Hello. I have recently replaced the oil pan gasket on my 1997 Honda Accord SE due to an oil leak from that location. I also replaced the oil pressure switch because it was leaking a little as well. I used the OEM oil pan gasket from Honda, the OEM pressure switch, and used the original pan since it didn't seem to be damaged. I scraped off the old gasket and thoroughly cleaned the mating surface on the pan as well as the surface on the underside of the engine block. I used this thread as my guide: https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...accords-10981/, but didn't exactly follow it to a tee. Rather than sticking the gasket to the underside of the engine block, I positioned it on the top of the pan. I used a layer of Permatex around the whole pan surface where the gasket meets the pan as well as a layer all around the top of the gasket where it meets the underside of the engine block. I used the bolt tightening sequence described in the guide but I did not have a torque wrench so I doubt I tightened the bolts to exactly 10 ft-lbs. If anything, I probably made them tighter than that.

After a day of driving it I checked to make sure the pan was dry but noticed some oil coated on the shallow end of the pan closest to the transmission that wasn't there before I started driving it and the rest of the pan is dry so I think I might have a leak there. Before I was done working on it, I checked to make sure there was no oil dripping down from where the oil pressure switch, oil filter, etc, are and saw no sign of oil coming from above the pan. The gasket came out evenly around the whole pan after I put it up so I don't think it slipped on the way up. Back when I put the Permatex on, I waited about 30 minutes before bolting the pan on so the gasket was sticking to the pan pretty well and wouldn't have easily slipped. I also did my best to make sure each bolt was equally tight and applying an equal amount of pressure to the gasket. I went around the pan about 4 times to make sure there were no bolts loose.

Anyways, I'm at a loss as to why this is happening and I'm probably going to have to do the procedure all over again because I probably missed something. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if anyone has an explanation as to how this can happen. Maybe I over-tightened the bolts or didn't tighten them enough? Maybe I should have only applied the Permatex to the certain areas that the guide described instead of around the whole surface or used Hondabond instead for that matter? I would appreciate any suggestions or advice on what I can do at this point and/or what I should do differently if I have to do this procedure again. Thanks!

 

Im not understanding why permatex was used it's counterproductive. The gasket should of been enough unless there's certain spots on the oil pan that it is required.

 

2 possibilities maybe 3
1,, you used way too much Permatex , if too much is used it makes the gasket like squirt out thus won't seal properly, you don't need to put it on the gasket's flat side just use a bit on the rounded edges no too much either, just smear it with your finger
2 ,,sometimes when putting pan back up especially on the tranny side , it is a tighter fit and gasket might have slightly come off the groove thus causing a leak
3,, over or under tighten pan bolts ,,,if over tight gasket squirts out especially if too much permatex is used ,,
My advice,,, if you feel it is from pan gasket , do as it is on the thread ,,,
My feeling ,gasket might have just slightly come off the pan when you put it up .. if you do it gain i would follow the write up ,,

 

The other item to check if you pull the pan off again is to make sure the edge of the pan is flat by using a straight-edge just to make sure it didn't get bent when originally removing.

As for tightening, If you notice the gasket is being pushed out, then the bolt is too tight.

 

Thank you all for your replies. It's worth mentioning that I was doing this job with my Grandpa who has a good deal of knowledge about cars and has a lot of experience over the years so I trusted his judgment over my lack of experience. I was originally planning on following the write-up to the letter. In fairness, he's more used to dealing with older American cars than Hondas or any other foreign car. I did observe while we still had the car in the air that the gasket came out about anywhere from 1/16" to less than 1/8" from the top of the pan all the way around after the bolts had been tightened. Maybe this is a sign of over-tightening and/or too much Permatex being used? Although the side of the gasket wasn't exactly flush with the side of the oil pan, it came out at a pretty consistent length all the way around so I'm not so sure if it slipped but I'd imagine that's still a possibility. Is it possible that the stuff that's showing up on the outside of the pan is Permatex? I'm inclined to think not and that it's oil instead because it felt very slick and it had the right color of oil when I saw it on my fingers. I also did not think to check and see if the pan was flat so I will look at that if I do this again. So I guess my question now is is there anything I can try in order to correct the situation that wouldn't require me to do the whole procedure again? That gasket wasn't cheap by they way, it was somewhere around $45 on hondapartsnow. Anyways, if I have to do it again, I can say that I learned my lesson and I won't be deviating from the write-up next time.

 

gasket $ 33 at Amazon ...part # 11251-POA-OOO..
if you follow the write up you will be ok ,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HONDA-OEM-Engine-Parts-Oil-Pan-Gasket-11251-P0A-000-/181462421912

 

Thank you so much for that Amazon link! At least the part won't be as expensive next time. I'm guessing that in my current situation, if the gasket is already squeezed out then loosening the bolts and then tightening them to the proper specification wouldn't do any good? I'm guessing the Permatex being stuck on wouldn't allow the outer edge of the gasket to recede back in to where it is flush with the pan. Plus there is no way that gasket is coming off cleanly even if I wanted to try to take the pan down and readjust it. If that's the case then I guess my options at this point are either start from scratch with a new gasket and do it the correct way or just live with the leak and add oil back as necessary. I honestly think more of my oil gets burned than leaks out anyway. Most likely I will end up doing it again because it will drive me crazy until it doesn't leak and I will most likely have this car for the foreseeable future.

 

Are you sure the rear main seal is not leaking? I'd check that before pulling the pan again.