Engine

Oil Pan Gasket Leak

Respected 928 experts recommend snugging up the oil pan gasket bolts at every oil change.
However, be careful not to overtighten since the cork gasket might get damaged. Or, as in the
case below, an existing leak might be made worse. --Editor

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With all of the posts a few weeks back about loose oil pan bolts, I got underneath the shark the
other day to check the tightness of mine. Sure'nuf they were as loose as they could be without
falling out. So I tightened them up being very careful not to over-tighten. Well, all I
accomplished was to turn my two small drips (roughly dime sized per night) into one large leak
(roughly saucer sized per night). So my question is, has anyone out there replaced their pan
gasket at home, and if so how involved, how much time, what should I be aware of, and what
resources should I have available. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan Hamilton
85 928S-Iris Blue Metallic-Auto


Dan,

Sorry about your misfortune.

But, this should serve as a warning to those 928 owners that think they can tighten a _cork_
gasket. Believe me it does not work. All you do is make it worse.

At a minimum, replacing the gasket requires dropping the steering rack while suspending the
engine. If it were feasible, I'd pull the engine, replace the gasket, do the rear main seal, replace
the cam end seals, valve cover gaskets and the motor mounts.

Kevin Berez (kaberez@mindspring.com)
'86.5 928S Auto Meteormetallic