So whats the secret to lining up the front and rear covers/main seals on LS1 motor?
01-28-2005, 12:52 PM
#1
Launching!
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So whats the secret to lining up the front and rear covers/main seals on LS1 motor? The title pretty much says it all. We have a 370 ci iron block motor in a C5 thats puking out the front seal something fierce and out the rear main at a slow drip. We are now in the process of droppnig the steering rack to get to the front cover, once we do, anybody have any tricks on lining up the cover. I know GM has a tool for this, but Im not spending $600 on it. That and I've never heard of anyone outside of the dealership using one. I have it on good information that if we put the front cover on loose, then the balancer, then tighten the two bolts on the bottom of the front cover, then the rest of the front cover bolts, thats the trick. Is this correct? Also, any trick for the rear main seal as well? Bottom line is I simply cannot afford to do this then have to do it all over again a 3rd time. Labor is expensive and I have to pay my mechanic. Thanks for the help.
01-28-2005, 01:15 PM
#2
I've always loosely installed all the covers, then install the damper hub.
Snug the pan up to the block first to set the height for the covers, then snug up the cover bolts to pull them to the block. Then the bolts to pull the covers down to the pan.
Then go back and torque them all.
Only thing to really watch for is making sure the back of the block and the bottom of the pan are on the same plane. Using a decent straight edge is the easiest way.
Just make sure you install the crank and damper seals dry (teflon, no lube), and don't roll over the seals when you install the rear.
Snug the pan up to the block first to set the height for the covers, then snug up the cover bolts to pull them to the block. Then the bolts to pull the covers down to the pan.
Then go back and torque them all.
Only thing to really watch for is making sure the back of the block and the bottom of the pan are on the same plane. Using a decent straight edge is the easiest way.
Just make sure you install the crank and damper seals dry (teflon, no lube), and don't roll over the seals when you install the rear.
01-28-2005, 01:23 PM
#3
You have it backwards. Put a dab and I mean just a little RTV in each corner where the timing cover and the oil pan meet the block. You can see where the factory used some kind of almost white sealer. Install new front seal as the one you used is no longer going to seal. Install front cover with your RTV in each corner and start all the bolts loosely and then install the balancer. Once the balancer is installed tighten all the front bolts and then the bottom two last. The back one has a different procedure. So I just did it a little different. The instructions from GM tell you to installl the rear cover then use a special tool to slide the seal on. I installed the seal into the cover and then used a very small screwdriver to make sure the lip of the seal didn't get bent while trying to slide it over the crank sealing surface. Speaking of make sure the rear portion of the crank is free of any groves etc you can use a piece of sand paper like 600-800 before istalling the seal. once I got the seal around the crank I started all the bolts loosely again and then proceded to make the bottom edge where the oil pan meets as flush as possible I used a piece of angle iron I had laying around to try to make it as fluch as possible ,but you will have the oil pan to help you in that area. it gets a dab of RTV in the same places and the front where the cover meets the block and oil pan. Good luck I hope this helped you.
01-28-2005, 04:00 PM
#5
I found this too:
"
Since the covers and pan and bellhousing are kind of like a puzzle, I Installed the bellhousing on the back of the block then set the oil pan in place. I then threaded and lightly tightened the bolts that feed through the bell housing into the oil pan. This will center your oil pan where it needs to be and allow it to be flush with the back of the block. I then installed and tightened a few of the oil pan bolts to keep it from moving. Now remove the bell housing. Now that your oil pan is in the proper position, your front and rear covers should line up perfectlly. No need for speacialty tools."
"
Since the covers and pan and bellhousing are kind of like a puzzle, I Installed the bellhousing on the back of the block then set the oil pan in place. I then threaded and lightly tightened the bolts that feed through the bell housing into the oil pan. This will center your oil pan where it needs to be and allow it to be flush with the back of the block. I then installed and tightened a few of the oil pan bolts to keep it from moving. Now remove the bell housing. Now that your oil pan is in the proper position, your front and rear covers should line up perfectlly. No need for speacialty tools."
01-28-2005, 04:29 PM
#6
Originally Posted by Viper
I found this too:
"
Since the covers and pan and bellhousing are kind of like a puzzle, I Installed the bellhousing on the back of the block then set the oil pan in place. I then threaded and lightly tightened the bolts that feed through the bell housing into the oil pan. This will center your oil pan where it needs to be and allow it to be flush with the back of the block. I then installed and tightened a few of the oil pan bolts to keep it from moving. Now remove the bell housing. Now that your oil pan is in the proper position, your front and rear covers should line up perfectlly. No need for speacialty tools."
"
Since the covers and pan and bellhousing are kind of like a puzzle, I Installed the bellhousing on the back of the block then set the oil pan in place. I then threaded and lightly tightened the bolts that feed through the bell housing into the oil pan. This will center your oil pan where it needs to be and allow it to be flush with the back of the block. I then installed and tightened a few of the oil pan bolts to keep it from moving. Now remove the bell housing. Now that your oil pan is in the proper position, your front and rear covers should line up perfectlly. No need for speacialty tools."
01-28-2005, 04:33 PM
#7
Originally Posted by y2khawk
I've always loosely installed all the covers, then install the damper hub.
Snug the pan up to the block first to set the height for the covers, then snug up the cover bolts to pull them to the block. Then the bolts to pull the covers down to the pan.
Then go back and torque them all.
Only thing to really watch for is making sure the back of the block and the bottom of the pan are on the same plane. Using a decent straight edge is the easiest way.
Just make sure you install the crank and damper seals dry (teflon, no lube), and don't roll over the seals when you install the rear.
Snug the pan up to the block first to set the height for the covers, then snug up the cover bolts to pull them to the block. Then the bolts to pull the covers down to the pan.
Then go back and torque them all.
Only thing to really watch for is making sure the back of the block and the bottom of the pan are on the same plane. Using a decent straight edge is the easiest way.
Just make sure you install the crank and damper seals dry (teflon, no lube), and don't roll over the seals when you install the rear.
