hey i got a felpro one piece oil pan gasket , the blue kind, i installed it dry but now have a small oil leak in the front seems like dead cent of the gasket next to the time chain cover,its only droping its not a big leak... do these gaskets requir more torque than 22 lbs ft? also this is a 350 engine. not the 305 it came with. if that makes a difference..... also my car run idles at 220degrees but when driving it runs at 240.. wat is the normal operating temp for these guys. lol everytime i tihnk im done with my swap its still causeing greif...

 

i dont like to see my car get over 220 with the A/C in the worst conditions


the 305 and 350 wouldnt make a difference, have you checked to see if any of the bolts have backed out some??

dont have my TQ table on me right at this time to see what specs are on the oil pan.... did you use the "load spreaders" on the pan

 

yea it had the load seperaters on the corners.. i tightened up the two corner bolts in the front a bit more a couple of times and seemed to get slower on the leak... should i try tighting them up any more?

 

be careful tightening those oil pan bolts, dont over tighten them, your going to end up warping the oil pan creating other leaks. Sbc are known for having leaks around the front of the oil pan/timing cover, you need to make sure you have a really smooth surface and a really good seal.

 

Even with the the rubber one peice gasket you should still put a small dab of RTV at the corners of the timing cover and rear main cap. You may also want to consider installing the full length "load spreaders" that where used on cars with the one peice gasket from the factory.

Does your '83 T/A have the belt driven cooling fan or the electric fan like what was used on the 5.0L HO engine and later cars? The belt driven fan should make the car always run around 200-210 degrees. With the electic setup and the stock temp sensor the fan won't turn on until 238 degrees and turn off around 210. The engine should run cooler when the car is moving. Is the air dam missing underneath on your car?

 

i have the belt driven fan... are you talking about the airduct shroud that tunnels around the fan.... i also have a air duct piece that mounts near the radiator and connects to the air filter which i havnt connected yet?

 

No. Under the car below the radiator is a black plastic "dam" that directs air up into the radiator when the car is moving. F-bodies are bottom breathers since they really don't have any grill. With the air dam missing the car will run hot.

 

Sometimes it's hard to describe a part to someone that doesn't have one.
So,
The Damn Air Dam: