Oil pan gasket questions

[philw349]

Im about to replace the oil pan gasket but my friend whos doing it is shocked to realize part of the gasket is made of permatex sealant. Do other car manufacturers besides Ford use this as an oil pan sealer? He's also curious about modifying other gaskets for use, since losing a little oil every change seems to be the norm with some SHO's.

 

[smcallis]

As silicones have gotten better over the years the car manufacturers seem to be using more of it as gaskets. My guess is they allow looser tolerances on mating parts because of the gap filling/molding capability of a liquid gasket. Plus they can be applied with robotics so it can be pretty cost effective during assembly. With regular gaskets you need drawings, tooling to cut or mold it, then you have to fabricate them, stock them...inventory eats free cash. Instead they can buy the RTV by the 55 gallon drum and use it all over the place. My $0.02