A sealant is not necessary on the pan gasket, but cleanliness is. I’ll never forget the first time I removed the pan gasket from a 117 V-8. I don’t think anyone would! It takes perseverance to get it off, and that is a huge understatement. Even gasket remover needed several soakings to work. That is what happens with good OE gaskets. Do not use anything other than OE or OEM.

The mating surfaces need to be in good shape & you need to get down to *clean* bare metal. When I say clean, I mean that I will use a solvent such as carb cleaner, and then do a final rinse with brake cleaner so that there is no residue on the surfaces at all. Torque to spec a little at a time & you’ll have a happy driveway (or wherever you park).

RTH