LT1Bird97

So for the past few days I've been thinking the rear main seal on my new motor has been leaking since I get a nice steady drip while the motor runs and after it gets shut off that leads to a good size puddle.

So im doing all the research I can to double check if thats the cause and how to fix it and I stumble upon this

I go to check out my old gasket since I never throw **** away and im pretty sure this is the cause of my leak now....So it seems this might even be worse then just fixing the rear main seal. This is not going to be a fun weekend

But other then that the motor seems to be running strong

BALLSS

^^^ happened to me as FastFatBoy. One of the molded in washers stayed on the stud of the oil filter adapter. Fing instant leak

Blind898

iTrader: (1)

I just got done doing the oil pan gasket with the motor in the car. With the 6 speed tranny and the engine lifted as high as it will go with a Cherry picker, the pan will not come out but will be enough room to work the new gasket on. If you have the felpro gasket you should only need to drop the back side of the pan enough to get that extra washer out and tighten it back down.

ACE1252

Oil pan leaks can be a pain.

I've got some kind of oil pan leak now myself. I developed major leak and discovered that about 3 of my pan bolts had backed out on the passengers side. Ever since then, I've had a leak that always shows up as a single drop where the curve of the pan goes under the rear main.

It's never leaked on the garage floor....so it's only leaking when driving. Doesn't leak at idle either.

I pinned a folded up blue scott's towel between the trans and inspection plate to see how bad it is....seems to vary...from minimal(few drops) to half the towel absorbing oil on a single trip.

I don't look forward to trying to track it down, but I've got some dye to put in the oil for the next time I pull the engine(when I go to ported heads...and maybe a different cam).

The thing that worries me is when I found the pan leak, I had the trans pulled to change the rear main...as I thought it was the source of the leak. I let my screwdriver slip and moved across the crank with it. I could not see or feel any kind of a scratch or gouge...but it's in the back of my mind that I might have screwed the rear main crank sealing surface. I'll be inspecting it very closely next time I pull the engine.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Since the gasket is rubber, why not drop the pan and work the new gasket into place from the outside?

Blind898

iTrader: (1)

That's pretty much what I was saying. In my case the pan would not come out the car but did lower with enough room to slide the gasket around the pan to put it in place.

LT1Bird97

What a ******* pain in the ***. So there is 3 washers left on from the previous oil gasket. Front passenger and both rears. Front one I ended up just cutting off since the oil pan will not drop far enough for me. The back 2 seems like a bigger problem now. Oil pan still doesnt drop far enough and I have way less room to get something to cut the washers off.......Ive probably spent way more time messing with this car then driving it

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Have you backed out the k-member bolts at all? If you have the engine secure it's only a few more bolts to either lower or drop the k-member altogether.

BALLSS

the washers should come off without much effort. Maybe use a gasket scraper or putty knife to "pry" them down off the stud

I know there is very little room doing the drop the pan a little method but once the washers are off wipe the block and pan surface as best you can with acetone before putting on new pan gasket...and use RTV on the front and rear "curved parts and run it about 1" further where the block flattens out

LT1Bird97

Thanks that gave me the extra 1/4 inch to get them off. Got the 4 corners on the oil pan together with rtv, its already 100 degree's here so im gonna have to finish up either tonight or tomorrow. Hoping for no more leaks after I get it all tightened up.

LT1Bird97

no leaks so far. Need to wait for my EGR block off plate for my headers to fix the exhaust leak, and the hose into the right side of the water pump gets a little larger once the coolant heats up. Not sure if theres still air in the system or I just need to replace that hose. Gotta get to it before it blows on me. Valve train is still a lot noisier then Im used to but a few people so far have told me it sounds good