20th Anniversary MK4 Build Thread - #10 of 20 - #8697

[RRussellTx]

Well, I'm still fighting the Oil Pan issues.

As a recap, my Forte 427w leaked oil upon arrival and I have been chasing the issue off and on for several weeks.

- Oil in bottom of crate upon arrival
- Lifted engine and move to rolling dolly and let it set for a couple of weeks - it leaked for first few days then stopped...
- The leak was from in front of the Block Plate so it could have been several types of leaks
- Pulled the clutch and flywheel and cleaned up all of the oil from the engine
- Tilted the front of the engine up about 20 degrees - noticeable oil puddle after about 6 hours
- leak was clearly from the Oil Pan but looked like is was up and down the gasket and not from a clear location
- Pulled the Pan and noticed that it was not shaped correctly and that there was a bur in the rear main gasket channel
- Shipped the Pan to Canton Racing and they confirmed that is was badly shaped and they fixed it and returned it at no charge (I only had to pay for one way shipping and the packaging to get it up there)
- Canton recommends a 4 piece Gasket for the 15-680s Oil Pan that came on the Forte 427w so I replaced the gasket with a new Canton 88-650 Oil Pan Gasket:
https://www.cantonracingproducts.com...IL-PAN-GASKET/
- The Oil Pan came back early (Last Friday) so I left the Texas Cobra Meet early so I could get back and get it installed


Now the latest, updates:

1. The Oil Pan fits perfectly now on all of the bolt holes and does not hit the #4 main cap anymore. Not sure how they do it...
2. The front seal looks like it might be tight at the very bottom of the front lip but I think it's going to be fine.
3. Now I'm afraid the bolts that Mike used are too long for the application. They are 3/4" long and if I tighten them firmly to the bottom of the holes, they probably don't go deep enough the compress the gasket. Here are a couple of shots of the bolts he used and one shot with it tightened firmly to the bottom of the hole. I'm going to guess that he used bolts for a pan with a side rails but mine does not have a side rail. I actually cut a 6" section of the Ford Racing Gasket that he used and bolted it in sideways to see if I could get it tight enough to squeeze the gasket. It did squeeze the gasket but it was not firmly compressed and I could spin the gasket fairly easily while underneath a very snug Oil Pan bolt. Right now, I'm pretty sure I could have just left the pan in place and replaced the bolts with shorter ones and that would have resolved the issue. That said, I'm glad I got the bur out of the gasket channel and that I got the pan straightened out.

Now I need to order a proper set of oil pan bolts (or maybe some studs) so progress is again stopped. Once I get the Oil Pan re-installed, I want to clean up some rust on the block and finish the painting that Forte started.







Does anyone know what length a 351w Oil Pan Bolt should be?

Also, any votes for Studs vs Bolts? Any favorite brands?
I need to order a set of some kind and hopefully get the engine back together next weekend.

[edwardb]

You can't go wrong with anything from ARP for the pan bolts. Their part number 254-1804 is shown for a 351 block. But not sure if they're the right length for your aftermarket pan.