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LS1 Oil leak found!!...I think

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Old May 31, 2019 | 08:23 PM
  #21  
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From the looks of things, you have ported heads. 99% of the time, the porting opens up the bottom of the rocker arm bolt hole. Are the bolts installed with sealer on them? If not, that's how your oil is getting pulled into the engine, right down the threads of the rocker arm bolts.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by The_Bishop
From the looks of things, you have ported heads. 99% of the time, the porting opens up the bottom of the rocker arm bolt hole. Are the bolts installed with sealer on them? If not, that's how your oil is getting pulled into the engine, right down the threads of the rocker arm bolts.
Thread sealant will absolutely be needed if the port work done included removing the thread boss or hump in the runner to the point where the rocker bolt would become exposed.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 11:18 AM
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They put sealant in the holes where they cut through. I didn't put any sealant on the rocker arm bolts.

Right now, I have bigger issues. My knock sensors are freaking stuck! I broke the torque on them with a 22mm socket. From the look s of things they should just screw right out by hand. Well, mine won't come out at all. They spin with a socket, but they won't come out. I tried to pry the valley cover up with a screw driver, but it feels like it's getting stuck on the knock sensors. I can see the knock sensor spin where the socket touches it, but the outer portion (case-ing?) doesn't spin. WTF? Is the sensor stripped out?

I have a new cam position sensor, valley cover seal, and intake manifold gaskets. Everything is ready to go back together once I get those stupid knock sensors out.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 11:39 AM
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This is what I'm working with:



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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 11:42 AM
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In the top pic, you can see the outer casing, and the inner cap. The inner cap spins, but the outer casing does not. I was expecting them to spin together. They are only a year old, so they are not corroded.

I found several Youtube videos where people just break the torque, and remove the sensors by hand. Well, F- me. Mine **** ain't coming out. I was supposed to be done with this by now. Now, I'm dead in the water.

Any suggestions????
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 12:21 PM
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Just stake the sensors on both sides and remove them knowing you have to replace them.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 12:24 PM
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Yeah I don't like them there either which is why the block on my stand will be tapped and threaded to relocate them.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 12:29 PM
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What size is the socket your using?
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 01:13 PM
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I was using a 22mm socket. It seems to fit good.

Well, I finally said F-it. I took my 1/2 breaker bar and pried up on the valley cover. I got valley cover off without removing the knock sensors. It sounded bad, but it doesn't look like I broke anything.

Low and behold, I found a leak! You can see where I cleaned around the cam position sensor this morning. With the valley cover off, you can see that the oil was coming out of the rear section of the valley cover seal. I also noticed that the rear bolts were not as tight as the rest.




All cleaned up, and new cam position sensor installed.



I got the valley cover back on. Hopefully the knock sensors are still ok.....
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 01:25 PM
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YAY!! Man, let's hope and pray that is IT! Glad you found it! A little sleuth work paid off...
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by ddnspider
My money is lifter valley gasket or valve cover gaskets. Even if you had a head gasket leak on BOTH sides you'd see coolant not oil.

I think you were right on this one. Once I got the valley cover off, it looked like there was some oil coming out along the rear portion. I just changed it, and I'm about to go fire it up!

Let's hope it works...
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 02:57 PM
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Well, she runs! I didn't see anything leaking, so I;m gonna take it for a "road test".
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 04:49 PM
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The road test went well. I took my HP Tuners program with me. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the data log. I haven't seen anything leaking, so I'm gonna call it good for now. I'll keep an eye on my oil level for a while. I might still be burning some oil, but it's not enough to make the exhaust smoke.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Utinator
I think you were right on this one. Once I got the valley cover off, it looked like there was some oil coming out along the rear portion. I just changed it, and I'm about to go fire it up!

Let's hope it works...
Boom....only way to know those oddball ones like that is to have gone through it lol.
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 06:59 PM
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Good to see this resolved! Looks like you called this one, ddnspider! Just took a bit of time to see it….
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Old Jun 1, 2019 | 09:01 PM
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Yeah, this was a tough one. Even with a small mirror, I couldn't see the oil coming from the seal. There are too many wires and hoses back there. I did not want to take the heads off, and I was not about to attempt the rear main seal by myself. The valley cover was a chore, given the space and limited tools I had to work with. I had to make 2 trips to town, and stopped by 4 parts stores to get what I needed to finish the job. One day, I'll have enough tools to actually do a job from start to finish.
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Old Feb 28, 2020 | 09:18 AM
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After 9 or so months, how is your oil leak issue? Did you get it resolved with the cam sensor? I asked because I suspect mine is leaking back there. Unfortunately I pulled the intake several months ago and didn't change the cam sensor while I was there. I have dye in the oil now and will break out the black light this weekend.
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Old Feb 28, 2020 | 12:34 PM
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You know the reason the dye could be getting up into the intake runners is due to reversion. One of the members suggested this as reason why my intake was getting oil residue up into the runners. I'm venting to atmosphere so no PCV here but I'll eventually be making the move over to a vacuum pump and breather can set up. I never did clean the damn intake after replacing the heads and I should have. I'll get around to it one of these days when business permits.
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Old Mar 2, 2020 | 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by TA_Freak
After 9 or so months, how is your oil leak issue? Did you get it resolved with the cam sensor? I asked because I suspect mine is leaking back there. Unfortunately I pulled the intake several months ago and didn't change the cam sensor while I was there. I have dye in the oil now and will break out the black light this weekend.
I believe the oil leak is fixed. I only add a quart about every 2000 miles now. I was adding a quart every 500 miles. I don't think it was the cam position sensor, or the oil pressure sensor though. Once I got the valley cover off, I could see a lot of oil along the rear section. The way it's designed, you won't see that portion of the valley cover leaking. It will just look like the cam sensor or oil press sensor leaking.

Changing the valley cover seal really should be an easy task. I had hell with the knock sensors. That's why it was difficult for me. If you know you have a leak in that area, I would recommend replacing the valley cover seal while you have the intake off. The seal is cheap, and it *normally* doesn't take long to replace. The cam sensor is also really easy to replace, so you might as well replace it too while you're in there.

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Old Mar 2, 2020 | 07:52 PM
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