How to evenly apply oil pan gasket sealant

[KMOSES]

This is a easy way to apply gasket sealant evenly to a oil pan surface (for thoes that use sealant). This will mostly eliminate gobs of sealant oozing past the gasket. Needed, surface cleaner, riged back razor blade and 1/4" vinyl fine line tape (used for masking a car for paint). This tape makes smooth curves and is .004" thick. This may be a trick everyone knows but if you don't it it works well.

Clean the surface well.
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Apply the fine line tape to the inside and outside gasket surface staying about 1/16 - 1/8 away from the bolt holes.
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Apply the gasket sealer of choice.
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Use the razor blade to spread the gasket sealer.
I apply enough pressure to the blade so that the tape color shows through.
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Remove the tape to reveal a uniform coating of gasket sealant.
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[packratbimmer]

That is an AWESOME tip! I can't stand pulling an engine apart and finding silicone spaghetti everywhere.

Thanks

[TRAK WDW]

Great tip! Never thought of that tape idea... although it must be tedious, i'm sure it yields great results in the end!

[deutschman]

While this is nice and I apreciate it, its WAY OCD.

That is an AWESOME tip! I can't stand pulling an engine apart and finding silicone spaghetti everywhere.

Thanks

Gasket scraper

[reelizmpro]

That's a neat trick but does it seal better than letting the two mating surfaces quench the bead?

[AndrewBird]

Better yet is to apply a THIN layer to both surfaces, let both tack, then assemble. No need to use more than a thing smear, even less than you show actually.

I'm not convinced there is enough sealant from hole to edge either. Those parts are already lacking in area and this method reduces it even further.

[Dj Buttchug]

this looks real nice but to get a good reliable seal you want that squish of the sealer between the metal.

[KMOSES]

I think the lack of area has less impact due to the higher clamping force around the holes. One thing I would add is that I like to wait overnight before torquing the oil pan bolts to spec. My thinking is bond the gasket well to each surface and let the gasket core handle the different rates of thermal expansion.

[dnguyen1963]

Better yet is to apply a THIN layer to both surfaces, let both tack, then assemble. No need to use more than a thing smear, even less than you show actually.

I'm not convinced there is enough sealant from hole to edge either. Those parts are already lacking in area and this method reduces it even further.

Totally agreed. It looks really nice, but there is just not enough sealant around the holes.

[Ether-D]

Totally agreed. It looks really nice, but there is just not enough sealant around the holes.

But this is just gasket sealant not gasket maker. Most gaskets generally hold fine without any sealant. This is just a way to add a little more protection incredibly neatly. OP, I like it. I don't have the patience to do it, but it is a very tidy way to do this.

[KMOSES]

With a some manual dexterity the vinyl fine line tape can be curved around the bolt holes.
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[dnguyen1963]

With a little manual dexterity the vinyl fine line tape can be curved around the bolt holes.
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Nicely done!