sscamaro1384

iTrader: (163)

Ok so this weekend i tackled the cam install. Changed springs,pushrods, Thunder racing 224 cam on a 114lsa. The valve springs were a bitch, i used "Tim's tool". Took about 6-8 hrs for springs.Maybe i should have sprung for the crane tool that does 2 at once. So i follow the instructions on ls1howto and tips ive read on here and i was able to complete the job on a saturday and sunday. Probably like 22-25 hrs all together. Not bad for my 1st cam install. Ive done headers on a ls1 twice. i installed my fast intake but this was the hardest task i ve done to date by far. So at 330 am i fire up the car and it starts right up with a nice not too choppy idle. i do notice an oil leak which reveals i forgot to put back one of the oil pan bolts. So 2day monday i get back under the car to hit the pulley bolt with an impact an threadlock it. And i replace the bolt but now i see a leak on the opposite side(passenger side) where oil pan and timing cover meet in front. The bolts are all on now and torqued so the only thing i can think of is that i didnt put enough gasket maker RTV silicone on the bottom of the front timing cover and it may somehow not be sealing as it should. I dont have a pic so it will be hard to show what im talking about but those who are familiar with this swap should have a good idea what im talking about. the leak is pretty big and dont really wanna drive the car. My question for the LS1 gurus on here is do i have to take the pulley back off and cover completely off or can i just get away with just loosening timing cover and oil pan bolts and putting the silicone where it belongs. I was surprised at how easily i was able to put the pulley on (oven method) and really dont wanna have to go through that all over again. So how should i handle this?

01wssick

iTrader: (27)

Did you change all the gaskets? timing cover gasket, valve cover gaskets, front seal gasket(the one that goes in the timing cover?) maybe the oil pan gasket broke?

sscamaro1384

iTrader: (163)

Yes changed front seal and timing cover gaskets.forgot to mention that but didnt change valve cover gaskets as i was under the impression very few people do.

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

should be able to fix it by loosening all the oil pan bolts and applying some more sealer hopefully. if not you might have to drop the k-member some and change the oil pan gasket

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

i have a similar leak on mine and i just finished my cam swap as well. mine leaks very little, not enough to put a drop on the floor, but i put some rtv on the bolts around that side and i guess the leak got slower. but i also noticed most of my rtv gasket maker squeezed out when i tightened the pan and timing cover together. also make sure the oil pan bolts are torqued to 18ft lbs. im gonna go under my car again in a few days and exactly pinpoint the issue and try to fix it, even tho its a little leak 4 me it bothers me

outkast6991

iTrader: (34)

if you loosen the front cover you MIGHT be able to suck the front cover down some with the 2 bottom bolts then retighten the rest. my car had the same leak and this worked for me

S10xGN

iTrader: (11)

And how's that front seal holding up?

Really, if you install the front cover without the GM "centering" tool, like most of us do, you'll be using the balancer (referenced on the front seal) to center the front cover. Bolt it down, THEN install the pan after the front cover is "located" and tightened.

If he does it your way, the seal could be pulled out of alignment (it will be pulled oblong) and could leak or be destroyed...

sscamaro1384

iTrader: (163)

what i did notice that i thought was odd was that there was not a gasket on the front lip right below the oil pump. I m not sure if the oil pan gasket should be there or if it just runs along the sides and rear.I could see it on the sides but there was nothing on the front.I should have known better to put more silicone there. Will i have to remove my pulley? or can i just loosen the timing cover bolts? I like the idea of removing the oil pan bolts and front cover bolts only and maybe just trying to get some RTV on the front lip. Seems like it wouldn t be that bad. I did the cam install entirely by myself and im kinda not feeling like messin with the car right now. Im all cut and bruised up from rolling around on the floor. And feel real sore too. But i will do this probably 2day or day before Thanksgiving.I wanna get all the kinks out of it. When i crank it up and hear that nice idle, it makes all the hard work worth it.Now i wanna go have some fun with it. I appreciate everyone s insight .Keep it coming.

outkast6991

iTrader: (34)

after 18 months it was still fine when i pulled the motor. i never said it was the correct method just that it worked for me. i'm also not talking about forcing it, just loosening all the bolts and tightening them again. i do agree the front seal could be oblonged, but it didn't happen to me

Pro_built7

iTrader: (9)

Did you use gasket maker, and did you wait for it to fully dry for 24 hours before firing the motor up ?

I got a leak one time from not letting the RTV fully cure before firing up.

1SLwLS1

iTrader: (6)

The crank pulley should be relatively easy to remove. Took me about 20 minutes. I would remove that and go from there. Not too much more time invested.

sscamaro1384

iTrader: (163)

Ok so the Z went back under the knife and i did end up removing all timing cover bolts and backed the pulley off some. A friend of mine loan me his air tools so it was so much easier with the pulley puller and re installing the crank pulley. I made sure i only backed it off so much, didnt wanna remove completely. Put the silicone on bottom of timing cover and put it all back together.Took me 3-4 hrs in all. So right now as im here typing, Im just letting the RTV "cure" a lil longer before i fire it up. Hope i got it all right this time.

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

hopefully, let me know if that fixed your problem so i can do mine too

eallanboggs

iTrader: (1)

Hope it works for you. It certainly is worth a try if you can see where the leak is located and it's a small leak. Most people don't have the factory GM timing cover tool(probably Kent-Moore) so using the pulley hub to index the timing cover with the bolts only finger tight is the next best thing. You need to spread a dollop of RTV at the timing cover/oil pan/block junction point. If you read the timing cover/oil pan installation procedure in the factory shop manual(Helm) you would be surprised how complicated they make it and how many extra steps you must go through, not to mention all the "special" tools you are supposed to use. The flat rate on that installation has to be a couple of hours by itself.

XtraCajunSS

iTrader: (2)

Guys, there is a little mis-information in this thread. The bottom two bolts going through the oil pan should always be torqued first. This will positively locate the cover to the surface of the oil pan. RTV is only needed at the corners. If you are using the balancer as a centering device, this will locate the cover side to side but the bottom bolts MUST be torqued FIRST. Once those are torqued, the front cover bolts should be torqued in a "side to side" pattern starting at the bottom and working your way up.

When using the proper GM tools, the front and rear covers are installed first using a centering tool (which locates the cover side to side off of the crankshaft) and a plate which simulates the oil pan but has grooves milled in it that allow the front and rear cover gaskets to protrude below the oil pan rail (bottom of the block.) These gaskets then engage the the appropriate spots on the oil pan gasket which only require a "pea-sized" bit of RTV each. The oil pan is then installed using the bellhousing as an alignment tool to locate the pan front to rear.

Hope this clears up a few misconceptions. I have never had an LSx based engine leak oil but I have repaired my share...

Thanks,
Shane

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

darn! thats what i did wrong i guess, i was too lazy to jack up the car to torque the bottom bolts first. i torqed the top bolts then i torqued the bottom. would it be ok if i just loosen everything and torque the bottom first? do i have to remove the water pump?

XtraCajunSS

iTrader: (2)

I don't believe its possible to get to all of the front cover bolts without removing the water pump first. All you have to do is loosen all of them just a bit to let the cover slide down as you torque the bottom two. This will draw the front cover down to compress the sealing surface of the oil pan gasket.

Shane

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

thanks again Shane btw that cam is a really nice cam, even my tuner was surprised at how simple it was for tuning it. dident require much at all

sscamaro1384

iTrader: (163)

Well i drove the car to work 2day and the car is running good. The cold startup has stalled on me a couple of times. I added a FAST 78 intake and the Thunder Racing 224 and i still havent tuned it. So im sure my car could really benefit from the tune and thats why startup can be a little tough. My first impressions are that the car is running badass. Pulls hard.I am impressed. to be honest the cam install wasnt that bad. Well worth the time and effort. as of today, i still have a small oil leak. i think my problem is that im not giving the RTV silicone enough time to cure. By the way, the LOWE's 5/16 dowels worked as they should and for under 5 bucks beats the hell out of the 100 dollar JPR tool. I will continue to chase down my oil leak gremlin and keep everyone updated. But i am very satisfied and cant wait for the tune.

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

you went WOT without a tune???