Sooo my clutch has been slipping lately, I ordered myself a nice Spec Stage 2 and got started on the job yesterday. I had to pull the tranny last year to get rebuilt so I've become quite talented at pulling T-56's out of F-Bodies while laying on my back in my garage.

Got the torque arm, driveshaft, and shifter out, tranny fluid drained and all electronics unplugged. Then I go to unbolt the slave cylinder-- once I take it out with it's little housing, a bunch of motor oil comes dripping out with it. Then I notice from the little bit that I can see inside the bellhousing that the whole pressure plate is soaked in motor oil, definately motor oil, not tranny fluid.

So now that I know that my clutch's friction plate wasn't actually "worn out", just ruined from being soaked in motor oil, I'm pretty irritated. Especially since I changed the damn rear main seal last spring when I pulled the tranny.

I now know I could have gotten away with just ordering a friction plate instead of a whole clutch kit but its not too big of deal. I'm more concerned with what the heck I'm going to do now? Put in another AC Delco rear main seal again and hope for the best? Any auggestions would be great.

 

Hey:

The LT4 type rear main that came on the Grand Sport, was teflon reinforced,
and supposedly more durable, you can try to get one of those, and see how it goes. Also did you put it on dry when you replaced it as a little rub or nick
and they will leak again. Also when you remove the leaky one, look it over real good and make sure you do not have some foreign matter or a burr that would cause a reoccurring leak.

And here you thought you were just using a little more oil than normal, not stowing it in the bell housing

Dub

When In Doubt Do Without

 

1993 z28 f1, thanks for the advice but I think I just discovered the root of the whole problem.

I dropped the transmission and pulled out the clutch/flywheel today and got a good look at the seal-- and its actually no longer the seal thats leaking. It looks like its leaking from the little crescent shapped seal between the oilpan and the rear main housing. AND on top of that, one of the 3/8" bolts that holds the rear main housing in place is missing. As to how I didnt notice a bolt missing last year when I originally replaced the rear main seal is beyond me.

But I did replace the seal correctly whether it was leaking or not. I used an AC Delco rear main seal and tapped it in wet with a block of wood and a hammer and with some fresh oil around the outside lip. This time around I bought the whole rear main seal set by Felpro that includes the paper gasket for the housing and the round seal itself (although going with the LT4 seal doesn't sound like a bad idea). Now I've just got to pick up one of those crescent shapped rubber seals for between the oilpan and the rear main housing.

I drained the oil and took out all the oilpan bolts except the two very front ones which let the pan hang down in the back just enough for me to get the rear main housing out. I cleaned the surfaces up and checked the oil pan gaskets, and they look like they're in great shape so I don't think any oil will seep out of the sides of the pan when I get it all back together.

So the next thing I need to do is put the new seals and gaskets in. Does it sound like I'm tackling this problem right? Any suggestions? I've heard lining the gasket and seals with RTV will help prevent leaks here.

Any help would be great, and sorry for the essay...

 

when you take all the oil pan bolts out except the front ones, there is enough room to "let it hang"??...i'm just wondering b/c i'm needing to change my oilpan gasket...i have a nasty leak up front from when i took the timing cover off to change the front main...ive heard of guys lifting the motor an inch or so to get the pan out and swap the gasket....

whats the easiest way to change the oilpan gasket?

 

You'll need to get the motor up more than an inch in take the pan out, which is why I'm not just doing that. I need probably about 3-4 inches and my headers get in the way, so I can't lift my motor up high enough.

Couldnt hurt to get under there and check- but if Pacesetters are anything like Hookers, youre not gonna be able to lift the motor more than an inch or so because they will hit the underbody of the car.

I'm don't think I'll need to change my oilpan gaskets, but if I were going to I would unbolt the starter motor and take out the oilfilter (oil should be drained anyways) to make room around the pan. Then unbolt all 18 bolts and nuts and let the pan rest on the K-member. That might give you enough room to get you fingers up there to take out the old gaskets, clean the surfaces, and install the new ones. There might be a better way to do it but that's the only way I can think of that doesnt involve unbolting the headers from the heads.

 

anyone else know of a better/easier way?

btw..i dont have a cherry picker to lift the engine with...could i put a jack under the crank hub and one under then bell housing maybe?

 

update: Those halfmoon shapped rubber seals at the front and back of the crank/oilpan and the gaskets along the sides of the oilpan are all one piece. $26 for the Felpro part at autozone. As to how I didnt relize that the rubber gasket was ripped at the corners is beyond me.

Looks like I'm replacing my "oilpan gasket" too. Damnit. Why does every freakin LT1 have to leak oil from everywhere? (Yes, I already fixed the dreaded intake manifold leak last year, too).

 

let me know how you do it

 

check the back of your intake / the oil pressure sending switch area. thats where mine was leaking oil onto my clutch

 

Its a GM SMC they leak oil, never fails. Mines clean now but I can still find a leak from time to time... and get annoyed.

 

I just went through the whole ordeal, as I thought my rear main was leaking. Turned out the leak was at the back of the oil pan, where it meets the block...even though I had installed one of the "1 piece" oil pan gaskets several years ago.

I don't have headers, so I was able to jack the engine up high enough to get the pan out. I bought the "complete gasket set" with everything, so I was dropping the pan, front cover, and rear main seal adapter, in an effort to fix every possible point of leakage.

After I removed the tranny and flexplate, and lowered the pan, I changed the rear main seal. I then re-attached the tranny, so I had something to support with, as well as pivot the back of the engine with. I then used a "crankshaft socket" and 2" extension stuck into it, over the snout of the crank (with the pulley removed), to use as a lift point with my floor jack. I was able to lift the engine up enough at that point, to get the pan out.

I then set the engine back down, removed the front cover, replaced the seals in it and put it back on the engine, lifted the engine again, replaced the pan, and then put everything else back together.


That was a little over a week ago. So far, so good........

 

Ok guys I got the Felpro 1-piece oilpan gasket in without jacking up the motor. It wasnt as hard as I thought itd be either.

Obviously unbolt the oilpan and let it sit on the k-member. It should drop a few inches in the back and up front drop just barely enough to clear the 2 studs at the front of the block. Unplug the sensor on the driver's side of the oilpan (forgot what it is) and unbolt the starter and tie it off hanging aside. The gasket is rubber so its pretty flexible. Instead of fishing the gasket under the crank, it will very very easily stretch up and around the whole pan.

Make sure the gasket gets under and around the oil dipstick tube, then get the front set in place first since there's less room to work. I RTV'd (with the high temp 'ultra copper' RTV) both sides of the gasket at the front and back "halfmoon" shaped parts of the gasket. Once the front is in place i snugged the two front oilpan nuts and got the back set up the same way.

Once all the nuts and bolts are hand tightened i went around with a torque wrench and tightened everything into place from the middle out. 106 in/lbs for the bolts and 180 in/lbs for the 4 nuts at the corners.

Looks like everything sealed up pretty well. Im gonna let the RTV set for a day or so before I put oil in. Just keep in mind that when you attempt this, I had my tranny, clutch, flywheel, and bellhousing removed which gave me a ton of room in the back of the pan which you might need to make this work without lifting the motor. Also, make sure all your mating surfaces are clean as can be. I sprayed a degreaser on on a rag and cleaned the heck out of the mating surface on the oilpan, the bottom of the block, and the bottoms of the main housings.

I also installed a new rear main seal since it came with the rear main seal housing gasket. Its a heck of a lot easier to press in with the rear main housing unbolted from the block, too.

I think that's it and I hope I didnt leave any important details out. Good luck if youre going to try it.