ok, i think i have the drop the oil pan issue figured out. while we are at it,any help on changing rear main seal would be appreciated.i would sell this monster if it wasn't for this forum! thanks,Al

 

Once the pan is off just drop the oil pump and remove the rear cap. You will have to push out the upper seal which might take a little work but it will slide out. Most rear seal kits will come with a shoe to help start the upper half to go into the block. Just work it around. Be careful and take your time.

 

Once you have the pan down, remove the oil pump and pickup. Remove the rear main cap. The lower half of the seal is right there. Don't scratch the bearing. Take a small screwdriver and pop the lower half out of the cap, then use the screwdriver, (I have one that I did a little bit of grinding on so it's got a better flat end) and push on the exposed end of the upper half of the seal. You may hve to tap it a little bit to break the upper seal loose. Drive it out until you can get a good grip on it and then just walk it on out. Now the old seal is out, clean the block and the seal groove with something like brake cleaner, just hose it out really well.

The trick part is next. GM and the aftermarket have 3 different widths of rear seals. The difference in them is from the dust lip on the back to the wiper lip on the forward side of the seal. The best (and widest one) is the one you need to find. The biggest distance between the two lips. You may have to hunt for it. GM had them all under the same part number, but there are different ones.


Take the rear main cap to your bench grinder and use the wire wheel on the mating surfaces adjacent to the seal. Don't get so far forward to catch the bearing. Buff the cap, get it really clean. Then hose it down with the brake cleaner too. Let it dry while you install the upper half of the seal.

In the package there is a little plastic "spoon". Use it to install BOTH the upper and lower halves. Put a little bit of grease on the lips of the upper seal. If you don't, the rib on the inside of the seal gets sliced off and will seep underneath the seal.

Once you have the lower seal in place, wipe a little bit of grease on the lips of that seal too. Apply a very thin coat of form-a-gasket or an anerobic sealer or something like that on the cap next to the seal. Just above the pan gasket groove. Install the cap, torque to specs and install the oil pump, and pan.

I've done literally hundreds of rear main seals over 15+ years of working for Chevy dealers and NEVER had to do the same one twice.

I hope this helps and I also hope I didn't confuse the issue for you. If you have any questions, just drop me a note..

 

Great post by TimAT above. Agree...exactly what I did. However I did sping for the most expensive Fel-Pro Viton pieces. I only wanted todo this once.

 

TimAT pretty much nailed the operation. I would only add its not too hard to offset the seal parting line 3/8" from the main cap parting line. This was in the FelPro instructions say too. Also added a little sealer to 1 end of each seal half. This helps seal the crack. Yea the trick is the oil or grease the seal lip only and just a wipe of sealer on just one end of each seal halve - this allows u too roll the top seal halve in all but 3/8" without sealer then mate it to the bottom halve with the sealer.

Hope this help your oil pan stay dry.
cardo0