Oil Manifold / Oil Distribution Cover gasket for 3.4L DOHC

[GnatGoSplat]

Turns out the oil manifold (aka Oil Distribution cover) gasket, GM part #24506744 is discontinued and can't be ordered. I can't find this in the aftermarket by itself. It comes in the full head gasket kit by Fel-Pro and Victor Reinz. It's Fel-Pro part #95234, but I don't know how to get it separately. I'd try to email them somehow, but they conveniently don't have any kind of contact info on their website.

 

Only other option I can come up with is to cut one out of bulk material, but I assume it would have to be some kind of high temperature, high pressure gasket material. I have no clue what the original material is and how thick it should be. Not to mention it does have a somewhat intricate shape which looks a bit complicated. Not sure how well I could do with just an X-acto knife.

 

Last option is just to let it be. The puddle around it was only about 1/8". Don't really like that idea, but if I didn't already have the LIM out of it, I wouldn't normally bother changing it. I have to top off the oil regularly anyway, and I don't think it's because of this leak.

 

Thoughts?

[Twinpilot001]

didnt know what year car u have ?? yet look here @ rock auto parts= i crossed the gasket # u have -this came up= http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1364206,parttype,5424

[GnatGoSplat]

94 convertible (3.4 DOHC as in subject title). Different engine than the 3.4L in an Alero, I'm afraid.

Got word from GMPartsGiant.com that they can get it from a vintage parts warehouse on the west coast. Guess it'll be 2 weeks to get it, hope they come through.

Kind of surprised there isn't more talk of this getting replaced when people do the LIM. Maybe it doesn't start leaking till closer to the 200k mark.

[RobertISaar]

i'm expecting a thorough analysis of the new one Shawn.

 

these may end up being a DIY/community sourced item sooner rather than later...... a lot of LQ1 stuff is going to be that way really soon.

[LA1]

lets take this from the beginning, you have removed the upper intake manifold and the lower intake manifold ? you are saying that this gasket is only in the full set, don't you need the full set? you have removed the lower intake manifold , you need to replace all the gaskets so if it were me I would buy the full set of gaskets.

[GnatGoSplat]

This gasket is only available in the aftermarket in the full HEAD GASKET set, not the full INTAKE MANIFOLD gasket set.

[LA1]

just realized yours is a DOHC 3.4L , I was thinking it was an LA1 pushrod motor that I have. I have found the same issues with my 2003 3.4L that a lot of parts are slowly becoming non existent. the most recent is the metri-pack 150.2 connectors under the hood was trying to find 12162199 ... the only place that had any I had to buy $300 worth, found a 12162197 has the same "keying" and works fine. let alone no part numbers or dead part numbers foe "o" rings for the fuel rail.

[Nas Escobar]

just realized yours is a DOHC 3.4L , I was thinking it was an LA1 pushrod motor that I have. I have found the same issues with my 2003 3.4L that a lot of parts are slowly becoming non existent. the most recent is the metri-pack 150.2 connectors under the hood was trying to find 12162199 ... the only place that had any I had to buy $300 worth, found a 12162197 has the same "keying" and works fine. let alone no part numbers or dead part numbers foe "o" rings for the fuel rail.

 

Yeah, we usually call the LA1 the 3400. I did think the same thing when I bought my vert though, that the LA1 had a predecessor, similar to how the 3100's predecessor is the 3.1 MPFI.

[GnatGoSplat]

Finally got the oil manifold gasket from GMPartsGiant. Of course, as my shitty luck would have it, the new gasket is cracked on the edge. It was such a long wait to get this gasket that I think I'm just going to use some high pressure oil resistant RTV on the cracked area and hope it holds. The RTV had worked quite well on the oil pump drive so maybe it'll work on a small gasket crack.

[GnatGoSplat]

I could use some expert opinions. This is the gasket I got, and a closeup of the crack. This gasket has to hold full oil pressure. Looking at the oil flow diagram, oil is pushed up from the dummy cam into the oil manifold cover which has an anti-drainback valve and from there it's pushed up into the oil passages of the heads to lubricate the cams. Do you think high-torque RTV in the crack will be enough to hold full oil-pressure, or should I try to return this gasket? I could either return for a refund and just not change it; current one leaks, but not enough I can't keep track of it. Or I could return which I'm sure will take a week and then wait another 2-weeks after that for another one if they can even get another.

 

[Crazy K]

that is only a crankcase cover gasket. It does not see high pressure oil. Use sensor safe RTV to make it good, unless you have an easy enough place to return it for a good one.

[GnatGoSplat]

Thanks Ken, but it does look like in this oil distribution diagram that high pressure oil does enter the oil distribution cover.

 

Sorry for the bad quality, my FSM for the 94 is on microfiche, but it kind of looks to me like there's high oil pressure going to the cover. Although maybe not in the particular spot where the crack is on the gasket? The gasket is discontinued and GMPartsGiant had to get it from a vintage GM parts warehouse, not sure if they could get another one or not. It would definitely take about 3-wks to get another if they even can, which will really try my patience.

 

Found pics someone took with the cover off.

http://i.imgur.com/vsjdUjd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/usyuNwq.jpg

 

So maybe there is just high oil pressure at the small circle holes under that "L" shape anti-drainback valve and the rest is just open to the crankcase?

Edited November 21, 2014 by GnatGoSplat

[94 olds vert]

I agree with Ken, but if you plan on keeping the car for the long haul I would get a new one.

[GnatGoSplat]

Thanks, I feel better now. I believe Ken is right, that part of the gasket will only see crankcase pressure, or actually mostly vacuum from the PCV system. The only place on the oil distribution cover that will see pressure are the 3 little holes under that "L" shape. I think it flows into the cover from the biggest hole and exits to the heads through the 2 smaller holes. Those parts of the gasket are fine.

[Crazy K]

drat... I might be right and wrong. I forgot about the tube in the cover, but after a quick review, I agree that the little circles match where the tube goes, and the tear does not affect them, so rtv will be a sufficient patch. if in doubt, i think this gasket is available from fel-pro as part of the intake gasket kit.

[GnatGoSplat]

Unfortunately, it's not available in the Fel-Pro intake gasket kit, but it IS available in the head gasket kit. I didn't want to buy the whole head gasket kit though. I'll do the RTV in the crack, should hopefully be sufficient if all it sees is PCV vacuum. I'm feeling less stress now, thanks Ken!

[Schurkey]

DO NOT use RTV silicone. Use a "real" gasket adhesive such as Gasgacinch, High Tack, Copper Coat, Indian Head, Permatex 1, 2, or 3, or any of the other fifty brand names of gasket sealer; or use a suitable substitute such as 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive.

 

Silicone is slippery. That's the LAST thing you want when trying to "stick" a torn gasket.

[GnatGoSplat]

Well damn, too late.

I installed the gasket earlier in the afternoon hours before I saw your post. Took a few pics for the hell of it.

 

Old gasket came out in pieces and oil went everywhere. Oil definitely gets pumped into that "L" shape on the cover.

 

Bottom of the cover. Cleaned it best I could.

 

Took awhile to get the gasket surface of the block clean.

RTV on the cracked part of the gasket. FWIW, I used Permatex Ultra Grey Rigid High-Torque RTV. It cures hard and rigid and isn't slippery or squishy, so maybe it'll do the job better than regular RTV? It seems to have done a real nice job keeping oil in under the head of the oil pump drive.

[mfewtrail]

It'll be fine Shawn. Ultra Grey is good stuff(OEM's use it).

[94 olds vert]

I remember doing this on my 3.4l. Not something I want to do again. I also fixed my oil pump at that time.

 

I think you will be fine with that RTV you used.

[Turbocharged400sbc]

thts a std paper composite gasket. felpro sells that stuff in probably the same thickness by the roll

[Schurkey]

thts a std paper composite gasket. felpro sells that stuff in probably the same thickness by the roll

...but not with the pre-formed elastomeric bead around the fluid passages, and between the attaching bolt-holes.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

well oem wp gaskets have the bead...the aftermarket paper ones dont...never had em leak.

OEM end covers have em, the ones ive made from universal sheets didnt have em....still didnt leak.

made my own oil filter neck gasket...without those beads....thin coat of permatex aviation sealer, and it handles 100psi oil pressure spikes more than 50k miles later....

 

that bead is to fill the gaps caused by a flexible cover deforming around the bolting points and producing uneven clamp load...those beads make the paper thicker in the area's the cover flexes from trying to collapse the paper evenly.

 

for an assembly line, where parts are yanked out of a tray (covered in dust/etc) and slapped on a motor while a machine tightens all the bolts, those sealing beads are good insurance, and are quite a bit faster than applying a sealant on the assembly line.

 

that bead is readily replaced in function by a thin coat of permatex aviation sealer.