[jumpstart]

Just wondering if anyones been brave enough to try to replace an oil pan gasket on a 350 in a 69 Camaro while still in the car? I know there's not enough room to drop and remove the pan while the engine is in the car, but I really don't want to pull it out. Looks like the pan gasket is leaking either at the rails or the timing cover/pan seal. The balancer seal was replaced last summer with a new SFI balancer so I know it's not grooved. Thanks for any advice.

[67 Plum]

I pulled the pan on my 67 to replace a leaking rear main seal. It has a stock pan I had to pull mount bolts and raise engine an inch or so to get the pan out. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

[Vintage 68]

It can be done with the engine in car without much trouble.
Do a "search" on here for past posts on this -

A couple of quick "pointers" (others feel free to jump-in!);
- remove the distributor cap "before" jacking up the motor - have someone watching "up-top" if possible (or check often yourself) while jacking.
- raise the motor on a solid are of the block, Do Not raise by the Damper or you can damage the Damper and/or Crank.
- put solid supports (such as a couple of short pieces of 2x4) between the engine and frame mounts to prevent the engine from dropping at the wrong time.
- "clock" the Crankshaft for the most clearance in the front of the pan, this gets the front counterwieghts out of the way of the front pan lip - you can look in and see/do this from the front.
- While you in-there, check the Rear Main Seal, Oil Pick-up, Shaft Sleeve & ect.
- read all the info you can find on oil pan gasket replacement on here before you start...

Hope this helps;

John

[BPOS]

...and consider using a one piece oil pan gasket. They are a bit on the spendy side, but work very well....

[prostreet69camaro]

If you use a one piece oil pan gasket make sure you use a thin coat of RTV on the corners of the four outside corners of the gasket. Also you can remove the idler arm from the frame and the front center link will come down to give the pan some clearance.

[jimfulco]

Turn the damper so the timing mark is at the 6:00 position for more clearance.

[rojo]

If you have headers with factory A/C you may have to remove the passenger side header, at least I did. I used a couple of large 1/2" drive sockets instead of 2x4's under the motor mounts to let the engine rest on.

[RickD]

Don't forget to unbolt the tranny mount. Also, undo the radiator hoses and see if there's enough slack in the ground cables/wiring.

[Eric68]

All good advice so far . . . I found that clocking the crankshaft so the TDC mark on the balancer is at the 5:00 position is the best bet.

Also, if you use the Felpro one piece gasket (its a good gasket) don't use those little plastic guide-pin dealies on the front . . . they are very easy to snap off in the block when you are tring to put the oil pan back on.

[Vintage 68]

Originally posted by RickD:
Don't forget to unbolt the tranny mount. Also, undo the radiator hoses and see if there's enough slack in the ground cables/wiring.

- Uhhhh, maybe "loosen" the trans mount if necessary (they can flex enough to raise the front of the engine a couple inches) But, I would never "unbolt" it.
You need something to hold the engine in place besides the exhaust system and heater hoses...
An engine shifting to the rear on a jack could cause all kinds of wierd (read expensive and painfull) things to happen while you are under the car prying on the oil pan.

[RickD]

I needed to unbolt with the poly mount !