Jeff M

Hello all, been a while since I've posted anything. Sorta been away on deployments and haven't always had access to the internet. In fact I'm still deployed but was able to score some internet time. Anyway I need a little help with an oil leak. I asked for some help on this before and got great feedback, but alas it's still here. To relive a little history I have a 92 LT1 6sp we did the 383 thing to. I won't go into why I had to but I had to use a 2 piece seal crank with the adapter. I also have the Canton deep oil pan from DRM via a group purchase here. My problem is I have an oil leak coming from the rear of the engine I can't quite find. I'm almost certain it's the pan. At first I thought it was the seal. (FYI We used the alignment tool when installing the adapter). When I pulled the transmission(I'm getting a little to good at that :smash: ) the area around the crank seal was completely dry, plus the inside of the bell housing and back of the flywheel were dry as well. However prior to pulling off the pan (again! :mad ) I saw the outside of the pan gasket was very wet. The first time I replaced the pan gasket it improved but didn't completely stop the leak. The strange thing is when I first started the engine after each pan removal there were no leaks. I let the engine run for a good 30 minutes. I even jacked the front of the car up as far as possible with the rear wheels on the ground overnight; no leaks. It will only leak if I take the car out and drive it. Would this be the pan? Correct me if I'm wrong but if the rear seal were bad it shouldn't it leak just sitting there running? Also ever rear seal leak I've experienced before painted the inside of the bell housing and back of the flywheel. Has anyone else had any problems with this pan? The car runs and looks great, this is the only detractor in the whole project.

Help?! :confused:

365ZUM

I have a Canton racing pan that leaks also. In my case however, I am nearly positive that it is a fitment issue, rather than a flaw in the pan. I've gotta find the time to locate that leak...

MarkBychowski

I have the same problem -- with the same pan (I think Jeff and I were in the same GP). One problem I found was the plug in the TOP of the drivers-side wing. I pulled it out and put some teflon tape on it. That definitely helped, but didn't solve the whole problem.
One thing I was wondering; I've seen a lot of talk about having to use a lower level of oil in the Canton pan (the dipstick would actually show that it's low when the pan is really full). I don't quite understand why, and I haven't been willing to experiment with my oil level. I'm thinking if the pan is really too full, could that be causing the seals to be more prone to leaking? I know that's a very long shot, but just curious if you guys know anything about that?

Jeff M

Mark,

For what good it will do I'm going to shoot an e-mail to Canton. Anything you'd like to add? I see you have a Fidenza flywheel. Did you have as much trouble with them as I did? How do you like it?

LT4POWR

This winter I'm planning on getting a Canton pan. You guys are starting to worry me. Please post your findings.

h rocks

Now I know it wasn't just mine!!

Here's my leaky story...New GM gasket. The thicker of the two for one piece mains. New Canton RR pan, with windage tray etc. etc. Looked like a great fit. Encountered the same phenomenon. Good cold, leaky around the kickout area for the dip stick. Put in the dye. Black light showed oil actually coming out of the BOLT HOLE near the dipstick. Seems the Canton pan rail is not as wide, and/or has less of seating area. Especially in the aforementioned kickout area. Had to pull the pan, build the lip with some weld, then ground it flat. No more leak. Hope you can avoid some unecessary agrevation.

MarkBychowski

Jeff - nothing to add to the e-mail. Very curious about their response though! I actually love the flywheel. The only thing I had to do was get it balance-matched to the stock FW. The factory Fidanza weights were about 40oz too heavy. Fortunately, I had this checked before I installed it.

HRocks - Dang! I hope it's not that much work to fix mine! I'm just living with it for now. I plan on pulling the engine next spring to redo the bottom-end, I'll ask the shop to mess with the pan :)

R23HTC

Just got a Canton RR pan as well. No apparent leaks as yet. Also have the Fidanza flywheel. 383 is internally balanced so the weight was removed. So far so good. My only concern is having to add the extra qt. of oil to get a reading on the dipstick. I e-mailed Canton and they recommended cutting the tube down. I'll be doing an oil change shortly and will post any findings.


[Modified by R94 LT 1, 12:38 AM 10/24/2002]

388 SOLid RoLLeR

i hear if i g with a high volume oil pump a pan is a must. is this true?? How much is this pan??? how much oil doe sit hold??? worth it??? Thanxx guys. :cheers:

R23HTC

Yes, if you go to a high volume oil pump a bigger pan is a must. Not unless you want to pump your stock pan dry. :mad The Canton RR is designed to make your system 7qts. A lot of people run 8qts in it. As far as price, pan and pickup ran me about $350.

bill mcdonald

This is not good news...

H Rocks. if I were to put a straight edge on the pan rails, would I be able to see the defect, if the pan had the same problem as you did?

I plan on getting one of these pans and dont want to deal with it after it is on.


[Modified by bill mcdonald, 12:58 PM 10/26/2002]

Jeff M

Well now! :smash: I had no idea what I was starting here. Sorry for not getting back sooner but as I said earlier internet time can be a crap shoot. Also I haven't had time to e-mail Canton, I will today or tomorrow, I will also add a link to this thread. Seems pretty obvious there is a problem with this pan. Although I haven't had any leakage problems along the rails I think I'm going to pull the pan and add some reinforcement. My main problem is the rear lip. Laying under the car looking up it seems the curved portion of the pan directly under the crank is not wide enough, i.e. it doesn't come far enough aft to get a good clamp on the pan gasket. I'm going to see if I can weld a strip of sheet about an 1" wide curved to sit down in this area. Hopefully this will provide a better clamp to the gasket. It does seem like a lot of unnecessary work for an otherwise nice pan. However this will be easier to do than having to fix the rear main seal adapter. Hearing all the problems I'm pretty convinced the pan is the source of my woes. It will still be a while before I get back to do this but I'll let you know how everything goes. Thanks again for all the feedback.

ol,RJ

well mine doesn't leak, but I did take some steps putting it on.

* everything must be as clean as can be, I use brake cleaner*
I used "high tack" sealer on the flat gasket's. and put "black RTV" on the rubber end seal's (both surfaces, thin layer except for the corner's where the gaskets meet, put a little blob there) I also used RTV on the pan bolts. assemble and snug the bolts down equally (enough so that it make complete contact everywhere), but don't torque them! let it set overnight and then torque them.

Nathan Plemons

I had a leak that I swore was on the bottom of the motor because it wasn't coming from the intake. Turns out it was the oil pressure sending unit was held in by about 1 thread, and it was that way from the factory. I tightened it up and along with fixing the timing cover leaks I FIANALLY have no oil leaks.

Might not be it, but wouldn't hurt to check. I never would have believed it until I just saw oil dripping from it while it was running one day.

No Go

Seems like I would return the pan and reinstall a stock one, unless really needed the bigger pan. I believe Hamburger also makes a larger oil pan...one was for sale in parts section few months ago matter of fact---search M2001 as the creator.

Are you back in the states yet?

Jeff M

That's adds to the problem; no I'm not. I considered that as I still have my old pan but not the old pump/pickup. I'd have to order another pump and stock pickup. I agree this is a lot of unnecessary work for an item that should work from the get go. However I doubt they would take it back as I've had it for sometime, just took a while to get to the point of using it. Plus I'm wondering if having to use that crank seal adapter caused my problems. If nothing else I can at least alert other forum members and hopefully prevent a repeat or help fix their problem.




[Modified by Jeff M, 9:36 PM 10/28/2002]

h rocks

Bill, the pan rail surface itself is not bent from that plane, it's just that it's not wide enough before it rolls into the sump. As a result, the pan gasket is not making much contact on the pan side, and the oil is flung between the losck and

No Go

I understand...

Could you try a different one piece gasket? SCE, Fel Pro, and Chevrolet all offer a one piece that should solve any oil pan gasket problems...assuming the hardware is correct (adapter/main seal/etc...)

Jeff Kopp can get you awesome prices on the stock oil pump/pickup if worst comes to worst...

Good luck...