i have an 81 camaro with a 350ci with a pain in the *** leak. i was curious before i get under the damn thing if anyone has also been through this. I tried changing my headers and i ended up not having enough clearance to pull the headers out and i don't want to go through the same issue with the oil pan.

I have a normal jack and some ramps to drive the car on. I figure it cant be too difficult; drain oil, undo some bolts, clean it real well, throw a new gasket on there, and bolt it back on.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

i think you have to lift the motor up a bit to get it out!

 

i was talking to a buddy of mine and he said the same thing. Hm..now im thinking of just going down to the auto parts store and getting some sealant haha.

 

May not be the oil pan either. Chevy's are notorious for rear main seal leaks, so if it's coming from the back a gasket might not get it done.
You will have to pull the motor mount bolts and raise the engine, then a block under the balancer will hold it while you change the gasket or rear main seal.

 

I agree, it is more likely a rear main seal.

 

well that sounds very intimidating ha. I have little to no experience in pulling motors and doing these types of repairs. This is also my only source of transportation but i live in a college town so i don't really need a car. what do you guys think...should i tackle this project or should i leave it to the professionals? It's not that im lazy and im definitely not a rich kid, i just want it done right the first time. I guess i just want to know is this something that someone like me can do?

 

Pulling the engine is pretty simple, I did a engine swap a couple months ago and it all went alot simpler then I thought it would but at first i was like you thinking that it might suck.
First off I'd put it on the ramps like you said you have and check to see what the real issue is. Clean it up maybe power wash it but get it clean so you can see where the leak is, then if it's simple and just a bad gasket decide if you want to pull the pan or just try the sealant. the sealant might not work and you might need to regasket it anyway. If it's the rear main seal well that's something else entirely.

 

You don't pull the engine, you simply pull the two through bolts that attach the motor mounts to the frame mounts, then raise the engine and the pan can be pulled.
That said, it's not something a first timer should tackle alone for safety reasons to start with, and then for mechanical reasons. You'll need a good basic tool set, and also some mechanical skills to take on the task, and it's not a beginner job.
I've never heard opf anyone having any success with sealant to stop gasket leaks, unless it was sealant that went on the new gasket, not in the engine oil.

 

well damn. i went on youtube and i was looking at a few examples of what a rear main seal looks like and how to go about changing it. The guys on the Power Block on SPIKE make everything look so easy and pretty and they boost my confidence and make me think i can build and tune an engine in 30 minutes. but the guys on youtube are real and it looks like a ton of work that i won't be capable of. looks like i'll have to fork out a couple hundred.

But, i also have a transmission leak. It is leaking from where the speedometer cable goes into the transmission. Any recommendations on that problem?

 

I would get a mechanic. One reason for sure is if you don't have the skill set yet, tightening the pan bolts can be tricky. Too tight and you'll deform the pan and it will still leak, maybe worse. Not tight enough, same deal. It takes a while to have the feel for something like that.

BUT if you want to learn. Then have at it. Nothing is better than experience. If you bomb it a mechanic can surely fix it for roughly the same price as if you didn't mess with it. My buddies shop has a sign on the wall say all prices double if you tried to make the repair first, LOL He's only teasing people but you get the point.