The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 59 Apache 283 oil pan question

Orig oil pan has numerous brazed repairs and some sharp dings. LMC truck had a new one for $32. So I ordered it. It looked great. I painted it and installed it with a new fangled thick blue gasket. All one piece. The instructions said not to use sealant of any kind. So against every bone in my body I installed it and torqued the bolts to spec in proper sequence. It sat for about two weeks before we were ready to put oil in it and start it. We replaced the intake manifold gaskets, timing gears and chain and gaskets, new water pump due to bypassing. all in effort to stop the leaks. After starting the oil pan now leaks between the timing cover and the front of the pan. too much so to drive it. Now I must remove the oil pan and clean it all up. Reinstall either the old pan, or the new with a mega bead of permatex sealant along the timing cover.

Anyone ever have an issue with an oil pan not shaped correctly? Seems like I can push the seal up and down with a small scribe like there is too much room between the two.

Thanks in advance

RK

GM changed the oil pan front seal design on later engines. The original pan should have used a round style front seal between the pan and timing cover, the later engines use a flat type seal. You may need to change the front timing cover if the recessed area for the front seal is rounded rather than flat. I used the new style gasket your talking about on my 327 with a new oil pan and had no issue, my engine is a 68' though and I did use a very light coat of gasket maker. Hope it works out for you.

I agree with TUTS 59, the older engines had a wide gap between the pan and timing cover, I don't know when the change occurred. I built a 383 with a mid 70's block and that pan gasket with no issue. You could use a newer pan and front cover with that gasket or original style pan and front cover with the original style front seal. Any small block Chevy pan will fit the engine as long as it clears the suspension.

Thanks guys! I havent gotten to it yet, but as soon as I remove the oil pan I will double check the lip. Cant say I noticed a difference before but I sure have a leak now. I will attempt to post a picture of the two when I get it back off.

Early replacement oil pan gasket sets had two front rubber seals, one noticeably thicker than the other to accommodate the different pan/timing cover gaps. I don't remember what year the change in deign was made. I've encountered the problem frequently when working on an older engine.
Jerry

Just as a note not all oil pans will fit any SBC, I ran into this problem building my 327. I had intended to use the original 283 oil pan on my 68' 327, the difference was in the shape of the front. The older 283 pan had more curve and less clearance around the front main cap. I bought an oil pan for a 350 from Jeg's and had no issue with fit. I did notice that the 283 pan had a larger front seal lip than the 350, the 283 oil pan was from a 62' 283.

TUTS 59, I’m curious why you didn’t just buy a 327 oil pan, since you were buying a new one anyway?

Jeg's didn't really detail a difference between the oil pans for a SBC, that and I was adding a widnage tray to the bottom end. The 283 oil pan cleared the windage tray but not the front main cap, I haven't had a chance to actually look at an early 283 to see if the front main cap was shaped differently.

Okay! I removed the new oil pan and set the old and new side by side. the old pan was about a 1/4 inch taller in the front lip. So I cleaned it all up and reinstalled it and no leaks!!!