Oil pan

Hey all,
I'm pretty sure my oil pan gasket is leaking on the bottom of my motor. I have had the leak for about a month. I had to clean the motor and take off my exhaust pipes to trace the oil . It's leaking in 4 spots. Mainly from the oil pan screws. My questions are how often should this oil pan gasket be changed if ever?And is there anything I should look for or be aware of when taking the oil pan off to change the gasket?

Thanks guys

You should never have to replace the pan gasket unless you repairing the starter clutch or other internal items. They do not normaly leak. At least that is on my KZ650.

+1 on what Baldy said. They should never leak. Was it torqued down properly? Maybe it wasn't and something flew up at it and jarred it. That is a bit of stretch though. I assume you are going too replace it since you have the exhaust off. You will have the added benefit of cleaning the sludge out and reading what is in the sludge for any potential problems (metal flakes, rubber or plastic debri). There is a possibility the pan may still be stuck on there once you remove the bolts. You can help it along with a rubber mallet or in my case had to use a small 6" piece of 2x2 and a hammer to whack it off. I was very careful not t crack a fin or the pan. Of course this is with the oil filter off. I drew an out line of the pan on 2 x 3 ft cardboard that I used to place the bolts on as I took them off. That way I knew which bolt goes where on assembly. I used a new gasket but sprayed copper spray on both sides of the gasket before putting it back on. Helps with the seal and keeps it from getting stuck on the next time you have to take the pan off.

Yeah I'm going to replace the gasket and look at the sludge and oil . Joe, where did you buy that copper spray? Thanks for the advice all,

I used the typical ultra black gasket sealer when I put on the new pan gasket. Scraping the residue off was a real bugger.

BTW: if your pan is always coated with oil: On mine, I found out it was coming from the seal on the shifter shaft.

We'll it's in a couple of spots and now that I think of it my shifter shaft did look oiled a bit. I will look at it later lol. How did u replace the shifter seal? Pop out and pop in ?

I think Permtex makes it and I think I bought mine at Advanced Auto or Auto Parts Discount. Anyhow, Got tired of cleaning old gasket material during my top end tear down and oil pan removal. Wanted to make the next time the gaskets come off easy. You can confirm if it is the shifter seal by first cleaning the bottom case with dishwater soap / water and a nylon brush. Followed by a rinse and dry. Next, spray foot powder all along the pan gasket and where the shifter is. After a ride or two, you should see evidence if the leak is from above the pan.

I had to beat mine with a 2x4 piece of oak and a sledge hammer. I thought the block was going to break before the pan came off

It's my gear shift seal . Took the cover off and bam there it was . Not sure how I missed it when I was redoing the wiring . Anyone else ever go auto-pilot while working on there bike? lol