Gasket Change
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Gasket Change
Hello I am new to this forum and somewhat of a novice in car repair. I have an 88 F-150, 302, 4x4.
I need to change the oil pan gasket (leaking) and valve cover gaskets. My question is two fold.
1. How difficult are these projects, is it as simple as pulling the parts off, putting in a new gasket and bolting the part back on? Or, is the job much more involved. My Haynes manual says I need to lift the engine slightly to get at the oil pan gasket. Is this true, or can I just crawl under there and have at it.
2. What type of material should the gasket be made out of for each application. There are several choices from cork to steel.
Any help I can get is appreciated.
Thanks
Bull
I need to change the oil pan gasket (leaking) and valve cover gaskets. My question is two fold.
1. How difficult are these projects, is it as simple as pulling the parts off, putting in a new gasket and bolting the part back on? Or, is the job much more involved. My Haynes manual says I need to lift the engine slightly to get at the oil pan gasket. Is this true, or can I just crawl under there and have at it.
2. What type of material should the gasket be made out of for each application. There are several choices from cork to steel.
Any help I can get is appreciated.
Thanks
Bull
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,555
Likes: 40
From: Concord, NC
For the oil pan, you don't have to lift the engine, unless you plan on taking the pan all the way out. For the pan gasket, get the gasket from there - it will be a one piece rubber gasket, and will make the job much much easier. The oil pan will drop down enough so you can get the old gasket out around the pan, then snake the new one one, being careful not to rip, stretch, or tear it (it's not fragile, just don't be reckless with it).
For the valve covers, you will have to take the upper intake manifold off to get to them, unless you have some tiny hands and tiny tools. You will need a T40 torx bit to get the intake manifold off, and the torx bit either has to be a very long 3/8" drive or a 1/4" drive to fit in the gap of the manifold. Get the upper to lower intake manifold gasket when you are buying parts. As for the actual valve cover gaskets, I have cork-rubber gaskets on my truck, but I don't know if they are the best or not - someone else may have a suggestion for those - if not I know mine work just fine. Get some gasket sealer (permatex makes some good goo for this) to get the gaskets to stick to the valve covers to hold themselves in place while you put the covers back on the engine.
One thing to stress is don't over tighten the bolts. Both the pan and the valve cover bolts will likely not be more than 10 lb-ft or so. Also with both the pan and the valve covers, you'll want to tighten the bolts in a criss cross pattern so you don't warp the sealing surfaces and cause leaks. Take your time and everything should go pretty smoothly for you.
For the valve covers, you will have to take the upper intake manifold off to get to them, unless you have some tiny hands and tiny tools. You will need a T40 torx bit to get the intake manifold off, and the torx bit either has to be a very long 3/8" drive or a 1/4" drive to fit in the gap of the manifold. Get the upper to lower intake manifold gasket when you are buying parts. As for the actual valve cover gaskets, I have cork-rubber gaskets on my truck, but I don't know if they are the best or not - someone else may have a suggestion for those - if not I know mine work just fine. Get some gasket sealer (permatex makes some good goo for this) to get the gaskets to stick to the valve covers to hold themselves in place while you put the covers back on the engine.
One thing to stress is don't over tighten the bolts. Both the pan and the valve cover bolts will likely not be more than 10 lb-ft or so. Also with both the pan and the valve covers, you'll want to tighten the bolts in a criss cross pattern so you don't warp the sealing surfaces and cause leaks. Take your time and everything should go pretty smoothly for you.
