'81 Oil Pan Gasket
 

Just read a thread from three years ago where NumberDummy kindly supplied a part number (E7TZ6710B) for a Ford one-piece oil pan gasket.

I've got parts suppliers saying it's for 90-96 4.9L inline sixes with EFI.

Mine is a '81 4.9L, carbed. Has anyone used the Ford one-piece gasket, or the Fel-Pro one-piece, on these earlier engines? What is the Fel-Pro number? Seems like every parts website has a different answer.

The NAPA website also shows a Spectra one-piece gasket for this engine. Has anyone used that one?

I've read about grinding down the raised lips to make later one-piece gaskets fit. I'm happy to do that, but I want to make sure I have the right gasket. Thanks!

Heya WilleyJoe,
That's pretty much all there is to it.

Once you have the oil pan off, take a grinder and grind all the raised lips/edges around the bolt holes down until they're flush and smooth.

Then, get an '89+ 1 piece Felpro gasket and away you go. I don't know the part number, but didn't have any problem sourcing one at the local autoparts store. I haven't tried the Spectra, but I imagine it's very similar.
The four guide pins that come with the Felpro make life much much easier.

Just be sure to get everything super, super clean. Take a wire brush to the bottom of the block and be sure there are NO pieces of gasket left. Use a good sealant (I used black RTV) and let it cure for a day before filling it with oil and starting it up.

Last, but not least, NEVER overtorque the bolts, or you'll split the gasket and have to start all over. They may not even feel all that snug and tight when you torque them to spec. But if they're to spec, leave them be! :)

Alrighty then, that's what I'm going for. Got a local parts store that has the '89 Fel-Pro. Thanks brother. Another gasket adventure, I can hardly stand the excitement ... :-hair

Anytime. :)

I've done the oil pan gasket on both my 300s. They're not fun, but they're not hard. It's just a really dirty, and time consuming, job. Have fun!

That's one great thing about FTE - seems you can always find somebody who's been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt. (As opposed to saying, "my buddy tried it" or "my neighbor's cousin put one of those in" or "I read somewhere"... ) :D

No kidding! Everyone's got a little experience in something, someone's always done the job you're about to do, and any problem that comes up has been dealt with before, probably lots of times. I've learned a lot here.

Reason number 412 I decided to buy this one instead of a brand new truck.

In 1987 I bought a Dodge Dakota (yeah, I know) the first year they came out. They were completely different in their early years, like a slightly larger S10 or Courier. Bought it brand new, had it for 18 months, and it was in the shop at the dealership more than I drove it. Problem was, nobody knew how to work on 'em. They had manuals, but no hands-on experience.

I don't know if I'd ever have thought about that when buying a new vehicle (which I've never done). No one would know how to work on them yet! I can't even imagine doing it in the mid 80s when you still had bays full of carburetor mechanics trying to figure out the new EFI equipment. It was still all new to even the professionals.

And no computers. Fax machines weren't even common until a year or two later.

I had that Dakota in four or five times because the shifter kept popping into neutral. Someone finally figured out the boot was installed backwards. :-roll

By the way, I didn't mean to imply that NumberDummy's information wasn't accurate - just wanted to know if anyone had actually installed that Ford one-piece gasket on an earlier engine, and how it matched up.

I certainly didn't take it as such. :)

NumberDummy has assisted many a forum member!

Hmmm. Well, I went to pick up my Fel-Pro gasket, and the parts store had received a Victor Reinz gasket instead. It specs out exactly the same as the Fel-Pro, but doesn't include the snap-ups. No problem, I can get those at Auto Zone. What it DOES have is metal rings embedded in the gasket around each bolt hole.

Opinions? It was $10 more than the Fel-Pro, and I'll have to spend a few more bucks for the snap-ups.

I've never heard of the brand but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

The metal rings are what you have to grind off the lips on the oil pan gasket to make room for.
By snap ups are you meaning the guide/alignment pins? If so, that's a bummer. But, they're not really necessary, just helpful. :)

Does the Fel-Pro gasket have the metal rings embedded?

And it took me a while to find those pins last night on the 'pooter, searching for gasket pins, gasket clips, etc.

Fel-Pro does indeed sell them separately, and the official name is SnapUps. Go figure.
Fel-Pro/5/16 in. engine and transmission oil pan SnapUps (ES72863) | Oil Pan Tool | AutoZone.com