I have an 83Z28 with a 70s SBC 350, TH350, Holly 650DP,....

I have been having a leak problem for a couple of days.
It seems like its coming from the starter cuz one of the holes is missing a screw and u can see oil dripping from it.

I have a hi-torque mini starter on it.
Is oil supposed to be in the starter, i didnt think there was supposed to be oil in the starter.

I replaced the header gaskets and the valve cover gaskets.
It doesnt seem like its spraying up to the top, but it seems like its being sprayed on the bottom, all over the oil pan, exhaust pipes,...

I dont think that its the head gaskets.
It could be the rear main seal, but I dont want to pull the motor to check.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds to me like it is the rear main seal. For your case I hope not. Thats not something that is fun to change. There is no oil in the starter. It is probably leaking from the rear main, down the oil pan, and onto the starter.

 

How much would a shop charge to replace a rear main seal?
I just dont have the tools to pull the block out.

 

The mini-starter (LT1-type gear reduction) has extra mounting holes for different block patterns. As long as you have two bolts in the starter, it should be fine.

As for the source of the oil, clean everything up, then monitor it for a couple of weeks. The leak should be evident on a clean engine. It's possible that you have a rocker cover leaking down the back of a head, an intake gasket (china wall) leaking down the back of the engine, a distributor gasket, oil pan gasket, or rear main seal.

The engine doesn't have to be removed to replace the two-piece rear main seal if you have the right tools, but it does have to be at least lifted to remove the oil pan.

If you're curious about the repair cost, call around for estimates. Most shops will quote from the flat rate manuals and give a price.

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Later,
Vader
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All my life I've been searching for something. Something never comes - never leads to nothing...

 

I'm with Vader on this one. When you clean the motor, clean everything. Thats all wires that are grimey, starter, bellhousing, etc... Its alot of fun. Then check often to see the oil leak.

Another thing I'll mention is the Oil Pressure Sening Unit. I've seen this leak a quart of oil in one week, and be misdiagnosed as a rear main seal leak a couple of times (once in my case). Check it, or even just replace it (costs about $10). It's by the dist., near the drivers side firewall. Should have orange wire plugged into it.

Let us know.

 

The reason I thought that it was leaking cuz I looked under and the oil hits the Y-Pipe and exhaust on the passenger side and the oil burns and smokes. I dont know if that would help but, if u look under the car, it looks like a huge oil spill cuz there is oil on everything, exhaust, oil pan, starter, ...

 

sounds like what mine was doing when the intake was leaking from the china wall. could be that or the distributer gasket

 

What do you mean from the China Wall? Please explain...

Also, should I also just go ahead and get a Performer RPM intake?

Should I get the EGR one or non EGR? Whould that hurt performance? what about emissions wise? I think right now I dont have EGR.

Thanks again,

 

The intake manifold is sealed to the heads on either side with a standard fiber/composite gasket. The front and rear ends of the intake must also seal to the block. This is done from the factory with a very thick formed neoprene gasket. The ends of the block that rise to seal against the intake stand tall and in an irregular (not straight line) path from one deck to the other. This structure resembles the wandering pattern of the Great Wall of China, hence the name, "China Wall" and "China Wall gasket".

They are notorious for leaking (the gaskets, that is, not the Chinese). Well, now that I think of it, the Chinese don't seem to have a problem with leaking in public, either.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Later,
Vader
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All my life I've been searching for something. Something never comes - never leads to nothing...

 

So what type of gasket do I get if i wanna better seal the intake to the block, including the china wall gasket? Cork? Rubber? Polyurethane? Do i use sealant? RTV? Weatherstripping sealant?

 

I just did mine I used the felpro gasket but dont use the rubber gaskets at the ends of the block in the front and the back of the motor I did the first time and it wasleaking so just use the gakets onto the heads and use sealent on the front and rear of the block no leaks.