CodyB4C

I have a pretty bad oil leak. I was wondering what is the easyest way to drop the oil pan to change the seal? and also what to check in the bottom of the engine when i get the pan off because i plan on doing a heads and cam install in the future.

Thanks

sssalah

It's not so easy, you have to have more clearance between the pan and k-member. At least one engine mount needs to be removed to allow the motor tobe raised.

lt1fbody355

Alot of time a oil pan leak can be confused with a front seal leak which are notorious on lt1's. The seal wears a groove in the hub and the only way to get to stop leaking is change the hub.

CodyB4C

i think it might be the front seal how do i change that out? i am pretty sure the rear seal is leaking also, so i will have to change that one to.

CodyB4C

anyone?

96ramair

I would say if both of them are leaking i would pull the motor and replace all the gaskets, then you could check out the bottom end like you wanted to. just my .02

Ari G

iTrader: (25)

Drop the motor and tranny from the bottom takes about 4-8 hours,then you have space to do the headers,heads,cam,plugs and plug wires quick and check the oil leak

bichin95redta

Wasn't the rear of the intake manifold a bad spot for oil leaks on LT1's, too?

koolaid_kid

iTrader: (21)

Absolutely. Instead of a seal, they used a bead of sealant. I know first-hand, mine is leaking and I will have to fix it this winter.

dhdenney

iTrader: (53)

I always had problems with the water pump drive seal. Also, I just recently discovered I had a valve cover leak which was baffling me to death. Be sure you know where the oil is coming from before you start replacing stuff cuz you can start cussing real quick. If you can pinpoint the oil pan, something I tried was smear a good bit of RTV on the afflicted area. There's no pressure down there so it holds it in pretty good. Some would say this is pretty mickey mouse but hey, it's cheap and fast and the end results are almost the same.

94strokedz

iTrader: (1)

Oil pan leak, might as well pull the motor. Back of the intake is the same as any chevy small block dating back to the 50's. There is either a bead of silicone or silicone and a very cheesy rubber gasket. I personally would pull the intake off in the car, clean up the mating surfaces, and forget the flimsy gasket and just black RTV the gap. Do not be conservative on the RTV. Water pump seal, have fun. You'll likely have to pull the timing cover off. To get the timing cover off you will have to drop the oil pan .25". To drop the pan .25", you'll most likely have to pull the motor. Valve cover gaskets are a very common leak, but those are easy. The passenger side you will have to remove the alternator to pull the cover. I've been down the oil leak road, its not fun at all. My water pump gasket leaks right now, spits oil all over the opti and coil at high RPM's. Not cool!!!

brandboZ28

iTrader: (2)

Ive had my pan out a few times without ever pulling the motor. All you have to do is unbolt the motor mounts and jack the motor up a little. Its no big deal. Also, taking the pan out inst completely necessary when changing the pan gasket. Some people just completely unbolt the pan and let it sit on the k-member while they "stretch" the new gasket over the pan. Ive done it both ways and its not a big deal either way.

You could always get a dye kit to accurately find the leak.

INSTG8R

I agree. I had to pull my pan off when the pick up tube fell off the oil pump. We did it in my garage and jacked the motor up a little with an engine hoist and then pulled the pan off. It sucked, but definitely easier and a lot less time consuming than pulling the whole motor out. Good luck! And like the other guys said, try and make sure you find exactly where the leak is coming from first so you don't waste your time.

CodyB4C

Thanks for everyones input you all have been really helpful.

I guess i am going to double everything and find out where it is exactly leaking from then go from there.

94strokedz

iTrader: (1)

I couldn't drop my pan in the car because it was siliconed, but then again, it wasn't the factory pan, that might change things a bit. Sorry for the inaccurate info.

97LT1

iTrader: (3)

Another thing that causes intake seal leak along the back, is the egr crinckle tube coming off the exhaust manifold or header. The best thing to do is header wrap this small tube. It heats up the rtv bead if you dont only to make it brittle over time.

A lot of the time this leak will run downt he back of the motor to make it look like a pan leak.


I would suggest to clean up as much of the oil as you can, and then look for the leak and where it is comming from thereafter.

Crank_It

dude, thats sucks mine is also leaking but from the plug, im pretty sure the thread on the pan is stripped, any way i can go abouts fixing this without getting an entirely new pan, thatd be awesome, any info would help!

- Greg

z28cwash

Does anyone have pictures of them changing the oil pan on a lt1 camaro?