62 Oil Leak Part 2

[John T.]

Thanks to those who replied to part 1. I have now used both the UV dye and powder method to establish that the leak is in fact between the pan lip and the bottom of the timing cover not the crank seal.

Still looking for thoughts on sealer for the front of the pan. I know I should not need it but I am out of other ideas. Original oil pan and timing cover which I really want to keep. They seem to be undamaged. Current pan gasket is the correct for early style pan one piece (I tried with the original style gaskets twice) but I continue to have a small but constant drip (even without the engine running) between the lip of the pan and the timing cover. Any help would be appreciated.

[Mike McKown]

permatex #2

messy but effective.

[John D.]

Re: permatex #2

Mike, Was wondering why you recommended #2. It doesn't get hard does it. Remains pliable. I use #3 which is called Aviation. Sets up and stops the leads. My friend even takes the lid off the #3 and lets it get real thick and then uses it. I tried #1 but don't like it at all. I use #3 for the FI pump seal installation. Thanks, John D.
John. Try another timing gear cover. Seems like that may be the problem. Maybe bubba worked it over one time.

[Eugene B.]

Re: 62 Oil Leak Part 2

John,
Perhaps the FelPro, one piece oil pan gasket would be a solution to your problem. I personaly don't like the larger, blue gasket; but it might allow you to keep your original pan and timing gear cover.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regards,
Gene

[Mike B.]

Re: 62 Oil Leak Part 2

You probably already thought of this but there are two slightly different curvatures on the front of the pan, thus two different thickness seals are provided in a pan gasked set. Could it be a mis-match there?

Another avenue may be to try the stop leak preparations that are added to the crankcase. They cause the seals to swell slightly and might do the trick. I don't normally suggest these types of bubba fixes but at this point it might be worth a try. There are several brands available at your local auto parts store for around $5.00.

[John O.]

Re: 62 Oil Leak Part 2

Hi John

I had the exact same problem with a 350 engine in my 56 chevy. I changed the oil pan gasket twice, still leaked. Finally I went to the one piece gasket. Still leaked.One thing I did on the oil pan was where all the holes are, I flattened the holes by putting a piece of metal on the gasket side and with a hammer and another piece of metal, tapped the other side to flatten it out. When you tighten the bolts you tend to indent the area where the hole is, thus a possible leak. Well anyways, I still had a leak at the front. I finally took the HARMONIC BALANCER off and noticed a path of oil from the bottom of the seal to the oil pan.On the harmonic balancer shaft that goes through the seal, there was a wear line around the shaft. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM. I replaced the seal and the harmonic balancer and the leak stopped.You'll be suprised how oil follows paths and makes you think the leak is there when in fact it is else where.If I were you,I would pull the balancer off and check the shaft.Clean it real good to look for the wear line. Some are worse than others.Also check around the timing chain cover.

Good luck...John

[Mike McKown]

Re: permatex #2

No particular reason for recommending #2 except it's worked for me on similar leaks. I try to avoid using all that brown Permatex.

Somebody could have sprung the front of that pan trying to use the large timing seal on it. If they did, it could be hard to spot.

[John H.]

Re: 62 Oil Leak Part 2

Or a previous Bubba may have clipped the corners off the seal channel on the timing cover and/or bent it to remove the timing cover without having to drop the oil pan - have seen lots of these.

[Joe L.]

Re: 62 Oil Leak Part 2

John------

I would apply Permatex Ultra-Copper RTV sealant to both sides of the gasket in the area where the leak is occurring. Make sure that you get a good "daub" at the corners. Let the sealer cure overnight before you start the engine.