VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Dropping Oil Pan - Idler Arm Removal?

The oil pan on my ‘51 216 is leaking in the front and along the sides.
I plan to drop it, clean things up and put on new gaskets with Hylomar Blue as gasket dressing.
My question: once things are jacked up and on jack stands I have to get the steering idler arm out of the way. Do I need to remove it completely, unhooking the tie rods and steering arm or could I just unbolt it and let it hang (out of the way)? If I were to just let it hang would there be enough clearance to properly drop the pan?
I’m looking for wisdom from those of you who have done this before; I have not, to this point.
Thank You

IT IS NECESSAY TO DROP THE IDLER ARM. one bolt on top and two on the bottom.
When installing the gasket stick the side gaskets up on the block first and the end gadkets last.

I would like to add I use four one inch 1/4" bolts with the heads cut off as guide studs when installing the pan It prevents the gaskets from sliding so the pan is correctly poitioned,

Thank You for the tip.
I use Hylomar Blue as a gasket dressing on most everything.
That stuff is pretty amazing.
It also helps hold gaskets in place to some extent.

Hylomar Blue is really great stuff but you have to be careful not to over do it. I just had to rebuild a 216 due to a shattered fiber timing gear. The genesis of the problem turned out to be lack of oil from the small tube on the front motor mount plate. The former engine rebuilder was more than generous in slathering on the Hylomar which in turn caused the excess to squeeze out into the crankcase during assembly. A tiny gob of the Hylomar circulated around in the oil system until it eventually found its way to the tiny hole that sprays oil on the timing gears. End of story. Like the old hair dressing commercial says: "A little dab will do ya"

Persoaly Iwold not use that stuff orthe tubed silicone.

I used to use Permatex Aviation on everything, but for my oil pan...

I sprayed Permatex High Tack on the block side of the gaskets.
It's about impossible to get too much on, and really only used it to hold the gaskets in place while I put the pan on.
I didn't even use silicone at the "corners", as I've come to hate the stuff for various reasons.

I'm perfectly happy with the results.

Now you’ve got me worried about using Hylomar…I have used Hylomar Blue for years without issue and nothing leaks. I hear you regarding overdoing it. I always go with a thin layer on all surfaces. I get a little ridge squirting out but not globs of material. The Permatex High Tack, is it actually a gasket dressing/sealant?

Yes, Permatex High Tack is a gasket sealant:

https://www.permatex.com/products/g...x-high-tack-spray-a-gasket-sealant-6-oz/

Thank You.
I think I’ll give it a try when I get to the oil pan.

Question for Mr. Olson: When you spray the High Tack on the block side of the gasket what do you put, if anything, on the oil pan side of the gasket?

Thanks again.

I actually left that side dry.

My thinking was that if I had the pan in place or nearly there, and then it dropped for some reason, that way the gasket wouldn't stick to the pan and pull away from the block.

As Gene points out, the side gaskets MUST be installed and remain UNDER the curved end pieces on the bearing caps.

I didn't want the side gasket pulling out from under the end piece and leaking as a result.

It worked for me, hopefully it works for you too! 🙂


I should add that I used a pin punch through the bolt holes in the pan to drive the area around them slightly lower than the surrounding gasket surface before cleaning it up and installing it.
(Lower of course means with the pan viewed right side up)

Thanks for the wisdom, really.
So High Tack sprayed on the block side of all four gasket pieces. Also, punching the bolt holes from the block side of the pan to bow them out a bit so that they would appear “higher” or raised when viewed from the bolt head side of the oil pan perimeter.
Just want to get this right. I have “tapped” bolt holes on valve covers before for the same effect.

Yes, you've got it.

One other thing.

I was having a little trouble getting the end pieces to stay on the bearing caps...
until I realized I didn't have the cork truly seated in the grooves and had to get the edges toward the outer ends of the bearing caps
(front edge on the front bearing, back edge on the back bearing) in tight to the cap first,
then wedge/compress the cork into the groove until the remaining edges snapped past the edge of the groove in the bearing cap.

Then they stayed solidly in place while I installed the pan.

PS
In the gasket set I used (from The Filling Station) the end pieces were a tight fit width wise in the grooves,
but once they were in there, they were in there!
It was a great gasket set in my opinion.