350 rearmain repair

[RLONG]

Rearmain is leaking can you remove the pan with out any problems or do i have to jack the engine up after removing motor mounts on my 70 Jimmy 350?
Just trying figure if i want to do it or send to shop anybody done this lately?

[Burt4x4]

With my factory 350 & crossmember I could not simply drop the pan. I found this out the hard way and sence I had all the bolts out of the pan and I had the same leak you speak of..I had an idea so I dryed the pan gasket as best I could and added black RTV, as best I could, not much room in there. I added a bit extra to the rear. Drank a beer while I let is cure for a few min, bolted it all back up and no more leaky for a few years
I know I know it's not proper way but heck it worked! hahahaa

[RLONG]

I would not be so lucky garage wants 300 probably worth it.

[cleszkie]

You definitely need to unbolt the motor mounts and jack up the engine to remove the pan. Be sure to keep an eye on your distributor and exhaust manifolds, as they will contact the firewall when the engine is raised. This is how I did mine.

[Beatcoaster]

I got quoted $550 for a rear main repair - $300 sounds like a bargain...

[cparman]

You need to unbolt the motor mounts, and jack the motor up a good bit. Then the oil pan will come out. If you are doing this on the ground, I would caution you to be very careful. What I would suggest is to get the motor up, and then put a block of wood under the mount area, just in case it slipped off of the jack. If you have access to a lift make sure you do not raise the engine so high that it picks the truck off of the lift. Access is great once the oil pan is out of the way. I have done a few of these, and for 300 bucks, I would suggest you not getting dirty. Sometimes those seals can be fussy coming out, and experience is priceless.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by cparman

You need to unbolt the motor mounts, and jack the motor up a good bit. Then the oil pan will come out. If you are doing this on the ground, I would caution you to be very careful. What I would suggest is to get the motor up, and then put a block of wood under the mount area, just in case it slipped off of the jack. If you have access to a lift make sure you do not raise the engine so high that it picks the truck off of the lift. Access is great once the oil pan is out of the way. I have done a few of these, and for 300 bucks, I would suggest you not getting dirty. Sometimes those seals can be fussy coming out, and experience is priceless.

Sage advice! Money well spent

[blue70k5]

I agree, jacking the engine up is no fun and i had to replace the rotor in my distributor after it hit the firewall and cracked. Definitely save yourself the time and frustration and just take it to the shop...

[Jtrux]

I've done a few, it's a pain but for me knowing that I fixed my own truck and didn't take it somewhere was worth it. I say go for it.

[old man jimmy]

If it's the same as 72. I just hung my motor from my cherry picker, took out the mount bolts, and unbolted the cross member, and dropped it out of the way, it comes off in three pieces. Then their is nothing under the pan. But beware, their is also nothing between you and the motor either, so stick some wood in their just in case. Wasn't $300.00 biuck worth of hard. you'll need to piush the upper half of the seal around the crank You can use a pick to pull the upper seal. Looks kinda like a cork screw. If you don't feel safe doing it, than it's probably well worth the $300.00. Cheaper than getting hurt. Good luck.

[RLONG]

Thanks for the info your right 300 is 300 when i can do the work. Every time i take something to a shop i wish i would have done it myself because of something they did wrong so just need to make time to do it. Thanks again that was the info i was looking for.