Need to drop the oil pan on 57 TBird to get at broken off oil pan bolt.  Is the cork oil pan gasket the best gasket to use when reinstalling the pan or should I use something that comes out of a can?  If a cork gasket, is one brand better than another?

Cork should work and you can find it locally, Fel-Pro.  Best Gasket have one that is thick paper or paper like material.  The Fel-Pro oil pickup tube seal can be problematic so I don't recommend that you use that.  The Best Gasket one is much better.

For either, make sure the pan rail is flat and fix any dimpled holes before reinstallation of the pan.  Also do not torque the bolts.  Tighten them while paying attention to the gasket.  If you torque them, the gasket will squish out and you will have to start over again.


Lawrenceville, GA

Got it!  Thanks for your advise.

Charlie, what do You use as a visual Guide when tightening but not torquing Pan Bolts? Do You put the Gasket on dry or are U using any kind of Sealer or similar? Are You recommending the Best Gasket Set as a better Set than Felpro?

  

I use the Best Gasket brand oil pan gaskets  for the Ford Y engines and simply use white grease on each side of the gasket when installing.  No other sealer required.  Those gaskets are a black fibrous material and thick enough to compensate for small irregularities in the gasket surface.  As Charlie brings up, be sure the oil pan rail is straight and true.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ted, Do You Torque or just visually tighten Bolts as Charlie suggests?

  

I don’t use a torque wrench when tightening the oil pan bolts.  Just a visual on the gasket suffices.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I just pay attention to what the gasket is doing while I tighten the bolts.  You can see when it starts to move out from under the pan, around the bolt holes.  That's when you stop.  Check the bolts after it's been run and driven a few times.
I've used a real thin coat of black permatex in the past.  Recently, I've been using Permashield gasket dressing and it has worked.  No leaks and it is non hardening so future replacement is much easier.


Lawrenceville, GA

[quote][b]Ted (9/16/2018) I use the Best Gasket brand oil pan gaskets  for the Ford Y engines and simply use white grease on each side of the gasket when installing.  No other sealer required.

Ted, just curious, but wouldn’t axle/bearing grease be a better choice for something exposed to crankcase circulation? Or is white grease not a concern re: contamination?

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

White grease has a lower melting point than axle grease so it would be more desirable in the event any made its way into the oil.  I’d be concerned on using axle grease in any shape or form that been sitting loose in a shop as it may have been previously contaminated by using it for what it was originally designed.  I use the same ‘clean’ white grease that’s used for cylinder wall sonic testing on both the oil pan and timing cover gaskets to facilitate any removal of either piece later down the road.  I do not use white grease on any wear surfaces like bearings or camshafts.  Zero leaks using white grease on oil pan and timing cover gaskets if due diligence is taken to keep all gasket surfaces free of pre-existing material and/or imperfections where the surfaces have been dinged up.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)