Leaking gearbox oil pan

[Chris_R]

I just acquired a copy of issue 13 (February 1976) of the club magazine and buried in there a letter to the editor from R Goodrum which I thought would be good to reproduce in here for anyone trying to stop leaks from the transmission oil pan.

In endeavouring to seal the leaking gearbox oil pan of my CV8 I was introduced to a simple test which proved so successful in checking the trueness of the mating flanges that I thought it may be a useful tip to pass on.
I had checked the mating flange of the oil pan with a straight edge as advised in the Chrysler Workshop Manual but what this procedure neglects is the twist that can exist, quite undetected; and only discovered after replacing the still leaking pan.
Placing a flat piece of glass over the oil pan flange and sliding a thin feeler gauge, 0.002 or 0.003 under the edge detect the high spots and then by pivoting the feeler gauge to determine whether the high spots are on the inside edge or outside edge of the flange (this is the advantage over a surface plate) the flanges were very quickly tapped and bent true and the flatness was naturally automatically ensured.
When the dry gasket was replaced, and the screws lightly pulled up (150 inch pounds) a perfect seal was made.
R. Goodrum

[Philip Lochner]

Should work equally well for an engine sump.

[Chris_R]

Yes, just need a bigger piece of glass