2.3L One Piece Oil Pan Gasket

[bilbo]

Is there a one piece oil pan gasket that will fit my Ranger? It's a 1983 2wd with a 2.3L engine. When I rebuilt the engine a few years back I put the four piece one on as it's all I could find. It leaks, and I was thinking one piece might be better? If there is one available, does anyone have any experience with one?

 

[Shran]

Those have a stamped steel pan, correct? I don't see any one piece gaskets available. I think you could probably install an aluminum pan from a newer truck... those do have one piece gaskets.

 

[bilbo]

Yes, it's stamped steel.

 

[scotts90ranger]

You could put an aluminum pan on but they'e hard to get out with the engine in the truck. To do the swap you would need to drill out two to 4 holes and get 4 longer bolts as there's either 2 or 4 8mm bolts instead of all being 6mm on all of the aluminum pan engines.

 

[tomw]

Is there any other benefit to an aluminum oil pan over a stamped steel? Mine holds 6 quarts when changing, including filter, do the Al ones hold more, less or the same?
Pretty sure I'd have to raise the engine or pull it to change pan gasket from what I have read. Anyone know different? My pan could use some paint as it is rusting slightly... no leaks, I think.
tom

 

[Shran]

My aluminum pans have always held 5 quarts - 88 Ranger, 94 B2300, 96 Ranger.

I think it would be virtually impossible to install an aluminum pan with the engine in the truck and the transmission in place. If you've got the trans out, it's not bad, I did a new pan gasket and rear main on my '96 Ranger while I had the trans out to install a clutch in my driveway. I don't think I even had to lift the engine up. The aluminum pan is different because it's made to sit right up against the M5OD trans and two of the bellhousing bolts for that transmission go straight into the pan.

 

[Daniel Black]

Your steel oil pan is fine but you need the rear main cap and the front cover/front seal retainer plate. The ones for a 1-piece pan gasket are flat and don't have the recess for the cork or rubber end gaskets. I want to say they switched around '86-'87. The aluminum pans didn't really come in til late '88 with the m5od transmission.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I forgot about the trough in the rear main cap... when I put the aluminum pan on the '85 turbo engine I filled the trough with melted wheel weights... cut up a brake clean can for some sheet metal and made a mold about the right dimensions then melted some lead in, beat it in with a hammer and added a little silicone at the ends and filed it to the right height and it worked just fine... first time I used JB weld which didn't work as nice. I'm not sure what I'm running now on the new block, I don't remember it having the trough and come to think about it all the bolts are 6mm so I don't think it has it...

 

[bilbo]

My leak has become bad enough I can no longer ignore it, so I'm back to looking into this again. It's looking like there's no one-piece gasket available, so are there any tips or tricks to getting the four-piece gasket to seal longer than 35,000 miles? Any brands better than others for the gasket itself and/or RTV?

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've never installed one myself so I don't have tips on the gaskets, but on the RTV my recommendation is Permatex Ultra Black, Permatex Ultra Grey or "The Right Stuff". There's some fancier brand specific stuff but those are pretty good for the standard off the shelf silicone's...

 

[Shran]

Ford SOHC 1pc. Rubber Oil Pan Gasket - Ford SOHC 1pc. Rubber Oil Pan Gasket

1pc. rubber oil pan gasket fits all OBD1 Ford SOHC blocks* * Early blocks that have M8x1.25 bolt holes next to the rear main cap and in the front crank seal holder next to the arch will require our Oil Pan Corner Studs - Ford SOHC 1pc. Rubber Oil Pan Gask

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FORD Fel-Pro OS 34211 R Fel-Pro Oil Pan Gaskets | Summit Racing

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I don't know if either of those will fit your pan. One review on the one on Summit says: "The quality and construction are top notch. I used this on an early 2.3T motor that originally used the poor 4 piece oil pan kit with cork gaskets. I did have to modify the gasket to use on the early pan by trimming the concave sections under the crank areas. I did use a very thin layer of the black RTV between mating surfaces as I have had leaks with all other rubber gasket installed dry, even though the directions say its not needed. Came with quick install pins to old the gasket in place which were nice."

 

[bilbo]

Thanks Shran, It might be worth a shot, the FelPro one anyway as it's a little less money. One thing I read when I was working on the IDI in my F250 was that they don't use a gasket at all, just RTV. Even though there is a gasket available, they are prone to leaking and apparently most left the Ford factory with only RTV. But that pan design is probably different, without the grooves at the front and rear, so I'd imagine just RTV wouldn't work.

 

[bilbo]

Back at this again. I redid the gasket back in 2021, but ended up trying another 4-piece thinking maybe I just didn't clean things well enough the first time. It held for about a year, then started slow-dripping. It wasn't a lot so I just ignored it.

Since I've moved here I mostly use my Ranger to go to work and back, a 3 mile trip each way. I try to drive it out of town at least 1x/week to stretch its legs. The leak never got any worse. The last couple weekends I've used it to haul the canoe so longer trips at highway speeds and something must have broken loose. The leak is now more than a slow drip, leaving a wet spot about the size of a dinner plate in my driveway after three days of sitting due to riding my motorcycle to work.

Mostly just venting I guess, The Fel-Pro looks to be NLA now; I should've just done it back in 2021. Plus I gave up my garage when we moved and no longer have a way to pull the engine; guess I'll be looking for an engine hoist. A reasonable person would probably sell it or scrap it, but I've never been reasonable.

 

[Shran]

Maybe this one -

"" READ THE LISTING PLEASE"" Albany. Felpro os34211r | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for "" READ THE LISTING PLEASE"" Albany. Felpro os34211r at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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Looks like E6ZZ6710A is the Ford part, Victor Reinz # is 101025001