i have 2 questions. i just bought a Camaro (92 z28 305/automatic trans). At first it was running pretty good. When i start it up it starts fine but when i shift out of park into reverse or drive it stalls or dies..whatever you wanna call it. i had someone check it out and they told me to check the timing,maybe a vaccum leak, check the fast idle solenoid(cause the RPM seems a little high), and worst case senario it might be my trans. does anyone agree with this, have any other ideas of what it could be,or just any kind of helpful information of what i could do to try and find the cause of this problem? the second thing is, i have a leak in my oil pan seal/gasket right between the pan and the timing cover(the seal/gasket is one piece,just to keep in mind). so i have to take off the pan and replace the gasket/seal. what i need to know is do i have to pull the engine or is there some way around that like maybe just removing the bolts from the motor mounts and jacking up the engine? if that is possible do i have to disconnect the trans from the engine or just remove the trans mount bolts only and jack up the engine? if someone could give me a couple of scenarios of what to do that could help me out id appreciate it. also if possible please try not to be vague and just answer the questions with a YES or NO response. thanks in advance.

Stalling once out of park is typical of the engine timing being off. Set it and it should be fine once under load. It would'nt hurt to go over your vacuum lines for cracks either.
As for replacing your timing cover seal,the pan can be dropped in the car by jacking the engine. Little tricky but swivel sockets and wobble extensions are your friends. You will have to undo your motor mounts and trans mount. Your exhaust and such should raise with the engine so nothing else should need to be removed besides the mount bolts.

thanks for the response BLACK87ZEE. One thing i didn't mention is that i don't have to much experience with this kind of stuff so forgive me if my questions seem like common knowledge or stupid. i guess i have a few questions about your response... what do you mean by it should be fine once under load? the guy i bought it from says that he put in a crane cam....so would he then for some reason have to adjust the timing because of the cam? As for the oil pan issue....if i remove the motor mount bolts will the engine drop lower or will it rest in place without a jack? Is there a website that you could suggest that could give me some more info like step by step procedures(with pictures possibly)? another question i have is do i need to torque the bolts to a specific number when i start to put all the bolts and screws and other stuff back on the engine? more specifically the motor/trans bolts, the damper that i took off to get to the timing cover. if there is a website i could check out that can give me this info? I would appreciate a link if possible. i guess thats all for the moment, once again thanks for your response...

anybody? no....well thanks anyways.