2002 Pathfinder Lower Oil Pan Gasket

[Amagician]

Howdy All,

I believe my 2002 Pathfinder has a lower oil pan leak and I'm looking to replace the gasket but had three questions that I couldn't find answers for when searching.

I see the FSM recommends using a silicone RTV and I also see that companies, such as Felpro, make a gasket for the lower oil pan. Has anyone used one of these pre-made gaskets or is it better to use the liquid gasket maker? If it's the liquid gasket, would you recommend the Permatex Ultra Grey (per web and FSM) or the Black Maximum Oil Resistance?

My last question is this: is it worth replace the lower oil pan itself or is the gasket the most likely culprit? I'm not sure where the leak is coming from exactly, but it does seem to be around the seal area. This car sat for an undermined amount of time before I bought it and so some rust/corrosion have definitely set in, so I thought I'd ask if it's worth swapping this component out while I had it off of the car.

The job itself seems straightforward enough, but I wanted to ask for advice all the same. Thanks in advance!

[04pathse]

I would replace the pan too, you can get one on ebay or amazon for around $30 or less.

As far as RTV I would go with the Permatex Ultra Black Oil Resistant RTV but the other would work fine as well.

But, it could also be the rear main seal leaking, if the rear main seal is leaking it drips down on the oil pan and can make you think the oil pan is the issue.

[RoyDaGeneral]

I have a very similar problem to yours, and I almost pulled the trigger on changing the oil pan itself, but posted a pic of leak here on forum and consensus was that it was the oil cooler that was leaking. So, I bought the 2 cheap oil cooler seals ($15) and went to a trusted mechanic as I was short on time and decided to have the shop do it for better efficiency. The shop diagnosed the problem as leaking top engine covers, and no oil pan or oil cooler leakage. I paid him $300 for that job, but when I came home, there was still oil dripping on floor. I went back to him and he put the truck on lift. Sure enough, it was the rear main seal that was the culprit. The oil pan gasket was not leaking and the top engine covers were dry. When I asked him to explain why we changed top engine covers, he explained since they were leaking at the top, it was impossible to isolate the problem as their leakage ran down the engine sides and passed by the oil cooler & lower pan. Now that one source of leakage was fixed, the other one (rear main seal) was much easier to diagnose. So, 2 sources of oil leakage; one fixed and the other one is not worth spending any $$ on now since it just drips a few drops every few days. I'd recommend that you get a proper diagnosis of oil leak before committing to a fix.