Another Oil Leak thread / Question

A bit of history first.

I have replaced the oil pan gasket about 3 months ago.

When i replaced the pan gasket, i had a stipped hole for one of the two front most bolts that hold the pan on that go into the timing chain cover. Needless to say i had an oil leak here. At that time, i thought it would be a good idea to tap that hole slightly bigger. It worked, and held up well. If your farmiliar with the one peice gasket for the oil pan, it has metal rings that go in each of the rubber bolt holes. When i did the taping, it screwed that ring up.

Later, i decided to replace the timing cover so i could have it all bolted the right way, and since my timing chain had never been replaced i figured it was a good time as any.

I did the work, and changed the cover etc.. Now since that ring wasnt there anymore, when i tightened the bolts for the oil pan, it caused the rubber gasket to stretch. Its been fine for awhile now, but now im gettin a leak in this area.

Here are some pictures: (sorry for the crappy ones i took them real quick at work with my camera phone)




My question is this...
If i drop the pan slightly in the front, enough to push the gasket back in correctly, and use some black RTV, will it start leaking again because that metal ring is gone? Should i instead just plan on pulling the pan again, and replacing the gasket all over again?

Thanks for your time.

You can try to patch it, but it would be just that, a patch, no gurantee that it would work, and no gurantee that it would last very long. The only long term solution is to fix it properly.

I got it all done this weekend.. I wonder why i was leaking??



I saw this also... i think it may have ripped when i removed the pan because i didnt have a leak at the rear.. but hey you never know!:


All done and so far no leaks... i hope i dont ever have to do this job again for a very very long time!