0-60C6

Replacing my main rear oil seal soon, and wanted to upgrade my oil barbell, which brand/s are the best.
I also heard something about the 2 rubber o-ring design being bad?

Edit: Also looking for suggestions for which brand rear main oil seal to get.

thx!

Spaceme1117

Billet Barbell :
Billet-BarBell

As for a rear main seal, I would go with an OEM GM seal.

0-60C6

I’m looking at the sac city vette website and they also offer an oil Billet Bypass Delete. I’ve never really paid attention to the underside of where the oil filter screws in so I don’t recall if I have that check valve. Do you think I should also get one of those if I find my vette has it?

Turbo6TA

Upgrade to a "Billet Barbell' ..

What's wrong with just leaving the system the way it came from the factory ?

Is the factory setup flawed ?

0-60C6

apparently it is flawed. I’m still learning the ins and outs but I guess the plastic one in there has loose tolerances, and it’s also made out of plastic.

This one has better tolerances and filters out stuff in your oil at the same level as your oil filter. It also gives a better flow. And oil being so important, I’m more then happy to spend $30 for something that makes a permanent difference.

Aardwolf

I used to do the bypass on older gen 1 SBC but haven't on any new engines. There was sometimes some grit around the spring that wouldn't get flushed through. My old thread: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...er-bypass.html

0-60C6

wow, an oil filter bursting! I try to change mine every 3k miles depending on driving style, and keep off the pedal untill 150F temp.

Spaceme1117

I would only get the Billet Barbell and skip the oil bypass insert.

A stock barbell would also be fine and really is not a problem part at all. The Billet one is nice and if I was going to replace my rear main seal, I would likely get one. It does have tighter tolerances than the factory barbell. But as long as the o-ring is in good shape, the stock one is all you need.

As Turbo6TA pointed out, there really is nothing wrong with the stock one as long as its in good shape. So if you are doing the rear main seal, an OEM GM bar bell replacement is not a bad idea. The billet one is just a bit nicer.

A more worth while upgrade from SacCity would be their C6 Big 3 Wiring Kit. It is basically an upgrade for the charging system.

davidfarmer

I got the sac city because of the reduced diameter of the skinny part. It fit perfectly in my ls2, no sanding etc required.

m295hv Melling pump as well.

0-60C6

This is what I ended up going with on the main rear oil seal.


because of this video.

Ditcher

I used a billet barbell and its been doing good. Don't remember the brand. I may have the b0x still. I bought the GM updated back plate with rear main seal.

Spaceme1117

I forgot about this video. Good idea to go this way.

DaOtherOne

Improved racing has a very nice billet barbell.

https://www.improvedracing.com/ls-en...g-barbell.html

0-60C6

Sorry, another question because I like to be cheap.

For the rear main seal- is this one from C&S corvettes, any different from these 2 that I can buy on Amazon?
1-Better design Rear Main Seal
2-Crankshaft Rear Main Seal

Id have to purchase them separate from Amazon to get what I’d initially get all together from C&S.

Benefits from using Amazon is both items are prime, meaning I can return them for free if anything goes wrong, and a few other things.

The prices are almost the same, if for some weird reason C&S’s design is that much better. But they look identical so…

Have I mentioned I’m cheap?

thx!

666lisa

Hmmm i guess all this ls engines that have 300k miles on them should get a new one.. Not being a smart *** but i think stock proved itself. If ur saying they are failing that's new to me. Over 22yurs with LS engines never heard of one failing but i guess i wasn't looking for an issues all day searching the internet.

0-60C6

Oh stock is definitely fine, i also don’t believe I mentioned anything about a stock unit failing…

I'm just saying that this aftermarket one is better, and if your going to remove the entire drive train to tackle a clutch job and rear main oil seal like I am, why not upgrade this part for $25?

-Also not “looking for an issues all day searching the internet.”

ImprovedRacing

Earlier LS engines (before 2007) had the bypass valve built into the oil pan, and you can see it when you remove the filter. They used the PF44 and PF46 filters, which have no pressure bypass valve. Later, they eliminated it and switched to an oil filter that has a bypass in the filter instead (PF48 and PF64). There is really no reason to delete that bypass valve, but if you do, make sure you switch to an oil filter that has a bypass valve.

That said, the pans also switched to a M22x1.50 filter thread from 13/16"-16 in 2007. So the newer filters that do have a bypass valve won't fit the older pans.

More info here: https://www.improvedracing.com/gm-ls...mber-reference

If you want to delete the valve, and get a filter that does have a bypass valve, you need to find a 13/16"-16 filter with a bypass valve built-in. Here's a good resource we put together with info on filters: https://www.improvedracing.com/manua...erence%20Chart

Regarding the barbell, the factory one works okay but if you have the rear cover removed, you should replace it. Since it's plastic, they can deteriorate with time and allow more oil to bypass it. Our billet barbell performs better, seals better, and flows better, and it doesn't cost much more than the factory plastic one.

One of the issues with the barbells is that you can't get it to fit perfectly tight in the bore because there are some tolerances to the bore in the engine block. So to get a perfect seal, we added an O-ring to the tip of the barbell. With a metal valve, you will either be undersized, or you will have to sand down the barbell to get it to fit in the block. Either way, it's not a perfect seal.

You can purchase ours on our website or on .

subfloor@centurytrans

The stock one is perfectly fine. That's all I've ever run in all the years I've been racing and never once have I thought "damn, I knew I shoulda installed that aftermarket dumbbell".

666lisa

Good point

But if ate broke don't fix it. Just my thoughts GL

Dzv69

Watched a YouTube video, guy was installing a billet aluminum barbell (not the ImprovedRacing unit) and it would only go half way into the block. He had to ream/debur the hole with a 5/8 drill bit with Vasoline on the bit to catch the shavings because of the extremely tight tolerance that the barbel was machined to.