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Rear main seal help

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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 03:38 AM
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Default Rear main seal help

Alright new update on the update, It ended up being the rear cover gasket, DONT USE A CHEAP GASKET!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks guys for all the help though Alright update, been messing with the car, Its not the rear main seal leaking, Im having oil blow out all around the rear cover bolts, Could the rear cover gasket be screwed up or cheap an not sealing? Nothing back there that can cause pressure build up right? thanks folks Alright guys ive done a **** ton of searching on here for some answers, Alright my wife has a 2000 z28 We pulled the engine out an fixed some oil leaks an replaced the trans, headers full exhaust oil pump timing chain, So heck it has all new gaskets an all. Well got it running an had a oil leak, Well it is the rear main seal, So We pulled the trans back out today an we put a rear cover on it from another engine we had there that didnt leak, Well got it on, put it all back together, Start the car up an it dies well restart it an notice the oil pressure is really low, kill the car we look under neath an there is literally 5 quarts of oil under the rack So wtf!!!!!! im pissed now cause i gotta do it again, i shoulda just left the freaking thing alone an let it leak the lil it did, Now we cant even drive it, So my ? is wtf am i doing wrong? Is there a special way to do this that im not getting? we have built a few engines, Been messing with ls based engines for years now, have had several ls turbo swaps we have done, Never had 1 rear main seal bad, Till this car. Well guys please help me out on this seal, im really tired of pulling the trans.

Last edited by flippincamaro; Oct 3, 2010 at 08:31 AM.
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 04:31 AM
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There is an alignment tool that you use. Here is a write up about it from GM Hi-Tech:

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...alignment.html

Here is a site that sells the tool P/N J-41476. It costs almost $500 dollars though.

http://gmspecialservicetools.spx.com...s.aspx?id=3058

I usually have always done my by eye alignment. Have you checked the crank itself to see if the oil retainer plug is still there and not damaged? Also, check the surface of the crank that the seal contacts to see if it has a small groove in it or is damaged. You can usually just clean it up with some fine grit sand paper if it has a small groove in it. Good luck.
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 05:00 AM
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Thank you very much for that info, Also im not sure on the crank oil retainer plug?
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 05:09 AM
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Look into the back of the crank with the tranny out. There should be a plug in it. Look exactly like a freeze plug. See if it is leaking. I have never seen one leak but at least you can have that piece of mind.
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 05:32 AM
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Alright cool, I know exactly what your talking about now. I just looked at the gm tools in the link you sent me, I guess im going to see if the parts store has a rental tool thatll work for it, Damn seal!!!! thanks for your help, Also does it seem right that the rear main seal could have leaked that much oil out that fast? im hoping its not somethingelse now. Ill find out later this evening im sure.
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 05:51 AM
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It does seem a little fast for the rear main. I cracked my oil filter adapter on my small block chevy once and it leaked most of the oil out in about 10 seconds.
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Old Oct 1, 2010 | 08:31 AM
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If you buy a new seal from the dealer it will come with a small plastic piece that keeps the seal lip in alignment when it goes on. The older seals were more fragile in design as the lip faced in and they were very easy to damage. The newer seals have a simpler design that is easy to install and should work well.

Kurt
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Old Oct 2, 2010 | 03:41 PM
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update
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Old Oct 4, 2010 | 01:20 AM
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according to the GM manual......there are 2 tools used to install the seal.....1 to align the rear cover....the other to space the cover and the oil pan at the correct specs

Last edited by sjsingle1; Oct 4, 2010 at 02:03 AM.
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Old Oct 4, 2010 | 01:52 AM
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Curious, anyone have a pic of this crank plug? I have 3 LS cranks at my house, you would think I could picture this in my head but I can't
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Old Oct 4, 2010 | 06:13 AM
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Glad you found it. It always sucks to find it on the second time you have to pull the tranny, but at least you have fixed it.
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Old Oct 4, 2010 | 10:09 AM
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Originally Posted by 01ssreda4
Curious, anyone have a pic of this crank plug? I have 3 LS cranks at my house, you would think I could picture this in my head but I can't
This thread has a video that shows it:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tr...-oil-leak.html
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Old Oct 4, 2010 | 04:44 PM
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Yup, Thanks nx for the help on it. And everyoneelse
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