Dang, that is quite the resemblance <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

3rd grade, neon colored shorts so high your scrotum hangs out when you are riding bikes, climbing trees or just sitting down for that matter. Ah the good ol days when you could get away with that kind of stuff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I even had the Zach Morris haircut like that for a while <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

SO this past weekend I changed the trans pan gasket for the fourth time. it's leaking. Absolute madness. Driving me mad. regardless i decided a couple things. The 5$ napa gasket leaked the least. Using permatex the right stuff by itself is not going to work for me. My reasoning here is a bit flawed but here we go, the pan has a couple things that make it difficult compared to a standard flat pan. First and foremost is the dip stick tube on the passenger side. the pan must align that into place as well as the holes and such. this is a pain and with the use of some plastic dowels its gotten easier but still maybe part of the problem. The second thing I can think of is the surface of the pan itself has a raised lip. Where many cars and trucks have a recessed surface for one to put the gasket sealer in or even just a flat surface, mitsubishi goes with a raised surface. Which is common as well. Considering that from factory it uses a rubber/cork gasket. At least thats what I got from the dealership for like 30$. The original looked to be paper. The worst part about dealing with this truck is that the previous owner had work done at some point and the mechanic either mixed bolts up etc for the under carriage/ cross member which makes a simple job of taking off bolts a little trickier. Finally I made the trip to ace and bought matching bolts. I would like im going to drive it with this crappy leak for the next week or so but then pull it apart yet again and use the napa gasket with a thin layer of sealer on it and around the bolts. I hope this solves it. If not I'll be asking you guys for a reputable mitsu mechanic. I have a photo exhibit in LA in January that I do every year and would like to take my truck and camp along the way and up the coast in Santa Barbara. I won't give up on this [censored] tho. I simply like the truck to much. Honestly if it didn't leak i would find the Monty perfect for me.

While you guys were out on the trail I was yet again buried underneath this thing. I hope to get to the point where I can join you guys. One of the reasons I won't call the quits. Once this is fixed I will definitely get involved more.

Something just doesn't sound right. Are you absolutely positively sure that it's the pan gasket and only the pan gasket that's leaking? How flat does the pan sit on the gasket surface when there's no gasket there? Have you cleaned the gasket surfaces on both the pan and the transmission with alcohol before using the gasket sealer (possibly overkill but the gasket sealer doesn't seal well if there's grease or oil on the surface)?

I'm thinking that unless the pan is significantly bent out of shape, the gasket & gasket sealer should seal up any minor irregularities. Since it's not doing that, there has to be something else wrong - a crack in the pan or transmission case, the leak not actually being from the pan gasket itself, or something else really unusual.

I'll second what Ryan is saying. This just doesn't happen. Can you source a replacement pan from somewhere? It might be worth it.

John B.

I've looked at this thing from what seems to be every angle. Its most obviously coming from the pan. I set the pan on my counter top and its sits flush. No issues with the holes etc. maybe sourcing another pan is not a bad idea. just for piece of mind. I've clean both surface with razor / cloth and brake cleaner. IM still driving it as I need to get to work and with the holidays she is using her car often. It still runs great just this stupid leak. I figure i'll look again next week and see whats up.

Don't know if this is going to help you or not, but it would take your rig out of service for a day or so. I've used the following method to stop leaky pans/covers/grandmothers/whatever before.

I'm assuming you're starting with surgically clean surfaces on the pan and trans.

After cleaning all the old gasket material off both surfaces, I start with green ScotchBrite pads to get everything extra clean. Then take some 200 grit sandpaper on the transmission mating surface making sure you sand in one direction parallel to the mating surface. The idea is to make tiny grooves in the surface for gasket maker to work its way into. A microscopic obstacle course of sorts that the fluid needs to go through to get out. Kind of like /\/\/\/\/\/\ around the entire surface. Hard to explain online.

After cleaning all that up, apply a thin layer of RTV (I prefer the grey) to both surfaces and let it tack up a bit. Not dry, just tacky. Then install the pan but only finger tight on the bolts. Let it set up overnight, then torque the pan bolts to spec. It's letting the gasket maker set up in an expanded state, and allows for some *squish* once the bolts are torqued down. If that doesn't work, then something else is going on.

I'm still thinking that a problem that continues to exist after 4 attempts to fix it is actually some other sort of problem - a hairline crack in the pan or transmission case, or the leak is actually coming from somewhere other than the pan.

Merry Xmas guys. This next attempt as fore mentioned will be my last. Then I'm paying someone or something. I'll have to figure out. Perhaps you're right ryan. I kind of feel like I've exhausted my own theories. Maybe a good clean up job, literally throw powder on there and see where the source may be. the man hours suck as with these older ones its not as easily accessible. My brother and law offered me 2000$ for it and he would take care of any issues on his own coin. those gen 2's sure start to look better when I know all I have to do is find a clean one, put tires on and drive. .. . .