Those 2-hr repair jobs that go wrong

[The Critic]

My 96 Saturn had a leaking transmission top cover gasket, so I decided to fix it. After five years of cardboard, it was getting annoying.

Fine, I download a DIY guide from SaturnFans. The procedure was fairly simple:

1. Remove air box and resonator
2. Remove intake tubing
3. Remove battery and battery tray.
4. Wiggle Master Cylinder out of the way, and strap with bungee cords.
5. Remove bolts on top cover, replace gasket, and reinstall.
6. Reinstall everything in reverse.

It took me about 45 min to do 1-5, except for removing the gasket. Did have to use some special flex sockets to get the bolts off, but no biggie.

Pull the cover off, and see the gasket. I thought fine, I skin it off, pop the new one on, and I'm golden.

How wrong was I...!!! The gasket was GLUED onto the top of the transmission with gasket sealer (?). If you've ever been under the hood of a 96 Saturn SL2, the area the transmission opening is is about 1' by 1', surrounded by an AC line, radiator hose, and master cylinder.

Four putty knives, two cans of carb cleaner, two long screwdrivers, and a can of gasket softener, plus almost 2 hours later, I had 95% of the gasket scraped off. Had some fall in the transmission too.

To give you an idea of how "tough" this stuff was stuck on, even after repeated attempts with gasket softener, the traces of gasket on the cover itself required a motorized wire brush to "machine off."

So uhh...does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this now? I think a small amount of gasket material may've fallen into the transmission, but I do have a spin-on filter on there. Any advice in the future for tough gasket removal jobs like this?

TIA.

 

[TallPaul]

I don't have any advice, but this is a perfect example of Hofstadter’s Law:

Quote:

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It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.

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[PT1]

When dealing with material that can fall into the engine trans gearbox etc., I seal off the opening first with some type of plastic/paper/cardboard cut to fit the opening and taped in with duct tape that will catch any debris. A good exanple is working on a carburetor or fuel injection system that cant be removed and contains lots of small parts. This is followed up by vaccuming with a shop vac before the "plug" is removed. You can trace the opening with a piece of notebook paper & a sharpie marker. Cut your plug and tape it in. It's an extra 20 minutes but well worth it.

 

[D189379]

You forgot the part where you still have the old leak, except now a new leak has sprung up. That's usually how my repairs end.

 

[PT1]

Did you use acetone to remove the gasket? If not, try it if there is a next time. Interlux Marine paint company makes solvents that dissolve anything as well.

 

[PT1]

Oh yeah....almost forgot....now you have a good reason to do a complete trans flush...

 

[Axe Man]

I can sympathize with you. I once had a '97 SL1 under my maintenance care. It's now just a distant (bad) memory. And I know exactly the area you are trying to repair. Luckily I never had this cover leak.

This stuff works great on stubborn adhesives. It contains xylene and toluene so use with care.

 

[The Critic]

I have the SL2, so it's only worse as far as room to work goes, given the DOHC engine.

The car has been back together as of yesterday, Friday. From start to finish, it took me 4-5 hours over the course of three days. Removing and reinstalling the components to access the top cover only took an hr total. Finding ways to remove the old gasket and running out to buy gasket remover took up the bulk of the time.

Removed about 98% of the old gasket. I didn't use gasket sealer this time; I lightly coated the new gasket with 3M spray-on adhesive (stuff you use to spray cardboard, cloth, etc) and adhered it to the transmission side to line-up. Popped the clean cover on, torqued to 100 in-lbs, maybe a bit more. No leak so far...I hope.

Did a 4 qt drain and refill with Walmart Dexron III(H)/Mercon. Will head to the dealership some time this week to get a new spin-on filter and 5 quarts of Dexron VI.

 

[2Fast4U]

Wire wheel always works great on a drill press to get off gaskets. I'd would try a wire wheel on a drill for your job.

Also... I would have/ and did dump the gasket and gone with the high temp RED silicone they sell.

 

[JHZR2]

most jobs that i do take MUCH longer than they should - as I get more of the right tools, it gets better, but there are always so many things that you just dont anticipate.

It generally comes down to the fact that there is just one of you, at a marginal at best working situation - no lift, etc.

Cross that with the desire to be meticulous about your jobs being done right, and it is bound to take too long - got to get satisfaction from it... otherwise its easy to become miserable...

JMH

 

[JTK]

Critic, was it an RTV type gasket? I know the factory 'calk-gun' applied stuff is a royal PITA to remove. Cartridge style water pumps on aluminum OHC engines are a nightmare like that. A razor gasket scraper, or just a blade works well, but it's always a knuckle busting job. For rubber/neoprene type AM gaskets, I like to butter both sides a tiny bit with silicone grease for easy. It makes a nice seal and easy r/r should you ever need to again.

Joel

 

[Tosh]

Quote:

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For rubber/neoprene type AM gaskets...

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What does 'AM' mean?

 

[JTK]

Sorry, AM = aftermarket.

Joel

 

[The Critic]

Quote:

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Critic, was it an RTV type gasket? I know the factory 'calk-gun' applied stuff is a royal PITA to remove. Cartridge style water pumps on aluminum OHC engines are a nightmare like that. A razor gasket scraper, or just a blade works well, but it's always a knuckle busting job. For rubber/neoprene type AM gaskets, I like to butter both sides a tiny bit with silicone grease for easy. It makes a nice seal and easy r/r should you ever need to again.

Joel

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It felt like a rubbery gasket to me, not sure what the exact composition was. Either way, the factory GLUED the GASKET to the transmission using some type of adhesive, whatever it may be, it seemed virtually identical to super glue.

 

[NYEngineer]

I love the Snap On PK23. Best gasket scraper ever. i did field service on standby gens, so power tools usually weren't an option.