I just am finishing up my cam install, and I noticed I torqued the timing cover, then installed the crank pulley and torqued it. Did I ruin the front seal? can I loosen the timing cover, pull the pulley off and start over?

Also, I am really paranoid about oil leaks, and I am paranoid about getting a gob of RTV in my oil pan....how can I balance these? How much RTV should I use, if any? Should I only do the corners?

When I lifted the timing cover up, the gasket for the oil pan started to separate from the oil pan, so I did put a little RTV inbetween the oil pan and the gasket ..bad idea?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want this to go right....

 

Get a metal very fine graduation six inch scale (ruler). You only need a dab of RTV in the corners, where you found it installed by GM. You can install the seal before or after the cover is on, it will press in with your fingers. The object is to center the seal to the crank shaft. Use the rule to do this centering (note there is a tool that does this but most guys don't have one). Measure from the shaft OD to the seal ID at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions. Loosely install the two lower bolts and four upper bolts before doing this. You will need to use the lower to compress the gasket against the oil pan and the other bolts to pull it against the block. Once it is centered, snug two bolts on the main cover then loosent the lower bolts and then install the rest of the bolts in the main cover. Torque all the bolts to the correct value (leave lowers loose so cover will pull in tight against the block). The cover shouldn't move upwards because the two that you left snug will prevent it from moving. As you tighten the bolts, keep checking the center position in case it moves. Once all the main bolts are tightened to the correct value, you can then tighten the lower ones. If the covers is correctly centered, the seal will go in and you can install the harmonic damper.

LS1howto uses the seal for centering. I don't like this approach because the seal is ovalized in the process and could eventually leak.

 

Does that mean I need a new front seal? Is the seal bad now?

 

Not sure I understand fully what you did, but if the car hasn't been run there is some resiliency in the seal. I think it is a cheap part so if you are questioning it you may want to replace it. Need a better insight of what was done though.

 

All I've done is torque the timing cover, then install the pulley, and then I pulled the pulley off late last night to start over. By torquing the timing cover first, and the pressing the pulley on, will I ruin the seal? I haven't run the engine yet. Sorry if its a dumb question, I just don't know a lot about these things.


Also, does anybody have any practical experience with RTV causing engine failure. Is that just urban legend? I read all sorts of scary posts last night. I didn't go insane with the stuff....but I did lay a bulky 1/4" nead all along he bottom, and then put some extra at the corners, and when I tightened it down, there certainly was some RTV pushing outside of the pan. What are the chances of this breaking off on the inside and causing my engine to blow up? SOrry if its another dumb question.

Thanks!

 

This question was answered above. If in doubt...change it out
It's not an urban legend; however, the chances of it happening with modern platforms are unlikely....since RTV has been designed out of most assemblies. As already mentioned by Vettenuts, a small amount of RTV may be required in the corners, and should have been evident upon disassembly. Only use the amount required to seal the surfaces, more is not better.

Based on your questions, it sounds like you do not have a service manual. I suggest you obtain one, as there are more things to be taken into considieration to finish this project i.e. proper balancer install/depth, using a new bolt, and proper torque.

 

So I took everything apart to do it the right way...and things are just getting worse. I can't remove the RTV from the oil pan gasket. It is stuck on there pretty good. Is the oil pan gasket something that can be replaced with the engine in the car?

 

Yes, but you have to lower the cradle. Don't panic (I posted in your other thread as well). Clean up the RTV on the metal gasket, don't touch the RTV on the rubber unless it will peel off. The rubber should have compressed enough to squeeze out most of the RTV so that remaining on the rubber is very thin. Just carefully remove that on the metal so it doesn't interfere with the amount you can align the cover to center the seal. Hope this makes sense.

 

Thanks for all of your help so far. How hard is it to lower the cradle?

 

 

Based on that photo, it appears the seal wouldn't have been correctly centered and the front pan gasket wasn't compressed. If you do a search on installing new rod bolts, you may find a thread on removing the pan. The other option is to check with the Maggie web site as the instructions provided with the installation of the supercharger walks you through lowering the front cradle. Not sure its enough to sneak the pan out though.