My timing chain cover is leaking pretty good along the bottom. I'm going to drop the front of the oil pan when I pull it to fix the leak. While I'm in there I'm putting in a new GMPP single roller chain. I'm thinking that the original 15 year old rubber oil pan gasket might not be too pliable anymore, and liable to leak once I button everything back up. Has anybody else reused these gaskets when they're this old? Actually removing the oil pan is no fun, and wrangling a new gasket around the oil pump pickup if I only drop the pan an inch or so doesn't sound too appealing either.

 

Might pick one up just in case, but it will be a major PITA to try and swap out with the motor in the car. Its possible but not always the easiest. See how it comes off. If it comes off alright, then just make sure the surface of the block and the gasket are clean and bolt the pan back up. Might require a little RTV if it has trouble sealing. I know several guys w/ tears in their pan gaskets b/c of removing the timing cover, and they stopped the leaking w/ RTV.,

 

Get felpro's one peace blue gasket for the oil pan itll never leak again and save ya alot of greif.Just my 2 cents

P.S. they even have threaded in tabs that hold the gasket up in place while you slide the pan back on.

 

I had a look at the oil pan and block while I was working on something else today. Did all the V8s get the one piece rubber gasket, or did some only get RTV? I can see where some RTV has been pushed out a bit when the pan got bolted up to the block, and if there is a gasket in there it's paper thin. The end gasket is obvious, but it doesn't look like the sides of the pan have a gasket. It's the original '89 350.