CDubya69

Good evening all, take a look at the below and let me know your thoughts.

In April '15, I drove up to George Matick Chevrolet and purchased a used '13 ZL1 convertible. At the time I purchased the car, it had 6315 miles on it. Now, what's different about this car is that it has had some extra work done to it. The name of the company that performed the work is Katech (http://katechengines.com). If you look around their website, you'll see that they're no "fly by night" organization. Specifically, take a look at the information on the following link: http://katechengines.com/about/history-2/

O.K, now back to my car. It has Katech's "Stage 4" kit installed in it (http://katechengines.com/performance...12-camaro-zl1/). At W.O.T, this package will bury the needle on the 15 PSI boost gauge. I put 3500 miles on the car last year with zero issues. When I got it out of hibernation back in late March, the first thing that I did was change the oil and filter (5w-30 Valvoline fully synth *dexos certified* with AC Delco filter). After driving it for a week, I washed it on Thursday night. After chamoising it off, as I was pulling it back into the garage, I noticed a puddle on the driveway. I immediately got out the jack and jackstands and crawled underneath of it to find the source. I could not visibly see it coming from anywhere. Based on where it was "wet", I'm 99% positive that the leak was coming from the rear main seal. That has now been confirmed from the dealer. Of course, they won't cover it under warranty.

So, I did some research I decided to purchase the Elite Engineering E2-X Catch can. The folks at Elite stated that if my rear seal was not "compromised beyond repair", that this may fix my issue. I installed the catch-can in late June, however, it did not resolve the issue.

Last Friday night, with 14,021 miles on the car, a buddy of mine (has a 2-post lift in his garage) and I changed out the rear main and cover seals. I purchased FelPro gaskets from O'Reilly. I drove the car approx. 70 miles on Sat. before I put 'er to the test. Much to my chagrin, it's still leaking.

At this point in time, I'm both lost and pissed. Any guidance that any of y'all can provide would be GREATLY appreciated.

knickel

Call MightyMouse

CDubya69

When I've already purchased and installed the top of the line E2-X system from Elite?

Old Geezer

iTrader: (3)

A leak down test may tell the tale...Compromised ring seal, excessive blow by, may be too high for a catch can to correct.
Buried the 15psi boost ga... So, what was the ACTUAL boost level?

CDubya69

Unfortunately, I do not know. I should also point out that with the Stage IV kit, this car ONLY runs on E85.

The Cartel

iTrader: (1)

You need to pressurize the oil system. There are many rear covers out there with hairline cracks in them from casting. You'll only find it with pressure and a scope camera. I think there is even a tsb on it....

ls13ater

iTrader: (3)

Had a friends car leak and it was the gasket behind the cover, it was leaking on one of the bolt near the cam galley

knickel

Because he is a wealth of knowledge on the subject

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

i've never seen an actual rear main leak on an LS (not to say it doesnt happen, I just havent seen it on ~20 or so motors)

usually when you get them open it's a leak from the cam sensor o ring or the rear cover gasket as stated above.

jimmyg

Just put a vent in the oil cap. Blow by is probably pushing the seal out .

CDubya69

Since I've got to pull the transmission (again) anyway, the best way to do this would be to fire the motor and check for leaks?

CDubya69

So, the fix would be to put RTV sealant on the cover?

tblentrprz

If you haven't taken the rear main seal cover off, you'll probably find that the gasket has failed. The seal separates from the aluminum frame (same as on the oil pan, valley cover, and front cover gasket). Get a Felpro BS40640 rear main seal and cover gasket kit ~$20. Gasket surfaces clean of oil residue (brake clean) and ready to install. Clean cover bolts and use blue loctite to seal since the thread bores go through the block. Only need sealant (Permatex Right Stuff is excellent) to seal the transition from cover to block at the oil pan mating surface.

Unreal

Yes. I ran elite, had rear main seal issues. Went to MM and zero issues.

Elite focuses on trapping oil, MM focuses on enough crank case and proper venting.

jimmyg

This^^^

The BallSS

iTrader: (9)

mm ftw.

CDubya69

Already performed all the above steps, with 2 (obviously important) exceptions:

1) Didn't Locktite the cover bolts
2) Didn't put anything on bottom of cover/top of pan.

blown94

iTrader: (1)

I do transmissions for a living, and i think youve just answered youre own mystery. You always rtv at uneven joints of different surfaces. Also, as stated, the cam sensor o ring is suspect.