We have been doing some work on our sweet van this weekend. We hit a bit of a snag on the oil pan gasket.
The oil pan has a ridge where the seal goes.
The old seal has a slot to match. The new seal does not. Old seal bottom, new seal on top.
The new seal has a groove on the top, the old seal does not. Old seal top, new seal bottom.
I assume there is some sort of year break for the difference. Anybody have any idea what the deal is? Do I need a different year or model gaskets? Did Felpro just screw up? Should I just jam a whole tube of gasket maker in it and cap with a coat of flex seal?
Use the new seal. While the new one doesn't have the grove where the old one did it does have one on the other side. I've seen this type seal on a number of Ford engines that I've worked on. None of them were the 300-6 but I've never had a problem with them. I assume that there is a groove on the block for the seal to fit into.
I usually glue the seal in there along with the cork/rubber gaskets for the flat part of the pan.
At a guess, the old seal probably looked a lot like the new one before it was clamped between the pan and the block for a couple of decades. Heat and pressure added and removed ridges as needed to seal the gap.
You have the correct part for your application. The old seal looked identical with your new one before it was installed.
That's so weird to me. With the ridge on the pan the gasket doesnt seem to sit right. Most of my experience is with Imports and GM/Chrysler. This is only the second Ford ever in my house. What is it they say, Ford has a better idea?
Its not a great pic but the engine side is smooth.
