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Oil Pan Gasket - Leak

N

nis350

Experienced Member
Joined
6 June 2004
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Since the oil pan gasket was more than 20 years old (without leak), I decided to have it changed as preventive maintenance. Sadly, the gasket only lasted a few years and it is now leaking. I ran my hand across the edge of the oil pan and noticed that the gasket is bulged out a bit beyond the edge of the pan where the bolts are. I recalled reading Larry B's comments that the gasket should be even with the edge of the pan. So that's probably what caused the leaks. Not sure if it bulged out over time or it was just a poor installation.

From reading the replacement procedures, the exhaust pipe attached to the front exhaust manifold (NA1) has to be removed. There are two round metal gaskets for that pipe on each end. It appears that the gasket for the pipe to the manifold is discontinued. Are these two metal gaskets for that exhaust pipe reusable?

I am also curious if the car used a better gasket from the factory than the one available now? It was quite impressive that the original one lasted more than 20 years.
 
The gaskets are standard Honda parts,
18212-SA0-003
18393-SH3-S00

http://nsxe-repair.com/files/acurap...k=30&IlustPageNo=2&ImageName=13SL00_003_2.gif

They are one-time crush to fit, but I have just rebolted everything back together again without much issue.

Yes, is there are tales of the original run of factory parts to be better than the service parts. There are a few makers of the gasket.

Also, where did it leak from? There are joints at the oil pump that have hondabond.
 
I think you can get an aluminum gasket from RFY or KSP- it's supposed to be better than the rubber one at preventing leaks and longevity.
 
This exhaust pipe gasket "18212-SA0-003" is discontinued according to the Acura part website. So there is after market replacement for this particular gasket, perhaps from the local part stores like autozone or pepboys?

Do I need deep sockets for those bolts on the exhaust pipe?

As far as the oil pan gasket leak, I am not sure exactly where it is leaking. I ran my hand across the oil pan gasket and the leak appeared to come from the front bank of the engine.

I don't know where the "joints at the oil pump" you are referring to. I was under the impression that the oil pump is inside the pan.

However, I recalled that he did put some hondabond at a few small spots on the oil pan gasket before installation, and I noticed some grey bond near the part of the gasket that bulged out. Guess he must have over-tightened those pan bolts. :mad:

Thanks.

drew said:
The gaskets are standard Honda parts,
18212-SA0-003
18393-SH3-S00

http://nsxe-repair.com/files/acurap...k=30&IlustPageNo=2&ImageName=13SL00_003_2.gif

They are one-time crush to fit, but I have just rebolted everything back together again without much issue.

Yes, is there are tales of the original run of factory parts to be better than the service parts. There are a few makers of the gasket.

Also, where did it leak from? There are joints at the oil pump that have hondabond.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
It appears that all of those oil pan gaskets are all likely OEM as those companies are all distributers. They are even using the same stock photo. You can pay more, but you'll be getting the same part.

You're in luck, the Fel Pro is on close out for $7, I would buy a couple.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/partsear...um=11251PH7000
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...00843&jsn=2136

I personally would go with the most cost-effective part that is shipped from the same warehouse as the exhaust gaskets, but pretty hard to beat $7.

FYI: I bought some OEM NSX tensioner bearings for $1/ea last year on closeout, I bought 4x because the shipping cost more after 4x units. They are the genuine item.
 
nis350 said:
This exhaust pipe gasket "18212-SA0-003" is discontinued according to the Acura part website. So there is after market replacement for this particular gasket, perhaps from the local part stores like autozone or pepboys?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

An OEM 18212-SA0-003 is still available from Amayama.com; but, the shipping for a low value part is going to turn it into a high value part. RockAuto appears to carry the aftermarket equivalent at a very reasonable price - you can order it along with your pan gasket.
 
MotorMouth93 said:
I did not know this existed, I don't like the lousy rubber Honda gaskets so I might give this a shot. Also I wonder if the MyHondaHabit guy could make a copy of this out of the material he uses for the B series oil pan gaskets.
Click to expand...

I'm also on the fence about the aluminum one. However, most of the issues with the NSX gasket come from people inadvertently over-torquing the bolts (by sensibly following the service manual lol) and deforming the gasket and/or pan mating surface. With a perfectly flat pan and a perfectly clean block surface, the rubber gasket will give you years of leak-free performance- provided you torque correctly. Depending on who you talk to, that number is between 7 and 10 lb/ft. The way I do it is LarryB's method- I torque the bolts in two rounds. First round I go to 5 lb/ft all the way around. On the second round, I tighten until the gasket is even with the pan and deck and then stop. Never had a leak. I don't use Hondabond at the corners. I just make sure the mating surfaces are obsessively clean.
 
wasn't Larry a Hondabond fan?
 
You need to be careful with the Hondabond term. It is more than one product and I think has been attached to some Honda products that were not officially Hondabond and some products that are now obsolete /dropped. So far, I have found the following which all appear to be current according to recent Acura / Honda TSBs:

08718-0001 / ​
08718-0004 Hondabond HT [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif] Adhesive sealer for metal-to-metal, metal-to-plastic, or plastic to-plastic bonding. Good for high temperature applications

08718-0003 Ultraflange [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]Gray material used to seal areas as described in service manuals. It can also be used for most gasketless applications except oil pans (From some descriptions I thnk this has been called a Hondabond by some people

08717-0004 / ​
08717- 1194 Hondabond 4 Semi Drying sealant [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]Liquid gasket sealant used to seal critical areas as specified in service manuals. Do not use it for gasketless applications unless specified in the service manual

Also, I have seen reference to people applying Hondabond to seal threads, particularly the water pump bolts; but, I expect that the correct product would be the Hondalock low strength thread lock / sealer or perhaps the Permatex product which is just a thread sealer might be the better product.

Aside from part number updates there are also some Hondabond products that may or may not be obsolete

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
Hondabond HT1216F
​
[SUB][SUP]<strike>
</strike>[/SUP][/SUB]
I like Permatex Permashield which is a Hylomar blue clone. A none hardening product that can be used as a gasket dressing and a flange sealant. I would not use it as a gasket maker for large gaps. Kind of pricey. Really pricey if you go for the genuine Hylomar product.
 
What kind of torque wrench were you using? In my experience the gasket will start to squish out well before you reach 5lbft. If it was a clicker wrench the vast majority of those can't accurately read that low. I used a tiny beam wrench last time and went up to about 45inlb and stopped since the gasket was even with the edges of the block/pan.

"Hondabond" refers to the HT product most of the time from what I've seen. I've seen some BMW guys recommend the Permashield/Hylomar blue but never used it myself.

The downside I see to the aluminum gasket is that it would be pretty horrible to remove the pan afterwards which is why I'll probably just stick with the factory rubber gasket. This might be an interesting test for the Permashield though since supposedly it doesn't harden and might make removal easier than using something like Hondabond HT or flange sealant.
 
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MotorMouth93 said:
What kind of torque wrench were you using? In my experience the gasket will start to squish out well before you reach 5lbft. If it was a clicker wrench the vast majority of those can't accurately read that low. I used a tiny beam wrench last time and went up to about 45inlb and stopped since the gasket was even with the edges of the block/pan.

"Hondabond" refers to the HT product most of the time from what I've seen. I've seen some BMW guys recommend the Permashield/Hylomar blue but never used it myself.

The downside I see to the aluminum gasket is that it would be pretty horrible to remove the pan afterwards which is why I'll probably just stick with the factory rubber gasket. This might be an interesting test for the Permashield though since supposedly it doesn't harden and might make removal easier than using something like Hondabond HT or flange sealant.
Click to expand...

I have a little 1/4 drive HF inch-pound clicker. I set it to 50 or 60 in/lb and you're right- that gets it pretty much all of the way. Then I go around with a regular ratchet and fine-torque just watching the gasket- I set it by eye. My "trick" if you can call it that is to wipe everything (including the gasket) with acetone and a microfiber cloth to make sure there is absolutely no oil or contaminants on any of the mating surfaces. I also use a dot of blue loctite on the nuts because I've had them fall off due to the low torque setting.
 
I followed the recommendation where you tighten the pan until the gasket starts to bulge just a little bit, it didn't work. I was getting quite a bit of oil seeping from the new gasket after a few hundred miles to where it was dripping onto my garage. It does not take much torque to get the gasket to bulge and the bolts were still very much loose. I went ahead and tightened everything down until it "felt right". I know that isnt very scientific or whatever but tightening it down till it bulged a little was just not enough.

Have had no problems since.
 
so did you replace the gasket or re-tighten the one that was leaking?

how much did the gasket bulge out the second time?

shingli2k said:
I followed the recommendation where you tighten the pan until the gasket starts to bulge just a little bit, it didn't work. I was getting quite a bit of oil seeping from the new gasket after a few hundred miles to where it was dripping onto my garage. It does not take much torque to get the gasket to bulge and the bolts were still very much loose. I went ahead and tightened everything down until it "felt right". I know that isnt very scientific or whatever but tightening it down till it bulged a little was just not enough.

Have had no problems since.
Click to expand...
 
I did not replace the gasket the second time I just tightened it since it was just changed. I don’t recall but I tightened the bolts using a 1/4 with a long extension so it wasn’t like I used a ton of torque. It bulged just a little more.
 
You over-tightened the pan bolts. That's why it started leaking the second time. Torque spec is 10 ft. lbs. Also there is a tightening sequence that is illustrated in the SM. I'd also make sure your pan is not warped due to over-tightening the pan bolts.
 
No, I did not. Not sure if this response was for me but after tightening it the second time, it hasn't leaked since. Tightening the first time to just a slight bulge of the gasket made it leak.
 
so was the gasket bulged out evenly the second time?

I noticed mine is only bulged out around the where the bolts are on the pan.

Just trying to learn the proper procedures.....

shingli2k said:
No, I did not. Not sure if this response was for me but after tightening it the second time, it hasn't leaked since. Tightening the first time to just a slight bulge of the gasket made it leak.
Click to expand...
 

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