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engine oil on bottom of motor

chenango kid

New member
i am am in the process of pulling the Tranny 98 gtp . and I have had an oil leak all over the bottom of Motor . while I have the Trans out could you give me some advice on which way to go about fixing oil leak? I am thinking it is probably pan gasket or rear seal . the sending unit is dry . I have the subframe off and will be pulling the trans probably next week when I have time. this forum is great I have gotten some great info from it thanks . the trans channel plate is cracked .that is why I am pulling the tranny /
 


if you got dot of oil off every pan bolt its pan gasket time. while the tranny is out check the rear seal and cover, the cover likes to leak and the bolts are a low tq and come loose over time and leak. so if you see wet oil stains up the bottom sides of the cover, do that too.

you'll want to use thread sealant on the pan bolts, and a dot of loctight on the rear cover bolts.
 
yes oil is on every pan bolt . I have trans ready to come out just need to remove bell housing bolts and some time probably next week . thanks for your advice I will order pan gasket and check rear cover when I get trans out . thanks again . I use RTV on bolt threads and a thin coat on most gaskets I install .
 
i used thread sealant like this. any brand with ptfe will work just fine.

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the pan gasket, you'll want to do a nice smear on the block, and the pan, as well as if the rear cover comes off rtv the bottom 2 inches on both sides of the gasket.

if you do do the rear cover take the pan off, then do the rear cover, use a straight edge across the block to make sure the cover is even with the block bottom. the bolts that hold the cover on have a small plastic spacer, try not to break them or loose them. you'll need to reuse as many as you have left. one or more will break. wont be your fault. then install the pan while the rtv is still fresh on the rear cover.

and the worst part of the rear cover is you cant do it on the stand really, needs to be up side down on the floor, i flipped mine over on a old tire.
 
thanks for info scottydogs . I am definitely gonna change the pan gasket .and will see what the rear cover looks like when I remove tranny . but I don't understand what you mean when you say the rear cover needs to be upside down on the floor. I wont have the motor out of car . I am only pulling the tranny to replace the channel plate that has a crack where the axle seal fits . and hoping I will be able to take care of that since I never took apart a tranny before . but I would love to stop the oil leak while I have it out . the car only has 120k on it and it runs great . I think when my son crashed on that side and he bent the strut and control arm it must of put a hairline crack in the channel plate where the seal sits in but it never leaked for a few years until recently and I thought it was just the axle seal . but when I pulled the old one out I saw the cracked channel plate right where the seal sits in .. anyway so hopefully I can fix the oil leak also . i don't need the car right away so i can take my time which is always a plus .
 


oh i was thinking engine out, cant do the rear cover if its on a engine stand. and with the pan off, it needs to be upside down to work on it.

hanging off a hoist you'll be fine.
 
With the subframe out, pan gasket, rear cover gasket are no brainers, just do it... Change valve cover gaskets too...

Scotty, rear cover in stand isn't so bad at all, done it twice ; ). Biggest thing is making sure you set the rear seal (depth) correctly.

anyways...
 
i had mine on the stand to start, and it just didnt look like fun, also still had the flex on there, and there was no room to get to them bolts on the stand at all.

i was down to a short block so i literally picked it up and slide it off the stand, then humped it back up and back on the stand, solo, aka beast mode. when i junked the old engine it was about 300 lbs minus lim and blower. heads are about 40 each, so i figure i dead lifted 200 lbs easy, yup, im a big boy.......lol
 
I could of used your help with the Tranny . I wish I got the car up just a little higher to start . anyway I pulled the trans and the rear cover looks dry at first glance so it looks like just the oil pan is leaking but I will get a real good look tomorrow . also I ordered felpro pan gasket should I still coat it with Rtv just to be sure? and I guess I should change rear cover gasket while I have it apart .
 
if you buy a lower conversion gasket kit its like 30 bucks, comes with the front and rear cover gaskets, crank seals, pan gasket, oil filter housing and water pump gaskets. for the same price as just the pan on its own.

yes rtv the block then rtv the pan, and put it back together with thread sealant on the pan bolts. spray some brake cleaner on a rag clean the block up nice, same for the pan.
 


oh wow yes it cost like 30 just for the felpro pan gasket . ok thanks for info . I was trying to save some money cause I need a channel plate about 200 and no credit for my old one cause its cracked but that's life . at least the trans was not too bad coming out except I should of raise the car a little higher . thinking of changing the compressor also it was leaking through the gaskets but wiyh my luck the evap or condenser might leak at this point . but I appreciate all the advice .
 
it says in the manual to remove the oil level sensor before removing the oil pan . do I need to remove it first ? I canceled the oilpan gasket and ordered the conversion kit and it was cheaper than just the gasket alone go figure thanks for the info .
 
Mr. Doggs
Are you saying to use a full bead of RTV around the entire perimeter of the pan and block and then still use the oil pan gasket? I did my gasket a little over a year ago and its leaking again. I'm pulling the engine so I want to be sure once it goes into the 07 the f**ker doesn't leak again.
 
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yes not a bead tho, smear it across the surface at about 2 mm thick, pan and engine block. aka gasket and rtv samich

i think the thread sealant helps a lot too. once the pan is off you can see throught the pan bolt threaded holes in the block. im betting most of the leaks are the bolts, not so much the gasket, buy why take a chance. mines installed like this 2 years now, bone dry under there still.
 
Wonder if you could pull 1 pan bolt at a time and coat with sealer and re torque. Or would that cause gasket issues?


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one bolt at a time wont hurt any thing. be a hell of a test.

just make em snug and then a 1/4 turn, they are small bolts.
 
i was gonna put rtv on the pan and block since i always use rtv and never have a problem but it does say with the felpro gasket not to use any sealer on the gasket itself . and what about pulling the oil level sensor do i need to remove it before i pull the pan off? thaks Scotty
 
i was gonna put rtv on the pan and block since i always use rtv and never have a problem but it does say with the felpro gasket not to use any sealer on the gasket itself . and what about pulling the oil level sensor do i need to remove it before i pull the pan off? thaks Scotty

I used the same Fel-pro gasket that said do not use RTV and it leaked. I'm going to slather it up with rtv this time!!!
 
that oil sensor on the pan, you need a pick to un clip its plug, then you just unscrew it. remove it before you try to take the pan off or you'll break it.
 
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