Oil Pan Leak :(

[slvrblt2]

Hey guys, I have some good news and some bad:

The good news is that the car is on the road and I just brought it home today! It was about a 10 minute trip from the shop to my house and the car ran good, and everything seemed OK, oil pressure, temp. etc.

The bad news, which I guess I kind of expected some little things here and there, is that the oil pan is leaking pretty bad from the front of the motor.

I guess I'm just looking for some tips, should I remove the pan and start over with a new gasket? How hard is it to drop the pan and replace the gasket? Also, any tips or tricks when replacing the gasket so I won't run into this problem again. Thanks guys!

Here's a little picture I took today when I got it home, enjoy!

[rydeer]

Car looks good! Did they replace the cam? That is where the leak is most likely to start. You could try cleaning with brake cleaner and then smearing silicone alng the edge where the timing cover meets the oil pan.

[kain13]

^^^ i used that yellow weather strip adhisive in mine worked great, but messy

[slvrblt2]

Yes, I replaced the cam, from what I could see, it looked like it was leaking at the bottom of the timing chain cover, I have a question about the yellow weather strip stuff though, I've used it before but, will it hold up to the heat? What about using RTV down there? I guess if worse comes to worse I'll be dropping the pan

[rydeer]

RTV is silicone!

[COPO]

When I swapped my cam I always used Permatex Red High Temp RTV silicone on the front oil pan to timing cover rubber seal. On the timing cover gasket, I used Permatex 2 Form a Gasket on both sides of the gasket. Then when the pan was bolted back up, I filled the curved channel gap with the Red RTV. No leaks. Also where the pan meets the block you need sealant there too or you will leak oil. Before applying any sealant, clean it good with lacquer thinner or the sealant/RTV will not stick.

When I did the job I removed all the oil pan bolts except for the rear 2, and left them on loose so the pan hung.

[slvrblt2]

Originally Posted by COPO

When I swapped my cam I always used Permatex Red High Temp RTV silicone on the front oil pan to timing cover rubber seal. On the timing cover gasket, I used Permatex 2 Form a Gasket on both sides of the gasket. Then when the pan was bolted back up, I filled the curved channel gap with the Red RTV. No leaks. Also where the pan meets the block you need sealant there too or you will leak oil. Before applying any sealant, clean it good with lacquer thinner or the sealant/RTV will not stick.

When I did the job I removed all the oil pan bolts except for the rear 2, and left them on loose to the pan hung.

Thanks guys, I just got in from the shop, cleaned the area where the pan meets the timing chain cover and found where the leak was, hopefully thats the only one, I used the red high temp silicone to seal up that area, after she sits over night and tomorrow while I'm at work I'll check it out, thanks again!

[harbone66]

Is it a chrome timing cover? I learned my lesson on those a long time ago. I either dont use them or use a wire wheel and try and get all the chrome off anywhere a gasket, seal or rtv is placed. rtv does NOT like sticking to chrome!

[slvrblt2]

Yeah it is chrome, I guess I'll be doing some clean up with a wire brush if what I did tonight doesn't work, thanks for the tip