I have a 79 350 with the ****py chrome oil pan, yea guess what it leaks. I have a brand new one piece fel pro gasket, and I have an oil leak at the front of the pan. I appears that the pan is not as tight to the gasket as it could be and there is oil seeping out. I cannot remove the pan without taking the motor out, and I cannot remove the motor because I have to get this thing together (my 36) for a show in a month. So, can I do anything with the pan on to help this? Can I tap the pan to contour it better? Is the a sealant I can use?
I got one to seal pretty good by cleaning the front of the area at the pan/timing cover with spray brake cleaner, then blowing it dry with compressed air, and sealing the gap with a good silicone based gasket sealer (permatex). Pack the sealer in good and let it cure/dry completely before starting the engine. The one I fixed (Chev 350) is still going after about 2 1/2 years in one of our brush fire trucks. She's gotten some serious use in the last few years. overspray
53SLED Is probably right, chevy made 2 different front oil pan seals. One was thicker than the other. you may have to cut up that one piece seal, replace the front seal, and rtv the gap in between. Carlg
I ran a bead of thick sealant on the seam between the oil pan and the timing cover and it sealed up, but its not really the best solution but its working for now. I tried three different gaskets and they all leaked. So ill have the ghetto fix untill I can pull the motor out ( or at least up a few inches ) and replace the oil pan and the timing cover. If some one can show me a trick to removing the oil pan on a V8 in a 54 Chevy with out taking the motor out It would save a lot of time, dont want to hijack the thread so PM me.
Not show chrome, it was bought before I knew better. The car is also not a show car, the only reaon it is in the show is because is has been in the family since 1971. It is also a club display.
felpro makes two one peice gaskets.the early one is thicker at the timing chain cover, part#os 34509t. putting sealer on the old gasket is like putting a band aid on a bullet wound.bite the bullet and do it right. -danny
I've had real good luck running a bead of sealant as has already been suggested, then take your shop vac and hook it up to one of your valve covers (oil cap or breather hole). Cover up the other valve cover hole with your hand to create a vacuum inside the crankcase, and it'll draw some of the rtv into the gap. I haven't done this on an oil pan but it worked real well on an SBC intake manifold end rail. Good luck.
for a quick fix , seat up the motor except one vent , and put a va***m cleaner on that one to create a va***m inside the crankcase...then goober on some silicone selaer in the area that's leaking , the va***m will **** it in clean the oil in that area as best as you can first , so it will stick worked for me once
I did this on a Chevy cast iron v-6 and it works. Clean the front of the pan with brake clean several times to make sure it is clean. Go to you local Toyota dealer and buy the best silicone on the market. It is called Toyota oil pan sealer, cost about $12.00 a tube. Take and coat the front of the pan with this silicone using you finger. Let it dry and do it again. The car that this was done on is still on the road with no leaks and this was 3 years ago.
take a long punch, grind a point on it, but blunt,not sharp where it will punch a hole in the metal, then start with the punch where the pan meets the seal on the timing cover and start with the punch, don't get wild with the hammer, just tap the metal around the radius, this will tighten up the metal without punching a hole in the pan, it will work in 90 percent of the cases, I have used this several times and it works......if it is leaking around the radius of the pan.........
Take the chinese chrome oil pan off the engine, find a construction site with big equipment like bulldozers and stuff, and toss the chrome oil pan in front of the tread of a moving Cat D9. Then get a stock pan, clean and paint it so it looks ok, and put it on the engine. Problem solved.
agreed completely. you don't want show chrome pan from Wang's Chrome and Donut Factory on your car.disconnect, lift motor, change pan to real one with right gasket right on the picker and lower back down and complete. Worth the efforts of a day in my opinion.That said, wanted to point out that I prefer to use aircraft sealer over silicon stuff. I find it does a much better, long term job of sealing.-scott noteboom
BTW - This works great for changing leaking Drain plugs w/o draining the oil as well. I always put a rag between the vac and valve cover so no oil gets into the vac.
I just looked ast it again, and it almost seems to be comming from the bottom of the timing cover where it overlaps the pan. It is possible a bad fit there can cause a leak as well?
That's where they usually leak. You need the thick seal, which is for the 75-86 engines, the early seal is too thin. And if you mix the chrome pan with the chrome timing cover you're screwed, the thing will never fit or seal.
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