is this about the Differential Pan Gasket on a Vanagon auto trans,
or the ATF pan gasket ??

the diff gaskets just get old and hard and don't seal well.
That's pretty common.
replacement is straight forward.
I put permatex red high Tack gasket sealer on the threads of all bolts.
sticks 'em in, prevents corrosion, they come out fine decades later.
you could visually inspect the ring and pinion gear teeth faces while
the pan is off .
check the back-lash , make sure it's not excessive.  Havn't ever seen a
problem with one.

the ATF gasket..
more of a rubber seal ...those can be hard to get exactly in place.
if you're talking about the ATF pan gasket,
then you need to remove the filler tube.
the right tool for that is a 24mm tubing nut wrench, a 5 -sided open end
wrench.
Crescent wrench isn't really the right tool.

Scott

On 3/9/2016 4:52 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Sometimes these gaskets are hard to get in place. Some of them are not sized
> right and need to be stretched and glued on the pan to get them to seat at
> all. If the gasket was on and sealing and then failed in use you have a
> symptom! The transmission is overheating and the gasket will be brittle and
> cracked when you remove it. You need to find the cause of the overheating.
> If it is getting hot enough to damage the pan gasket the seals and pistons
> inside will not fare much better and an overhaul will be needed. If really
> unlucky you will need to add the cost of a tow home.
>
> Dennis
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Michael
> Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 10:40 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Trans pan gasket
>
> Hey guys,
>
> I had my transmission gasket fail awhile back and I'm going to replace it
> soon. Seems straight forward:
>
> Drain the oil
> Take off the pan
> Remove gasket residue
> Replace gasket and pan
> Fill with oil
>
> Anything I'm missing or is it jus as simple as that?
>
> Never done it before but at one point that statement was true for all the
> work I've done on the van
>
> Any insight is appreciated.
>
> Mike
> 88 auto w/ac
>