Leaky oil pan gasket (replaced less than 6 months ago). Best recommendations for gasket? Rubber gaskets available?

bump for a response. Who has the best pan gasket for a Fiero? Through two Fieros I've had to replace four gaskets for leaking. No one else had this problem? BTW gaskets used were FelPro.

Need to know which year and engine. If it's a V6 there are 2 types depending on year. The 85-86 use a cork gasket with a rubber piece that goes over the rear main bearing cap. You put a dab of RTV where the cork meets the rubber to fill any voids. The 87-88 use a one piece rubber gasket that is much thicker and much better. The 2 will not interchange due to the shape of the timing chain cover. Which do you have?

Being in the north, you may have a rusted thru pan, or pourous pan. pretty common. clean the pan, and spray it with spray foot powder then follow the trails of oil. usually the front side, about 3/4 of the way up.

On my 85 engine, I put on new cork, however, I used GM RTV sealant on the bottom to fix it in first. I then pounded the dimpled holes flat, and torqued it to specs. It seemed to work after that. When I pulled the engine to do some building, I bought a new oil pan and treated it the same. So far so good.

Arn

I'm going to replace mine also in the next week of so. Was ok after I dropped the 3.4 in until I supported the motor by the pan to change a motor mount.
Think the new gasket didn't like being crushed a little more.

Going to get it as clean and oil free as possible and then give the complete gasket a light coat of RTV this time.
The first one just covered the top and bottom of the gasket...

Mine is leaking behind the starter. I had straightened the pan flange all out when I built the engine.

Going to try the stock Flepro again.

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 04-05-2008).]

Been away from the computer 'til now. The oil pan itself is okay, no dents, dings or rust. The engine is a 2.8 and the problem I seem to have had so far is apparently old cork gaskets that disintegrate perhaps. If there's a high-grade aftermarket replacement I'd sure love to know about it. Getting pretty tired of replacing gaskets and I can't stand a car that leaks, squeaks or drips. Thanks for any suggestions.

I've only found cork for the '85-86 engines. The best (but a PITA) would be to switch the timing cover and oil pan the the '87-88 style. Then you can use the nice fat one piece rubber gasket.

Well if all you can get is cork, then I would suggest trying the method I used on the infamously leaky buick 231 v6 valve cover gaskets.
clean the pan surface, a course wire wheel is nice, leaves some scratches for better adhesion. flatten out all the bolt hole areas, this is pretty crucial, you want a flat surface all the way around. (possibly the biggest reason the 87/88 seal better is the gasket actually has little metal inserts for the bolts to prevent over compression) wipe it down with some alcohol or acetone to clean off all the oil residue.
get a tube of permatex ultra blue. put a layer around the pan lip, about 1/8 thick, and the width of the screw nozzle (about 1/4 inch).
Note this is one time I don't stress minimalism! put the gasket on, use the bolts to align the holes and press it down all around fairly firmly. use a small plastic spreader to fillet the inside edge to the pan side if the gasket overhangs. now put the assembly gasket down on a flat object, and put a brick on it. for the curved end, attach the gasket piece there and tape it in place, being sure that the parts where it meets is filled with rtv. let it set overnite. be sure the bolt holes are all lined up. Next day, paint the rest of the gasket with a thin layer of the rtv, and smooth it out. be sure to seal the gasket completely, sides and top with this thin layer. set aside to dry for a few hours. now carefully clean the block, I would use some scotch brite medium pads to clean off any previous adhesives, and then wipe down with some solvent to be sure all oil is off. when ready put a paper thin layer of rtv on the block all the way around, with a touch extra at those pesky bearing arch corners. install the pan and finger tighten the bolts, about 1/4 of the final tightening.
let it sit a couple hours while doing other stuff under there for the re-assembly. then tighten it to the correct torque.
may seem like alot of work, but that took care of a horrendous problem, and I reused the gaskets about 10 times without leaks. when you remove it, the thin last rtv usually remains stuck to the block, and is easily cleaned off.
that said, I hate cork gaskets, as it is way too easy to overtighten the bolts and damage the gasket. the painting with rtv seems to strengthen them and make them more tolerant of slight over tightening.

[This message has been edited by tjm4fun (edited 04-07-2008).]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. We'll give it another shot with suggestions supplied.