My 1995 LT1 Camaro has an oil leak (big surprise) oil seems to be coming from the top of the rear of the motor. My friends tell me (TransAmGT) tell me that it is the intake manifold gasket. Is is possible for that to be leaking so badly that oil is covering the bottom of my car and smoking after the car has been run hard i.e. high oil pressure? or am i looking at something more serious like the rear main seal. What are some other locations at the rear of the motor that would cause it to smoke after high oil pressure?


thanks for your help

 

It is absolutely, and most likely possible. I had to deal with it over the summer after a top-end rebuild. It's a pain in the butt, but not that difficult to fix. Get it done as soon as possible...my leak grew worse as time went on.

 

alright, it is getting done this weekend, i just wanted to hear it from other people with LT1's and before i took the time and effort to take the entire manifold off to replace the gasket and have it not be the leak. Should i be able to see where it was leaking from like a break or a really worn spot? or will it just look normal and ahve a bad seal.

any tips/tricks to doing this?

 

Actually, when I pulled mine, I could see where the leak was. I could see in the RTV where the leak had begun and got bigger. As far as tricks to doing it...Not necessarily tricks, but 2 big things. Make sure the mating surfaces are clean (I cleaned them thoroughly with acetone) and take the time to set the intake in straight down. Moving it around trying to find the bolt holes can cause the RTV to distort, and can gap and cause leaks. OK...there are a couple of techniques I used that I think may help you. 1. I took a small punch and stippled the block and intake to give a better gripping surface for the RTV. It worked for me, but it's your call either way.

2. I personally recommend the import gray RTV. The temp rating is up there with the "Special" high-temp stuff, and I think it is better stuff. (We used the Dow-Corning supplied stuff on our F-14's chin-pods, and it held up to MACH-1+ speeds. That was proof enough for me!)

Good luck....I hope you nail it. It's a real annoyance!

 

cool
preciate it


i am familiar with all the RTV stuff as i think i replaced every gasket sans the head gasket on my old 240. Blue goo is a good ol friend of mine but i think i am going to use the black or grey as you said.

the not moving the manifold part, yeah, thats a duh with any RTV. i appreciate your help

 

Right on. Good luck. I would say to you though...you might want to stay away from the black RTV. I used it first, and it didn't work out. (Also I hear it will kill O2 sensors.) other than that...It's nothing special.

 

Use "The Right Stuff", Ultra Grey or Ultra Copper. Make sure the bead is like a 1/4 inch thick and goes a half inch up the heads. Let it sit for 20 min. before putting on the intake manifold. Don't run it for 24 hours to make sure it seals.

 

k

the reason i said RTV black is cuz i read it somewhere, i forgot, to use it for intake mani. I think it might be one saturday watching good ol horsepower TV or something

lol

 

My manifold is off right now for the very same leak. I didn't let the black rtv cure after i did my cam/valvetrain work.. so i was missing 1/2 the back gasket. Heh. I was also told to use the black RTV.. But I also have some ultra copper.. Which should I use then?

 

You can verify it's the intake seal leaking by running your fingers along the back of the motor, where the intake meets the heads. If it's the intake leaking, your fingers should get covered in oil.

I've done two of these so far ... mine and my brothers. Mine about 15k miles ago, and my brothers about 10k miles ago. Neither one has leaked a drop since.

Once you get the intake off, stuff some rags into the ports of the heads to prevent junk from falling inside. Then clean the mating surfaces up (I used a wire wheel to clean mine)

I used black RTV on both cars. As a matter of fact, the GM replacement gasket comes with a small tube of black RTV; although you may need a bit more to complete the job.

As stated above, let the RTV cure for about 20 mins before putting the intake back on. This will ensure you get a good seal. Oh, and don't forget to remove the rags before putting the intake back on! ... LOL

It's really not that bad of a job. The worst part for me was remembering where all of the wires/connectors/vacuum hoses went after getting the intake back on. Might not be a bad idea to grab your digital camera and take a few shots of each side of the intake before pulling it apart. That'll make it very easy to put everything right back where it belongs.

Have fun,
Thomas.

 

my intake manifold started leaking at 16k miles. i fixed it with Ultra Copper and now at 27,840 mi, it just started leaking again. i did not dimple the surfaces with a punch as mentioned but i will this time. i've also been told to use the grey RTV and that is what's recomended by GM. also mentioned was setting the intake down straight. i found a good way to do this was to cut 2 Bic pens to about 2 1/2" long. then put the pens down into the holes that the intake bolts thread into. one toward the front and one in back on the opposite side. these will act as dowels to guide the intake on straight.
also, when you get it all back together, let it sit for about 24 hrs to let the RTV set-up before cranking it up.
here's a link that gives some ideas. good luck.
http://www.projecttransam.com/projects2.asp

 

Here is a couple of pics of my leak.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...66235728sVmODm
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...66235867zzWVBG
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...66236066ZpLgaF

It can nasty up the bottom of the car pretty bad.
Jeff D.

 

I have the same damn leak at 16,000 miles but it's only a drop here and there. Poorman, nice photobook and do you post on z28.com? I've seen the name before. I'm emile turks on there.

 

thanks you guys,

the whole bottom of my car is nasty with a bunch of oil.

i hope this fixes it and it isnt the rear main seal.

 

I got my intake and everythng hooked up today.. Now I just have to endure sitting around doing nothing tommorow till the rtv cures. Really, only reason I fixed it was I was denied an oil change due to "massive oil leaks everywere" as I was told. It's easier for me to let someone change my oil then me do it. But oh well. I'm hoping the same thing about it not really being the rear main seal. I do have a front oil leak somewhere, guess I need to tear the front up.