Oil Pan leak
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6,938
Likes: 1
From: San Diego CA
Oil Pan leak
I remember a couple years back when i had the 77 I thought I had an oil pan leak and struggled putting in a 1-pice oil pan gasket just to find it was the rear main seal. i had that rear seal done by a professional three times till he got it right!! (no leaks) if a professional can't get it right what are my chances??shortely after the engine went south and during rebuild I chose a 1-piece rear main seal and never had another problem. the 68 has a leak running down the flywheel cover on the tranny which I believe is a symptom of the rear seal and not the rear oil pan gasket but both are in close proximity so I could be wrong.
Question should I order both a 1-piece pan gasket and 2-piece rear main seal. Correct me if i'm wrong but a 1-piece rear main seal can only be inputted when the tranny and engine are physically separated i.e. during a clutch job or when the engine is out for overhaul.
Goal is to do the minumum possible. Leak is small but is getting bigger, HELP with advise is appreciated.
see oil pan leak area where the car normally sits
[Modified by Cali,68,L-79, 9:27 PM 2/21/2004]
Question should I order both a 1-piece pan gasket and 2-piece rear main seal. Correct me if i'm wrong but a 1-piece rear main seal can only be inputted when the tranny and engine are physically separated i.e. during a clutch job or when the engine is out for overhaul.
Goal is to do the minumum possible. Leak is small but is getting bigger, HELP with advise is appreciated.
see oil pan leak area where the car normally sits
[Modified by Cali,68,L-79, 9:27 PM 2/21/2004]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,098
Likes: 378
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
Re: Oil Pan leak (Cali,68,L-79)
Question should I order both a 1-piece pan gasket and 2-piece rear main seal. Correct me if i'm wrong but a 1-piece rear main seal can only be inputted when the tranny and engine are physically separated i.e. during a clutch job or when the engine is out for overhaul.
Goal is to do the minumum possible. Leak is small but is getting bigger, HELP with advise is appreciated.
Goal is to do the minumum possible. Leak is small but is getting bigger, HELP with advise is appreciated.
Yes gofor that 1-piece pan seal. Yes buy the 2-piece rear seal.
Now that one-piece rear seal conversion is for using a 1-piece rear seal crankshaft ('86-2000) in a 2-piece rear seal block (I think thats what your asking). :seeya
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,004
Likes: 2
From: Severna Park Md
Re: Oil Pan leak (Cali,68,L-79)
Ive had good luck with the 2 piece seals. My haynes manual noted that an anaerobic sealer was to be used between the main bearing cap and block surface. You have to be carefull to put the sealer in the specific places while not getting it on the crank journel, bearing surface or seal ends. So I guess if the sealer is not used then oil can leak between the main bearing cap and block.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Re: Oil Pan leak (Cali,68,L-79)
After using 1 piece pan gaskets I would never even consider using the old 4 piece style. The 2 piece rear main seal can be changed by just dropping the pan and rear main cap. The upper part of the seal can be pushed from one side with a small screwdriver and pulled out the the other side. The new upper gets fed in around the crank the same way. Just make sure that you use sealer between the upper and lower halves. Also make sure you use sealer at the corners of the main caps when installing the new pan gasket.
Careful or not, It's been my experience many times that when I leave the job to a "professional" that I end up re-doing the job anyway. A lot of guys just don't take the time to fix it right because it's not their car and they rush so that they can get more jobs done in a day because that's how they get paid.
Careful or not, It's been my experience many times that when I leave the job to a "professional" that I end up re-doing the job anyway. A lot of guys just don't take the time to fix it right because it's not their car and they rush so that they can get more jobs done in a day because that's how they get paid.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
Re: Oil Pan leak (LemansBlue68)
:iagree: I just used a 1 piece on the motor for a freind and would never use anything else now. Once the pan is off you have the hard part done. The rear seal is a piece of cake. I offset the seal slightly so it is not flush with the block. This seams to help a little. SBC motors have always been a rear main seal problem. That is why they went to a 1 piece seal.
