The Good/The Bad

jleeFJ62 · 02-09-09, 07:14 AM

The Good;
I just wanted to let you all know that i got engaged over the weekend in HHI.

Sorry that i missed out on Bob's place. The place and everyone looked great.

Now for the bad;
I went out to take the cruiser out for a spin sunday night and i noticed that it looked like it had a slight oil leak either coming from the back of the oil pan or the rear main seal.

I was wondering if anyone here has dropped the oil pan and how difficult it was? I'm going order a new oem oil pan gasket and maybe try to put it on myself. I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on it first. I called a few places and they are saying it will be about 3.5 hours of labor for around 65-90 bucks an hour in labor. Should i attempt to drop the oil pan myself or get someone who knows whats going on to do it?

eventhough · 02-09-09, 07:26 AM

CONGRATS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can do it yourself. It might be tight working under there. First make sure where the leak is coming from. There is no reason to change your oil pan gasket when your leak might be coming from your side cover.

Do a search in the 40/55 tech forum - Poser has an excellent write-up on replacing your oil pan gasket.

Replacing the rear main is even more involved.

Did you check with RHT for the work? They give 25% off on service too.

Carp · 02-09-09, 07:32 AM

Congrats on the engagement! It'll be worth it.

Doing the rear main requires either pulling the motor or dropping the transmission/transfer. Neither is fun, but depending on the maintenance of the transfer case, might be able to do both at the same time. I replaced my rear main when I had to rebuild the transfer case, glad I did.

Good luck, let us know what you find out.

eventhough · 02-09-09, 07:35 AM

How bad is the leak? If it is just a little drip you can bring it over to my HAMOM and we can look at it and source the leak.

Heck - come over anytime before and I'll try to track it down for ya.

jleeFJ62 · 02-09-09, 08:16 AM

Thanks for the info guys and Juice i'll def take you up on your offer. I'll try to get over to my cruiser sometime this week and see if i can source the leak. It was dark on sunday and i left the flashlight at home.

VTCruiser · 02-09-09, 08:51 AM

62's have a pretty common oil pan leak problem from between the little "skid-plate" welded to the pan, and the pan itself. Supposedly, dirt etc. gets in there and rusts the pan. First thing to do is clean the pan and other areas you think the leak is coming from (brakleen works well as quick and easy degreaser that dries quickly). Then take it for a spin to heat up the oil and build up some oil pressure. Then take another look a see where it's coming from.

congrats on the engagement, btw. "...another one bites the dust..."

89s rule · 02-09-09, 08:51 AM

Congrats on the engagement! I had no clue that's why you might be back late Sunday.

boombapslappy · 02-09-09, 09:34 AM

Congrats!!

And, subscribed.

BZEP · 02-09-09, 03:16 PM

Congrats on the engagement. So when you having kids???

90FJ62 · 02-09-09, 04:27 PM

Also check the bolts on your oil pan. I had a slight leak on mine and notices all the bolts where a little loose. Tightened them up and it took care of that leak. Still need to replace the rear main on mine though....

Dave

AGreekBoy · 02-09-09, 04:50 PM

congrats on the engagement man. do it yourself as far as the oil leak is concerned.

Trollhole · 02-09-09, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jleeFJ62

The Good;
I just wanted to let you all know that i got engaged over the weekend in HHI.

Sorry that i missed out on Bob's place. The place and everyone looked great.

Now for the bad;
I went out to take the cruiser out for a spin sunday night and i noticed that it looked like it had a slight oil leak either coming from the back of the oil pan or the rear main seal.

I was wondering if anyone here has dropped the oil pan and how difficult it was? I'm going order a new oem oil pan gasket and maybe try to put it on myself. I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on it first. I called a few places and they are saying it will be about 3.5 hours of labor for around 65-90 bucks an hour in labor. Should i attempt to drop the oil pan myself or get someone who knows whats going on to do it?

You can do it. Hardest part is making sure you find where the oil is coming from and getting everything cleaned so you can put the new one on.

There should be an inspection cover over the torque converter. Pull it off and take a look. If there is oil coming from above the pan it's most likely the seal.

If it is the rear main and you want it done right I'd get RHT to do it. They did my front and rear main oil seals and it was pretty cheap if I recall. On the other hand JP, Chuck and myself took JP's tranny out of his 62 and installed a new one. All in about 6 hrs. It's all in the prep.

eventhough · 02-10-09, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 90FJ62

Also check the bolts on your oil pan. I had a slight leak on mine and notices all the bolts where a little loose. Tightened them up and it took care of that leak. Still need to replace the rear main on mine though....

Dave

The torque on those bolts (IIRC) is 7 ft/lbs - or something crazy low. If you crank on it too much you'll squash the cork (if it is cork) gasket out.

The bolts on my side cover were the same - soooo loose you could turn them with your finger - oil everywhere.

DanKunz · 02-10-09, 05:46 AM

aaah crap, now I have to look at mine...also have a little leak...rear arch on the 1FZ arrrrg!

ALEXGAR · 02-10-09, 06:40 AM

I'm happy for you, John.

1. Tighten oil pan.

2. Use string if you have to replace the gasket. Call me if you need to know the string trick.

eventhough · 02-10-09, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALEXGAR

Call me if you need to know the G-string trick.

Heh heh heh....

ClemsonCruiser · 02-10-09, 07:48 AM

Congrats John

IndianDoc · 02-11-09, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventhough

Heh heh heh....

Alex in a G, heaven forbid how could you Juice now I have a mental image that I really didn't want. LMAO

jleeFJ62 · 02-16-09, 07:22 AM

I finally got a chacne to get under the 62 and give it a semi good cleaning to track down the lead. After a lot of brakleen and elbow grease, i got it clean enough to track the leak. I drove around for about 30 mins and it looks like i might have a small rear main leak (could be i just need to tigthen the bolts, stupid me forgot my tools). Looks like alot of it is coming from around the rear of the skid plate. Just a little background on my 62, it spent most of its like in Denver until the early 2000's when it made its way to SC. The PO did a good job keeping the underneath rust free. But enough of my noise, here are the pics:

jleeFJ62 · 02-16-09, 07:23 AM

pics:

jleeFJ62 · 02-16-09, 07:25 AM

pics2:

eventhough · 02-16-09, 07:48 AM

Your oil pan is upside down!!!

Some salt (back in the day) might have gotten between your oil pan and skid plate - causing rust and a small hole. If you hit that area with a good shot from a power washer the leak would probably get worse.

Is a 3FE oil pan the same as a 2F? If so I have one for you cheap.

VTCruiser · 02-16-09, 07:58 AM

agreed. you rear main might be leaking a little based on the last couple pics, but I looks like the big part of the leak is coming from behind the skid plate.

Trollhole · 02-16-09, 08:24 AM

Certainly looks like a lot of crud under the skid plate. It can hold a lot of oil. What I would do is buy a couple cans of brake cleaner and clean it up real well. Then see if it leaks. If you had a leaking oil plug or oil from the rear main leaked down inbetween the skid plate and there is dirt packed in there it can hold quite a bit of oil and weep it out over time. If so you have 3 options.

Take it off and bring it to me and I can fix the leak. Find a used pan. Or buy a new one.

I can brase the spot welds so they won't leak.

Rear main looks to be leaking but without taking that little cover off and looking up there you will never know. There are other places oil can be leaking out of besides the rear main, Cam plug, Oil pan etc....