'98 XJ 4.0 Oil Felpro Oil Pan Gasket Woes

Hey,

Need some advice on sealing the oil pan gasket on my '98 XJ 4.0. I've installed it twice with the same outcome, leak by the rear bearing cap mount. I used a new Felpro gasket each time with the same outcome. I've used these before with no problems, but it seems that the semi-circle seal portion is too long and pushed the gasket out of the trough that it's supposed to fit in. I tried laying the gasket on top of the oil pan to check fit, and I see lots of daylight in between the gasket at the 90* bend and the pan. Is it supposed to that loose-fitting? It looks as if I could cut out out a 1/4" - 3/8" strip of the semi-circle portion of the gasket and it would then sit down in the pan valley and seal correctly. Any help would be appreciated before I try something more drastic like welding the pan to the block! Thx! :banghead:

Try a different brand - i'd order one from the dealership and compare the fit to Felpro.
It sounds like the Felpro part just fits poorly.
If you do weld the pan to the block, make sure to pre-heat the iron block and let it cool slowly.

Are you using a thin layer of RTV on both sides of the gasket?

tried using a thin bead the 2nd time with same results.

I just did a RMS and used a felpro gasket. Same outcome, pushed the seal out the back.

I know these gaskets used to be blue in the Felpro box, but now they're black or gray in the same Felpro box. I wonder if Felpro went with a different manufacturer for these? I just grasping at straws at this point! :banghead:

I've been using the moulded rubber gaskets (blue colour) for several years without incident.

However, I did recently have an "intern" have trouble - the rear main cap rail (no studs or screws to hold it in place) kept jumping out of track on him. I showed him how to make a small hook out of a bit of coathanger wire - it's stiff enough to be useful, flexible enough to bend readily, and can be ground clean on the end with a stone without much effort - and told him to use that to keep the rail in place while he got the sump up. Start by using a couple of overlength screws near the rear (about 1" long,) and line it all up - then use the correct length (1/2") to snug it all up in place. Remove the 1" screws and replace with 1/2" screws.

I can't stand metal coathangers in my closet - damn things always get tangled up. But, I always keep a few in the garage - damn things come in handy out there for ersatz tools, in a pinch...

yeah, I was trying to avoid removing my rusty exhaust to get the tranny inspection cover off to do this, but you have a good point and might give that a try tomorrow night! Thx for the idea!

Are you putting it on the pan or the block?We made some guides using 5/16 bolts with the heads cut off.Put 4 of them in the block,put a thin coat of sealer on the block,put the gasket on the block let it set up for a while,set pan on,installed bolts removed guides.