Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I’m going to drop the oil pan on my ’32 901 to clean out the sludge and install a new gasket. Does anyone know the fastener torque spec for reinstallation?

Also, I bought new rear main seal cork strips. How exactly do they install? Can they be done easily once the pan is removed?

Thanks in advance.

I’m not sure that torque wrenches were in common use at that time. It’s more important that the bolts are all torqued the same; the exact value is less important. I would suggest 11 ft-lbs, if the pan distorts excessively then do less. If the bolt is not convincingly tight, a bit more.

Torque is not important just tighten adequately. You should be under your car regularly and you can retighten them as you check things out. There should be a lock washer under all the bolts. You cannot distort the pan as it is heavy aluminum. Not sure what seal you are talking about. The pan gasket goes all the way around the pan and is in pieces that match up on the cut line. I had a problem with the gaskets I have received from MM as the holes did not line up exactly. Next time I will get mine from Olsons. I also used form a gasket sealer on both surfaces. The issue is the drain hole from the slinger which passes thru the pan flange. There is a dam in the pan where it connects to the engine and the rear main bearing. There are no fasteners in the middle so it has to fit tight so it does not leak into the bell housing portion of the pan. There is a drain hole in the bell housing portion to drain oil that may leak from the slinger. I put extra form a gasket around the slinger hole in the middle of the dam so that no leaks would occur and none have so far. You may get some oil in the drain hole from the Bijur that lubricates the throwout bearing but it should not be much. Where the pan connects to the front cover is a problem. If you can keep from distorting the lower portion of the front cover gasket you can resuse it. If not I cut mine off and used RTV on the bottom portion. Those front bolts are tricky if you have a front mud cover. You might have to remove the cover to get to the bolts. I reversed the bolts on mine and leave the bolts in place. The pan is somewhat heavy so keep that in mind. I used a transmission jack to put it back in place. You should remove the pan about every 2,000 or so miles as these engines create sludge especially if you do run the car on short runs. The general rule of thumb is run it for 10 miles or don't run it at all. The sludge is caused by condensation forming inside the engine during start up and must run long enough to get hot and dissipate the moisture. PM me if you need any additional info.