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Over the weekend I ran the car to a full warm up for 5 minutes with the intention of this being the last time I run it (keep oil residue out my shop now it's about to be body work time). Engine runs and sounds great, but I have some oil leaks at the front and back seals! After doing some reading I found that this is a common issue with the Fel Pro one piece gaskets and stamped steel oil pans. A lot of other people either had to RTV the pan/gasket to seal it or switch to different gaskets with RTV. One thing I did do is order oil pan studs, now I have to determine my plan before I pop the engine out and change that gasket. Anyone else have this issue with the one piece oil pan gaskets?
I don't know if this will help or inform you, but in 2016 I used a Fel-Pro one piece gasket on our 1972 LT-1. For whatever reason (and I don't recall at this time) I used a very thin layer of black RTV along the front and rear of the pan, and at the corners, and I had no leaks. And if I recall, the Fel-Pro instructions said NOT to use RTV, so I really don't know why I did.
Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
And I'm really enjoying watching/reading about your restoration! Hope all continues to go well!
I don't know if this will help or inform you, but in 2016 I used a Fel-Pro one piece gasket on our 1972 LT-1. For whatever reason (and I don't recall at this time) I used a very thin layer of black RTV along the front and rear of the pan, and at the corners, and I had no leaks. And if I recall, the Fel-Pro instructions said NOT to use RTV, so I really don't know why I did.
Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
And I'm really enjoying watching/reading about your restoration! Hope all continues to go well!
Originally Posted by Rescue Rogers
I had leaks as well. I used ultra black and never had a leak. A thin layer both sides on the entire gasket will seal it
I'm glad to hear ultra black fixed it! I'm going to have to do that to both sides of the gaskets and then torque it back in with the new oil pan studs. Hope it doesn't leak again and have to pop the engine off the frame after that!
Now the engine is tucked away in the corner with one last task, I could get back to the body work. I wanted to go ahead and remove the windshield to access the rust damage and corners before I stripped the paint. Figured a weekend of welding and fixing this, then I can spend the following weekend stripping paint and I'll be back on schedule!
I got the molding, trim, and weatherstripping off from around the windshield last night. Typical corrosion found, but nothing unfixable so far. I bought a cheap windshield removal wire cutting tool from Wuhan, and the cable would last about a minute before it broke. so stopped there for the night..
Next day a picked up some high quality wire for windshield adhesive cutting and went to work: With the proper wire I made quick work of cutting the windshield, and was SO close to not cracking it!!!!
I can’t give you advise there, but if the replacement frame is in better shape all around, I would just replace the whole frame.
But again, I don’t know what replacing the whole frame in tales.
Last edited by OldCarBum; Oct 18, 2023 at 11:35 AM.
Well you do have to cut the tops of the fenders, to fix the bottom corners, or pull the front clip..... so maybe not an hour.
My current dilemna exactly!
Well you do have to cut the tops of the fenders, to fix the bottom corners, or pull the front clip..... so maybe not an hour.
My current dilemna exactly!
Originally Posted by Rescue Rogers
ya, the front end has to come off so I dont know why anyone is telling you its going to be quick and easy
Oh my hour is only for the upper windshield frame! lol
I talked to Mercury20 in depth about it , and he cuts the fenders when he does it then puts the corners back on with VPA. He said he saves a weekend of work over removing the front clip and the nightmare of aligning it and putting it back on. So I'm likely going to take his advice on that lol
Have y'all done the lower corner repair or removed the front clip ?
This weekend the Corvette didn't get any attention because I was on my annual Fall Jeep Rock Crawling trip (I've been getting it ready in the background past few weeks as well). Was a great time with good friends , and we conquered some serious trails:
Hot Springs Off Road Park never fails to deliver in the Fall
Friday night got wild, and I got sideways bumping it up a ledge , which then threw my Jeep sideways when the tires bit , then dropped me off a ledge! Jeep rolled down it's side then upside down! Talk about need to change my underwear after! lol Winched it back over and got it back going. Have some new whisky dents, but was able to keep on going all weekend! That rig never seizes to amaze me!
Nice time Jeeping!
It looks like your Jeep is ready to go have more fun.
I might have found a nice Jeep to buy.
Original owner, 2000, runs great, just a lot of miles, looks fantastic but needs new paint.
The owner said he would like to sell it but is thinking about the selling price.
My plan has been to find one to enjoy as an errand and daily driver car so we aren’t putting as many miles on our new truck.
Of course I’ll completely go through it and make it better than new!
Nice time Jeeping!
It looks like your Jeep is ready to go have more fun.
I might have found a nice Jeep to buy.
Original owner, 2000, runs great, just a lot of miles, looks fantastic but needs new paint.
The owner said he would like to sell it but is thinking about the selling price.
My plan has been to find one to enjoy as an errand and daily driver car so we aren’t putting as many miles on our new truck.
Of course I’ll completely go through it and make it better than new!
It's an addictive hobby! High miles wouldn't concern me on a 4.0, they're bullet proof! I've have mine for 7 years, and it's my third Jeep. It'll get stretched and on one tons eventually. Let me know if you strike a deal with the Jeep and post pics for us! Fun vehicles with the tops off to run around in, but suck for long runs on the interstate.
Got back on the C3 tonight, and wire wheeled the rust off my windshield frame to get a better idea of what I'm working with:
Drivers side upper corner needs to be replaced - the rest of the frame on that side and the lower looks good
Now to the passenger side, which has more issues:
Upper corner has to be replaced here too
Top of the frame has a lot of cancer too
And the cancer is all over the top passenger bar
After seeing that the corners have to be replace, and that it needs a dozen little patches, I'm not going to do all that tedious work trying to fix all those tiny spots! Going to go grab that complete frame I found for $150 then cut the frame off half way up and burn a new one in this weekend. As always, comment section is open for this plan!
check the lower corners carefully where they go under the fender lip. hard to see but water puddles there and then it just eats.
my top corners are actually better than yours but the bottom is not good. my bottom corner
I think you have the right idea.
Like Leigh said, check those bottom corners.
I’ve owned 4 Jeeps and this would be #5
I used to tow my boats with my 75 and 79.
They had the 304 V8’s so there was plenty of power, but the short wheel base and no ac made the 4 hour each way trip to the Colorado River not so great.
We we’re younger then and didn’t know any better!
check the lower corners carefully where they go under the fender lip. hard to see but water puddles there and then it just eats.
my top corners are actually better than yours but the bottom is not good. my bottom corner
My passenger side lower corner is bad , I posted pics of it above last week. The C3 recycler I found is giving me the lower corners for another $50! I'm likely going to cut the corner of the fender off to access the lower corner and weld new metal in. Mercury 20 has told me it's too much trouble to remove the front clip and get it back on correctly. I've seen others on this forum use this method. How did you access and repair yours?
