RTV or rubber gasket?

[Sac79]

I currently have a leaky cork oil pan gasket(due to a incompetent mechanic) that I'm planning to replace soon and should never have used in the first place, but it came in the rebuild kit. My pan has already been modified and had the one piece rubber gasket on before, so that would be an easy option. From everything I've read, RTV is superior, but with the downside of curing time and future clean-up, hence it's not preferred in professional shops. Since I have time, RTV seems like the way to go. Thoughts?

[Dorsai]

I replaced my oil pan 7-8 years ago, and when I did I replaced my leaky old cork gasket with a good one-piece from Fel-Pro.  Hasn't leaked a drop in that time, so my view is that the extra work involved with RTV just isn't worth it.  YMMV.

[Gary Lewis]

If your pan is set up for a one-piece rubber gasket that's what I'd use.

I would not use just "RTV", meaning the stuff that you squeeze out of a tube.  Instead, if you want to use a formed-in-place gasket I'd use The Right Stuff, which is designed to be used instead of gaskets.

The difference is that the RTV in a squeeze tube doesn't expand, so you'd put it on, put the pan in place, and gently tighten the bolts to finger tight so you don't squeeze it all out and have metal-on-metal.  Then you let that set up overnight and come back the next day to torque it down.

But with TRS you pull the trigger and it dispenses via gas pressure.  Then you put the pan on and tighten it down and the stuff expands to fill all voids.

However, installing a pan while the engine is on the vehicle is very fiddly.  And since it is easy to mess up the stuff you've put on the pan while you are installing it, I'd only use RTV or TRS with the engine out and on a stand.

[Sac79]

Good point about the fiddly nature of the task. I know it's going to be a pain, but hadn't considered it might just be too much of a pain to use RTV. I guess rubber gasket it is... I was initially leaning that way anyway. I'm just upset with myself for not doing this properly when it was all much easier on the engine stand!!

[Gary Lewis]

Getting it up there w/o banging it into something and wiping the goo off is really hard to do.  I've vowed I won't do it again.  Think I'm in the same place the guy on FTE is who said "Next time I try to put the pan on with the engine in the vehicle I think I'll just pour gas on the truck and light it."  

[86 1/2 Brutus]

I noticed mine is leaking as well.  I'm dreading getting under there