We were pulling the opti seal on the cover and when pulling back on seal something dropped out. It was a sliver of metal about 2" long from the seal recess. Will it still seal like that?

 

Probably going to need a pic.

 

Sounds like you didn't get your "prybar" between the backside of the seal, and the edge of the recess, and instead hooked on the lip of the cover and it broke off.....Hopefully, none of it wound up in the engine!

 

A two inch anything broken off any part can't be a good thing.

If you have the broken part in it's entirety, consider yourself lucky as it's not somewhere in the engine waiting to create havoc.

Replace the cover. It's GM number 12552427 but it's discontinued, of course. Same cover for 96~97.

 

 

New cover is in your future.

 

assuming you got ALL the broken part out of the motor....you may get lucky with a new seal actually "sealing" in terms of area between seal and TC

hope you now know to be more careful when removing seals...and using the correct tool

If you did not get all the broken part out...pull TC and find...and at that point replace TC. They may be hard to find, junkyard is always a option

 

You just broke the land to set the depth of the seal. If you have all the pieces just use that cover, it will seal fine.

 

Yeah, I'm an idiot all right. Used some pliers to grab the edge and used them to pry. Hopefully it will seal well. I can't find a new or used one anywhere... I think I should probably pull it to make sure no micro fragments fell in. I have a OEM balancer puller. Will this work to pull the hub? I don't want to strip the crank threads.

 

I agree....

 

looks like the generic puller from harbor freight. maybe someone who has used that one can respond....but I don't see the bearing that allows the large center threaded bolt to turn so it doesn't bind or removal/install

there are various "home made" ones using all thread and a stack of washers. If you understand the principal of how the puller/installer works you should be able to buy some larger washers and the bearing at a good hardware store

pic below is the Kent More exploding wallet LT 1 puller/installer. It is very plug and play and works great but high $. They come up on ebay sometimes which is where my friend got this one years ago

also you will have to drop the front of your pan to remove TC...then use RTV to seal the pan gasket back up

If you have the broken piece(s) and they fill the part that broke you could roll the dice and may be fine......but I suspect some crap fell inside the cover.

agree with the post that says the part you broke is not the sealing surface so your new seal may not leak. The red stuff around the seal is a "sealer"

 

OK, I'll agree that you only broke the seal land for a few inches of it's circumference. After cleaning and drying both parts, carefully install the new seal with a even coating of Permatex Super Blue around the outside of the seal.

 

You can use a "normal" balancer pulley but you'll need to first procure and install a long bolt into the crank. The puller's center bolt (that pushes on the crank) needs to push on this bolt's head.

The bolt needs to be long enough to allow the damper hub to come all the way out.

This is because the hub has a hole that's the size of the bolt, not the crank as on "normal" SBC dampers.

Hub shown without the damper, same method with or without the damper:

 

This picture shows why you need to push on a bolt threaded into the cank (thanksShbox!):

 

7/16-20 is the correct pitch? Anyone know how long of a bolt?

 

Take the crank bolt to a decent hardware store and get the same-just like 3 inches longer.

 

Thanks!

 

The crank bolt is a funky length that is not offered at any bolt store I've been to, however it doesn't need to be the exact length.

Oh, and get yourself one of these: