i have a huge oil leak coming from my rear main. my question is do i have to yank the motor out to put a new pan and gaskets? i dont wanna do any short cuts if it risks me breaking something or whatever.. alright later guys,.
shaun

------------------
1987 IROC-Z
355ci, Dart 2.02x1.60, compete forged bottom end, SLP siamesed runners, fully ported Edelbrock manifold and plenum, 58mm TB, Accel 26lb Injectors, Edelbrock headers & y-pipe, Flowmaster 3" cat-back, Rebuilt 700r4, B&M Megashifter, Holley 255lph fuel pump, triple guage pod, !A/C & Heat, !Smog pump, bypassed TB, MJS Ram air, custom PROM, Lakewood control lower control arms, Lakewood adjustable pan hard, Sub-Frames, Hotchkis Strut tower brace, Adjustable Torque Arm, 150hp NOS
IROC Pix

 

Are you talking rear main seal or oil pan seal?

I've heard of people rplacing main bearings in the f-bodies with out pulling the motor so an oil pan shouldn't me a problem.

The rear main seel, you'll need to disconnect the tranny from the motor, unbolt the TC and Flex plate, then you can get a clear shot at the rear main seal. If you have the money you might as well chance the TC and upgrade the flexplate to something bigger.

 

well i bought a gasket set, and a new oil pan. and im going to change all of it.
im just hoping i dont have to pull the motor or drop the tranny AGAIN!....

 

Sorry man, you are in for a real pain in the azz, unless you have access to a lift. I reccomend getting access to a lift before you attempt this, becuase this is one job that I never want to haev to do again while the car is on the ground. of course, I had to replace my entire oil pan, so my job was more involoved that yours hopefully is. You MIGHT be able to get away with just pulling the pan bolts and letting the pan hang down a bit, the sliding the new gasket out and repalcing it. Remember, you have to be able to stick your hands in there or align the gasket in such a way that the hole on the pass. side slips around the dipstick tube. In order to replace the pan, I had to jack the car up fairly high, unbolt it. I then had to drop the y-pipe (I have stock exhaust from the manifold to the cat...) I just unbolted the y-pipe from the manifolds and loosened the clamp on the cat, and just let it hang down a little. You will also need to remove your starter, as it is impossible to get to a couple of the oil pan bolts with it still there. In orer to remove the oil pan, I had to jack up the engine, which sucked a big one . In order to do that, I had no other choice but to jack it up by the harmonic ballancer, which is probably a no-no. Be very careful, as the ballancer is round and the jack has a tendancy to slip.....(almost got a finger taken off cause it was betweenthe flexplate and oil pan and the jack slipped.....scared the **** outa me) Anyway, you'll have to jack around with the pan, it'll eventually come out, you may need to "persuade" it with a long board and a sledge hammer, cause I did (probably cause my oil pan was toast and the inside of it was hitting somehing it wasnt supposed to). If you need more info, let me know. Before you do this in your driveway, seriously consider finding someone who will let you borrow a lift, as it will make the job like a bajillion timer easier. If you are on a lift, you'd probably need a tranny jack or something to lift the motor while you are working on the pan.