Stephanie's Bad 79

I have a leak (as usual) from what seems to be the rear-main seal and possibly the oil pan. How much in California Money should it sot to replace these? And, why, oh why, does my power steering STILL leak from a 6-month old NEW control valve????
I replaced the hose that blew on Friday, and after detailing the H :mad ll out it, found a leaking valve. :cry

Paul L

Stephanie,
The flat rate for that job is about 3 1/2 hours at whatever dollars are involved in your area.. That assumes that you have stock exhaust with front Y-pipe that has to be dropped to get the pan off.

Paul

Stephanie's Bad 79

Hi Paul! Hows' that wicked 79 of yours? Anywho - Corvette Fever just ran an article on this and they said all they did was remove two bolts for the idler arm so that the oil pan could be finessed out - no exhaust drop, no tranny drop, nothing. Then they also suggested to replace the rear seal on the crankshaft while you're in there. What I am afraid of, is being told by some less-than-honest mechanic (though WE know there are none of those) that the tranny has to come out, etc.
I was just curious about the possible cost - if you say about 3 1/2 hours, then I'll keep that in mind.
As always, you have come through for me! Kisses :seeya

Paul L

Stephanie,
I thought you meant the rear main seal and not just the pan. It is a split/half-moon seal so the transmission does not have to be dropped, only the back main bearing cap. There are many archived articles as to how to get that seal out. If you have stock exhaust, the front Y-pipe does have to come down to get the pan off and get access to the seal. One problem you may encounter are the exhaust manifold studs: getting the nuts on them loose to drop the pipe. I remember a July day two summers ago when I did that job. Took eight hours with a torch, stud puller and drills. Should have gone to a muffler shop. Nothing on these cars is easy. But, Nice to see you Back! How is that armrest?






[Modified by paul79, 11:19 PM 1/17/2002]

Stephanie's Bad 79

Thanks, Paul, it's good to see you too! Ah, the bearing cap - may as well grease up that baby.
I think my exhaust is stock to the cat, so I guess you're right about dropping the pipes - crap. :nonod:
The armrest is SO PERFECTOMUNDO wish i had one for the right side! It looks bitchin after I painted it, matches perfectly, and is way better than the original!
Well, I am waiting on my new power steering control valve to come (Corvette Central is replacing the new one I just bought) and I'll have the Vette guy look at the rea main at the same time. It's just that I've been unemployed for four months and am running out of dinero.
Oh well, whadda ya gonna do? ;)
Take care and hope all is well.

VegasJen

stephanie, there are a couple of things you can't forget about this job. i'm not trying to be the bearer of bad news, you should just not be surprised to hear it after some mechanic has the car on the lift and the bottom of the engine apart. this job should be easy and relatively inexpensive providing you find a reputable mechanic. if the rear main seal leaks that bad, why? hmmm, is the rear main seal just worn out that bad? i suppose it's possible if you have lots of hard miles but it's also possible that there is something that "cut" the seal. if so, then did the piece that cut it go through the rear bearing? don't be surprised if you hear something like that and remember your best two friends when you go into a shop are the words "show me". rear main seal leaks are not that uncommon but make sure that the bearing is still in good shape (that will be easy to do since the main cap has to come off and ask to see it so "they" don't have any more opportunity to screw with you, even if you don't know what your looking at). also, find out what the crank sealing surface looks like. if it has been cut, they might throw a new seal in it and three months down the road your still leaking oil.

Binnie77

I just completed this task myself and it is no big deal. Remove the idler arm bolts and pull the steering linkage down as far as you need it to go. Drop the oil pan. Remove the oil pump bolt and drop the oil pump. Remove the rear main. Take an awl with a blunt tip or similiar tool and push the upper half of the lip seal around far enough to grab the other end of it. After cleaning things up and all gasket surfaces, lubricate one half of the new lip seal and push it up around the block. Make sure you the lip is pointing toward the front of the engine. Place the other half in the rear bearing cap and put a dab of sealant on each end of the seal and replace main cap and torque to spec. Replace the oil pump making sure that the slot in the pump shaft is aligned with the distibutor shaft and torque bolt to spec. If you buy the Felpro one piece oil pan gasket which is reusable then installing it is a cinch. Just follow the instructions with the Felpro gasket which even comes with new bolts and aligning studs for a simple install. Bolt the idler arm back in place. There .... your leaks are gone ... Oh yes...put some oil in the pan before you start the engine :D


[Modified by Binnie77, 8:44 AM 1/18/2002]


[Modified by Binnie77, 8:45 AM 1/18/2002]

Frankenvette

My vette is on jack stands in the garage waiting for a new rear seal. Glad to hear its not that bad a project. The worst part is the cold garage floor. I sure hope the leak is gone when this is over. I could drop an oil well into my garage floor and sell it :D

Regards,

Jim

82dukman

Me too. thank god it is sleeping for the winter :)
I'm going to wait until closer to the spring to do mine.


[Modified by 82dukman, 1:36 PM 1/18/2002]

corvgreg

I've been inactive on this board for awhile and want to let anyone in the San Diego area know that I do honest and quality restoration and repair out of my home garage in the Granite Hills area of El Cajon at very reasonable rates. I completely restored my own '71 and can help with anything except for bodywork and paint.
Thanks,
Greg