Today I drained the oil from my RX-8 for the first time since I bought the car last June.
I am examining the oil around the engine compartment and it looks to me like leaks are all around the pan.
So while the oil is out, I’m thinking that I should drop the pan and put in a new gasket.
I am trying to find a part number for this gasket but I can’t seem to find one.
Does such an animal exist?

 

there is no gasket, though Atkins was selling an aftermarket one

the factory procedure is to silicone it. PITB job getting it off without tweaking the mounting flange, getting all the silicone off both the engine and pan surfaces, and also out of the threaded bolt holes. If you get too much silicone in the threaded bolt holes it can crack the engine housings when you tighten the bolts. So you not only have to clean them out, you have to be careful not to get the new silicone sealer in there too.

The factory procedure is to always replace the pan rather than reuse it, but most people just clean it up and reinstall. Have fun.

 

Team neglected to mention how hard it is to get the bloody thing to seal . Having had my share of leaks from me doing it and .....surprisingly ...my engine builder as well , I eventually came up with a surefire way of getting it to seal.
*make sure you have an even bead all the way around the pan
*wait the recommended hr or so to allow silicone to go tacky
*offer the pan up to the engine carefully ensuring you get it in just the right spot before you press it on.
*hand tighten all the bolts lightly
*leave it overnight (minimum)
*Tighten the bolts up to spec
*Leave it another day
*fill with oil and go.

The key thing is to allow the silicone to harden up before you tighten up the bolts ...this is what gives you a good gasket.
I should add that all my engines were boosted and the extra twisting makes sealing even harder so this method is proven in the harshest circumstances.

 

Nordic,
You probably already did this, but check to make sure your leaks are not coming from the spot welds at bottom of pan. One of mine was leaking from these welds. It was from rust, likely from the Wisconsin winters the car had come from. Eventually almost all of them leaked.I used 2 part putty epoxy to fix. Not pretty, but it's dry down there now.

 

Thanks TeamRX8, Brettus, and kevink0000!
Great advice from all of you!
I checked the Atkins site and I didn’t find the gasket for sale any more.
I wish I knew that silicone sealing technique years ago.
I have not checked for holes around the spot welds yet.
This car was purchased from Ohio where the previous owner drove it a lot in the winter and it has lots of rust that I will need to tend to.
Thanks again guys!

 

The method Brettus describes is good for standard gasket silicone. I just got done using Permatex right stuff 1 minute and i gotta say this stuff is great. No waiting around ! Its $$$ but it works immediately.
https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...minute-gasket/

 

Sounds good ....... but for how long . None of my pans that leaked (I've had 3 rx8s and numerous engines) did so straight away.

 

Started removing the mounting screws and 4 out of 4 heads broke off.
I’m figuring there is already silicone in every screw hole.
This is gonna get ugly! 🤬

 

Have you check for other sources for the oil? I had a front seal leak that used the oil pan joint to the block to run.

 

Legal,
Thanks for the lesson learned...
Last summer, I counted oil drips from 3 different points on cardboard I placed under the car.
I could definitely tell that there was a lot of oil dripping from the intake and all the way down..
I pulled the resonator from the hose after the MAF sensor and it was full of oil.
The CEL was showing 443, 661, and 2259 codes so I am replacing the AIR, SSV, and VDI solenoids hoping that keeps the oil from being pulled back to the intake.
As far as the oil leaks, in retrospect, I should have just degreased all around the engine compartment and driven it a few weeks and checked for the sources.
I’m deep into it now; just hope I can finish it all before this COVID thing is passed us and I have no time on my hands.

 

Pineapple Racing sells a Viton pan gasket.
https://www.pineappleracing.com/oilp...et-rx8all.aspx

I used it on my Mazda reman when I had the pan off to swap out the oil pressure regulator. Still going strong with the current owner.

 

Valid question with regards to my own first time experience with it! Im going on 7 months and around 2000 miles, so early days yet. Did a lot of reading about it though and talked with one engine rebuilder who swears by it because he can get the job completed without it sitting around, and the vehicle back on the road asap. He admits it costs more but the hassle factor is way lower, and he has not had a failure. If the propaganda is to be believed, none have failed.
Every pan install ive ever done before with standard gasket silicone, has been done your way to some degree.

 

Good to hear . Don't think I've actually seen that particular sealant here . Will look out for it next time.