Leaking Oil Pan On 95 Camaro LS1 PLEASE HELP
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Leaking Oil Pan On 95 Camaro LS1 PLEASE HELP Hey guys, Im a newbie to this site and a newbie camaro owner. I just got rid of my 96 mustang GT and got a super clean 95 z28 LT1 with 78k bone stock. Love the car, much better ride and a bit faster. Anyways, i have two questions. 1. There appears to be an oil leak on the oil pan by the timing cover. My question is, what do i have to do to replace the gasket. Do i need to lift the motor, or can i get to everything with the motor in the current position? Please help or guid me to some step by step instructions. And my second question. I can hear a slight lifter tap on the driver side head. I assume this car has hydraulic lifters.... Can this be adjusted out. I pretty much know how to adjust the valves, other than the specs. I just dont know if i can adjust if i have a weak lifter?? Ok what the heck, one last thing. The mass air flow screen.... Can i remove it? What will it do? Give me more or less power or anything? Thanks guys and forgive me for my ignorance. 
Last edited by waterboy1973; Jan 31, 2008 at 11:11 AM.
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 818
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
you can remove the maf screen, its kind of pointless unless your planning a drag car or something, i doubt it will give much of a power increase. ive seen alot of people say not to because somehow leaves, dirt and other crap can still get past your air filter.i personally would not do it
Last edited by *98TransAm*; Jan 31, 2008 at 11:35 AM.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 504
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
Well I'd first make shure its the oil pan gasket not the front main seal or somthing.
if it is the oil pan gasket you have to drop the pan and its a big pain I've been a mechanic for several years and even I might take my car to the shop for this depending on how much its leaking haha and I just put heads on my car if that tells you anything.
Dont remove the maf screen that maf is good for up to 500 hp.
if it is the oil pan gasket you have to drop the pan and its a big pain I've been a mechanic for several years and even I might take my car to the shop for this depending on how much its leaking haha and I just put heads on my car if that tells you anything.
Dont remove the maf screen that maf is good for up to 500 hp.
Yeah, don't mess with the maf screen not worth it, if you have a lifter bleeding down you are out of luck on fixing, just have to go with another set. The oil pan is very much a huge PITA to do correctly in the car. I agree make sure it is not the front main seal leaking (they are notorious for this concern). if it is the oil pan, you have a couple of options, you can drop the subframe and actually do a pan gasket correctly, you can lower the front of the oil pan down as far as possible clean it as best you can and silicone the crap out of it, or an old trick someone told me about is take all the bolts out of the oil pan and let it fall down, clean the gasket off as best you can with a razor blade and whatever you can get in there to clean it with (make sure nothing falls into the pan though) then go get one of the multi piece gaskets and go back on with one of those much easier to do this, and have seen this work before. But as black said make sure it is the gasket first.
you can lower the cradle a little without taking it all the way down and undo the motor mounts and jack the motor up and that should get you enough room to get the stock pan out. do a lot of research before you do this though, LT1's are notorious for leaking and if you are not careful, it will leak even more after the gasket swap. there is a technique to applying sealant to key spots on the oil pan. i just got done with a big ordeal with the shop that did my car over the oil pan leaking.
Trending Topics
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
see how high up the oil goes and trace the leak properly, the oil pan gasket is the last thing u wanna do trust me. one quick tip if u do have to replace it, what i did is i unbolted and lifted the motor as high as possible with a jack on the crank dampener, loosened and lowered the k-member as low as possible, then u unbolt the oil pan and get it down as low as possible and with a lil finesse you should be able to work the old gasket out and the new one in, hardest part is getting it clean and under the windage tray but it can be done. i did this with a one-piece metal reinforced gasket but it wasnt easy but is leak free.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0
Brett Foote
10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever
Verdad Gallardo
As everyone else said, make sure it's the pan gasket leaking and not the front seal. Dropping the pan seriously sucks. Here is the least painful way to do it:
1) Let someone kick you in the nuts
2) Pay someone else to drop it for you
In all seriousness, you have to raise the motor a touch to get the pan off. I can't remember if I had to take the motor mounts completely off or not. Regardless, it sucks.
1) Let someone kick you in the nuts
2) Pay someone else to drop it for you
In all seriousness, you have to raise the motor a touch to get the pan off. I can't remember if I had to take the motor mounts completely off or not. Regardless, it sucks.
Quick question about the oil pan gasket. Can removing the timing chain cover tear the oil pan gasket if you aren't careful?
The reason Im asking is because the "mechanic" that worked on my car for the previous owner replaced the timing chain and just like the OP I have some issues with oil leaking from the front of the motor. The reason Im concerned about the oil pan gasket being torn is because there's A LOT of RTV or some kind of sealant all over the bottom of the timing chain cover where it meets the oil pan.
To the OP:
You said you can hear lifter tap...are you sure its not just a rocker arm? LT1's have pretty noisy rocker arms...so it's just a thought. Also since its the DS head you can easily check to make sure the rocker arms aren't too loose.
Also here's a link to a site that provides a lot of helpful info for doing work on LT1's. It'll probably be very useful to you.
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html
The reason Im asking is because the "mechanic" that worked on my car for the previous owner replaced the timing chain and just like the OP I have some issues with oil leaking from the front of the motor. The reason Im concerned about the oil pan gasket being torn is because there's A LOT of RTV or some kind of sealant all over the bottom of the timing chain cover where it meets the oil pan.
To the OP:
You said you can hear lifter tap...are you sure its not just a rocker arm? LT1's have pretty noisy rocker arms...so it's just a thought. Also since its the DS head you can easily check to make sure the rocker arms aren't too loose.
Also here's a link to a site that provides a lot of helpful info for doing work on LT1's. It'll probably be very useful to you.
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Thanks so much, all of you guys. Sounds like the pan is gonna be a bitch. I will get down there and double check it and make sure its not the front seal. If it is i can only imagine what a major pain that would be.
About the lifter noise? If infact it is the rocker arm, which i am now thinking it is, Does aynone know the specs on the intake and exhaust? What feeler guage to use? Thanks you guys are awsome and I love this site. Thanks again.
About the lifter noise? If infact it is the rocker arm, which i am now thinking it is, Does aynone know the specs on the intake and exhaust? What feeler guage to use? Thanks you guys are awsome and I love this site. Thanks again.
