so each time I replaced the rear main as well as the oil pan gasket. If you do end up replacing the rear main, use the teflon seal. its a few bucks more but its nice insurance on a seal that's a pain in the a@@ to replace.

 

Just did this on my 95 5.0 with the Felpro one piece gasket with the engine still in the truck, 3.5 hours lying on my back on the floor. wasn't too bad I didn't think

 

If you do use the blur felpro one-piece gasket, rtv the side that goes against the oil pan if the pan isn't perfectly straight.

If the pan is good, just dab the four corners of the block with a little rtv and call it a day.

 

When I did my truck I had to replace the pan and I pulled the pan off the motor. I put the front end up on jack stands and then unbolted the motor and jacked it up. Two
2x4, one for each side where the motor mounts are.

If you do it by dropping the pan and just replacing the gasket thats fine but I have never had any luck that way. I tried that in a jeep cherokee and wound up with a bigger leak then before. The gasket would not sit right and it became a big mess

 

I agreed. I did mine when I swapped motors.. It also gave me a chance to clean up the oil pan and paint it.