trans pan gasket (45RFE)

[jeeptorino68]

i got the rubber gasket, and let the trans sit for a couple hours draining fluid before putting the pan and new gasket up. it was still dripping a bit of fluid down and onto the gasket surface, i wiped it up and put the pan/gasket up with high temp orange RTV but it is leaking a bit around the seal. i think the trans fluid that was still draining got past the RTV before it cured and it has a little path there.

id like to try again... what should i use this time? just the rubber gasket and no sealant? how do i get it to stop draining down that edge without letting it sit overnight...

 

[ridenby]

I let mine sit for awhile-maybe 2-3 hrs-then used RTV only. Don't think it ever quit dripping all together.

 

[tscott1224]

I let mine sit for awhile-maybe 2-3 hrs-then used RTV only. Don't think it ever quit dripping all together.

x2, Dont use the gasket, only use RTV. It will work perfectly.

 

[tjkj2002]

X3 on RTV only.

The 45RFE is not machined(pan or trans housing) for a gasket and why they come from the factory with RTV.You can get some real good RTV for the trans pan at the dealership(about $8) made to handle ATF+4.Permatex has a new ATF RTV also that works very well also.

 

[jeeptorino68]

thanks, i guess i will be doing that method then

 

[jeeptorino68]

ok so i tried without a gasket, and it still leaked (i used the new permatex auto trans sealant), like when i purchased it...
so took the pan back off and added a gasket (rubber from napa) and use the permatex automatic trans RTV and it worked like a charm, the rubber gasket helped take up a bit of warp in the pan otherwise it leaked from one corner.

problem solved...eventually

 

[jeeptorino68]

ok still leaking at the back of the pan gasket, this is with a rubber gasket and the Auto tran specific RTV (permatex brand)....

now what? i have had the pan off 3 times...cant get it right, the pan seems fairly flat, so i dont think it is warped...thinking of taking it to a trans shop and having them do it, especially if the guarantee their work...

any ideas?

 

[ridenby]

Use RTV,lay a 1/8 inch wide bead continuously around pan,weaving to the inside of the bolt holes,lift the pan straight up to the trany-do not slide it around-start bolts on each side and the end.DO NOT CRANK THEM TIGHT ,add more bolts till all holes are filled then work in a cross ways pattern to tighten,A LITTLE AT A TIME. Pan bolts only take 15lbs of torque-I think- They do not need to be cranked down on.

 

[jeeptorino68]

do you think it could be warped? one trans place said they are easy to warp and common to warp on a 45rfe.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Just out of curiousity, have you been trying to save the fluid or have you been buying new everytime?

Mine has been leaking since 30k which is the first time I took my pan off. Leaked till I changed it again at 60k and its still leaking. Used atv only the first time and a gasket+atv the second. No luck. Ill prob just let it leak forever. Level never changes.

One thing I think I'm doing wrong. The atv says to get the bolts only finger tight for an hour till it sets up, then to torque them. I'm not doing that and I think I'm over tightening them which leaves no atv.. Its all squeezed out..

 

[snsheil96]

Anyone one have problems with 3.7 Idle. Seems to be a little ruff like a misfire but throws no codes.

Has fresh plugs and coils

 

[jeeptorino68]

well last time when i tried changing the gasket i captured the fluid (most) into a clean pan, then filtered it through a coffee filter to get the big stuff out. the trans has new screen and canister filter in it already (less than 6K miles)

i followed the wait an hour or two with the bolts finger tight as the goop stated but still got the leak

 

[GTF]

I did it the first time without the gasket, RTV only but it leaked. Been a little while since I did mine, but as I recall I used the cork gasket the second time. Made sure to clean EVERYTHING off the old surface with a wire wheel, coated both sides of the gasket liberally with the sensor safe RTV, and slapped it on there. I put all the bolts in just snug, tightening them in a cross pattern to make sure that it tightened down evenly. I snugged them a little more after they were all in just till the RTV started to ooze out a little bit.

I think the cork gasket is better personally, but to each his own. I also think that I probably didn't use enough RTV the first time. I always err on the side of less is more when using the stuff, but I wasn't about to have it leak the second time. I think it's best to not tighten the pan down too tight as well, probably squeezes all the sealant out.

Anyway, that's my $.02 on the matter, hope it saves somebody a few quarts of ATF +4!

 

[jeeptorino68]

not sure where to get cork gasket, a trans shop today that i talked to said the paper type gaskets are the best and that is what they use without sealant...

so basically i have gotten every answer from anyone
sealant,
no sealant,
gasket,
no gasket,
rubber,
cork,
paper,



i am going to look in the FSM tonight. will post the findings...


thinking about getting a pan from ebay

 

[GTF]

I'm not surprised you got so many different answers. As I recall, the FSM leans toward no gasket with probably a mopar type sealant. I have seen some of those pans where people over-torqued the bolts and tweaked the pan a bit. I think that's where the gasket would help since it would give a little more compressible material in there to take up the space. Can you tell where its leaking from?

Good luck to you, I know I wasn't too happy to see fluid dripping out of the pan after I just installed it. I like things to be one and done, and I HATE to have anything leaking out of my vehicles... just bugs me!

 

[jeeptorino68]

well turns out the pan must have been warped bought a new mopar pan (new in box) on ebay for 35 with free shipping, bolted it up with rubber gasket and permatex auto trans sealer from napa and it is all fine now.

the PO must have pryed on it too hard with a screwdriver...

 

[jimbrown]

When you pulled the pan off, was there any residual sealant? Did you try to use a Gasket Scraper to remove all of the residual sealant from the mating surface before reapplying sealant/gasket?

 

[jeeptorino68]

there was a thin layer of sealant, i used a gasket scraper and nothing else, being careful not to scratch the machined surface