In a message dated 5/9/04 10:48:13 AM Central Daylight Time, nuttenschleuder@xxxxxxxxx writes: > Dave, > > > One important thing I forgot to mention. Even without > the rings, just hand tightening it and checking once > in a while that the pan remains tight. > > Once someone attempts to torque the pan down to 3-4NM > without the rings, the lip of the pan becomes bent > around the screw holes, at that point I imagine the > pan would have to be replaced as it will no longer > correctly hold the gasket in place for a good seal. > > > jordan In my work experience, i have never seen a transmission pan gasket that needed any kind of rings or spacers. but then i don't see many Renaults either! I spoke to a couple of transmission shops about two years ago about their thoughts on pan bolt torque procedures. both technicians said that trying to torque the bolts to a certain spec is futile and unnecessary. they also said that rubber gaskets are the worst type and the best to go with are the cork kind. the plastic reusuable ones from GM and Ford are also quite good. RTV just makes a mess and makes things very difficult the next time around. i don't have an Auto DeLorean so i don't know which type of gasket the auto trans has. to tighten the pan down, first drop it and check for any residual gasket material on either the pan surface or the transmission surface. then check very carefully for 'dimples' in the pan. this is where the bolts have been inserted and tightened too much and it made a pan head-like dimple in each pan hole, leaving the pan with a little 'rise' at each hole. the consequences of this is that when you try to put the pan back on, it won't seal well and the pan could either seep a little bit or have massive leaks as soon as you start adding trans fluid, depending on the severity of the dimple and the pan gasket material. to remove the dimples, lay the pan flat on a hard level surface (such as a smooth garage floor) with the bottom of the pan facing up (so the mating surface is on the floor/table/whatever) and use a ball-peen hammer to carefully tap the dimples out. once you are done, take care to wipe any foreign material from the pan surface and set the gasket on the pan where it belongs. if the screws fit into the gasket so that they don't fall out after they have been inserted, put all the screws into the gasket/pan as they should be. if not, put the pan and gasket up to the transmission and put each screw in, only a few threads on each. don't get close to tightening anything yet. by now the pan should be suspended against the transmission with the screws halfway in. make sure the gasket isn't being folded up or creased. now grab a speed wrench (best) or a ratchet with a 12 inch extension (next best) and start turning on of the corner screws. stop when you feel the slightest resistance by the pan and gasket coming together. now do the corner opposite, then another corner, then another corner. now do one of the side screws that is farthest from the last corner. keep criss-crossing over the pan so that you avoid tightening screws closest to each other. after each screw has been tightened a little, start over again applying a little more pressure than before and keep on criss-crossing. on the 3rd time around, you should tighten it just as much as it takes to get 'snug'. don't turn it until the screw stops or so that you need to use two hands on the ratchet, or flex your arm muscles, etc. it's not supposed to be tight-tight. just SNUG. now add the proper transmission fluid and amount, warm the transmission up, shift through the gears, and add more oil as necessary. these are generic procedures for every automatic transmission pan i have ever dropped and serviced, only not applying to chrysler vehicles which use RTV. i have never had a problem with these procedures or a come-back. the only time the pan still leaks is when the tranmission mating surface is marred, the pan is bent, the pan has dimples, the gasket is poor quality, or it has been over-tightened. i remind you that i have never serviced an auto DeLorean tranny (mine is a manual) so perhaps the DMC is one of those odd-balls, but i bet it's not. hope this helps you in some way. Andy [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/