The Force Awakens...

Dorian is Going to Smuggle back every single Chevrolet SBC & Corvettes parts He can.
His Suitcase will weigh 700 lbs.
When he goes through the Metal Detector it will go off.
Full Body Cavity Search and they will Just Find More Corvette Parts.
 
Finally - BACK... after two snow storms...

The vibration is: gone !

Here you will see a pic of the trans rear mount. The rear of the trans is slightly raised and, if you look carefully, you can see the tear in the rubber.

1.jpg

Here is comparing to the new part - the mount was almost completely perished; it was pretty much worn flat. Can't have been good for the driveshaft geometry.

2.jpg

And, installed. The ride is muuuuch smoother...

3.jpg
 
I also replaced the oil pan gasket with a new, single piece. It was remarkably easy and smooth.

However, the fuel pump gasket seems to be leaking bad. My guess is it's those damn recessed allen head bolts. 'can't get a proper torque on there. Looks like I will have to start that one over again with new gaskets. I think I may replace the bolts as well.

Once that is done, we may have a drive-quality car.

From there it will be incremental upgrades.
 
Oh, and I tightened the bracket mounting the shifter to the trans: a world of a difference. It feels much more positive and the vagueness is gone. Much more pleasant to drive.
 
I hope you carefully cleaned and de-greased the bolt threads and used carb cleaner spray to de-grease and flush the female threaded bolt holes in the trans and put a couple drops of loc-tite on those shifter bracket bolt threads, so it stays firmly fastened or youll eventually find that your back under the car duplicating that effort.
 
Ummm. Yeah... Yeaaaahhh, umm. Where’s my wrench ? No reason. o_O

Yep. I did.
 
And of course, the leak is NOT coming from the fuel pump...

It is coming from the front of the block where it is getting blown around all over the place when driving fast making it difficult to pinpoint the exact source.

From what I can tell there is a drop of oil or so forming every few seconds coming from the bottom of the timing chain cover, so on the outside of the blue, one piece gasket. - I am now beginning to suspect a cheap timing chain cover (everything about this engine seems to be done on the cheap) that is not properly radius-welded but spot-welded on the inside. I thought I noticed that at the time it was off and thinking it was weird.

I am debating on whether to drop the pan and reuse the one piece FelPro oil pan gasket but with some silicone sealant - there WAS no leak when I got this car and prior to me changing the cam. I had noticed a lot of RTV at the bottom of the timing chain cover when I initially removed it and thought that was odd too.

I do not like at all that little bit of smoke coming from the headers. It is almost a matter or ride for me - but on the other hand, I do not want to invest too much into this engine.

Tempted to try first RTV and if it really doesn't work - replacing the timing chain cover.

What are your thoughts, Gentlemen?
 
It could be timing cover/oil pan that's leaking, but what about oil coming from the front of the
intake manifold and running down. The new oil could be hard to see. Looks like you need to
run by the car wash, then come back home and let it run in the driveway while you verify
where the oil is coming from.

Watch closely and see if you can tell if the leak is between the pan gasket and pan .... or ..... is
it between the the timing cover and pan gasket ..... or is it coming from the manifold.
 
I did just that. Cleaned everything to a sparkle and unequivocally verified where the leak was coming from.

You see the drop beading from the outside of the oil pan gasket, from the timing cover down - immediately from there. Not from the oil seal either.

I’m hoping I can salvage with RTV. Dropping everything to slap on a new timing chain cover would... suck
 
Must be the Cover..timing cover.
Original GM is often real good.
After many owners parts get beat screwed up.
Moroso makes stock replacement oil pans.
Fit a tight budget.
Cloyes Timing cover bought new.
John and me both think best for a SBC.
Sometimes have to start all new to avoid oil leaks.
 
Gentlemen... hmmmmmmm...

I just not sure this lump is worth investing the time, trouble and expense of a new cover of avoidable.

Anything we can do to avoid that ?
 
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