HELP F-body experts! Front cover!?!?!?

[1994BlackFormula]

i bought a 94 formula with a rebuilt engine, and the bottom of the front cover has a whole bunch fo gasker sealer on the bottom of it. i was gonna just off the front cover and try to seal it with a new gasket or replace the cover. anybody know whats involved in doing that, and why they would put alot of gasker sealer on it?

also my latch buttom under the steering wheel doesnt open the trunk, any suggestion on how to fix it. thanks alot for your help!

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

The cover is a lot of work to get off just to do what you are talking about. They probably were trying to seal up the oil pan gasket with silicone and slopped it all over. By the time you got it all back together and sealed up, it just might look the same.

One suggestion, if this is really eating away at you and you just have to do something about it, try to cut it along the line of the cover and peel or scrape the excess off there. But then you're going to have to get on your belly and wiggle under your car on a sunny day just to admire your new clean and improved front cover, aren't you?

[1994BlackFormula]

well there is ALOT of sealer. it used to be sealed, but now leaks oil (but i put the car in a ditch and i guess i broke the seal so now it leaks oil slightly whent then engine warm) i know i have to take the fans, water pump, air pump, optispark, and crak pulley off, but when i remove that, whats all involved then?

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Well then they must have sealed it up from the outside which is real unprofessional to say the least. To get the cover off, take off the things you mentioned and then drop the oil pan to get the lower lip of the timing cover to clear, then it will come off. Be careful how you pull the crank hub because you have to push against the bottom of the threaded hole in the crank and not the bottom of the hub itself (a lot of guys make this mistake because it's not obvious, then they wonder why they can't remove the hub).

[1995z28]

Yes, I do. This is the MAFB approved way of sealing the front cover.

Is the the orange sealer (the RTV Copper Gold)?

If you try to cut that gasket and or clean it up - you will probably
damage the oil pan gasket. When removing the front cover you
need to be careful not to ruin the oil pan gasket. Sealing the front
cover like that prevents oil leaks.

If it isn't leaking, you should definitely leave it alone because it isn't
hurting anything.

The RTV Copper gold resists oil superbly. I've got a bead about 1/2" wide
around the lower front cover. Many other f-bodys will too.

The oil pan gasket isn't the same after you remove the front cover.
That is why this is necessary to seal it.

Maybe Kevin has been lucky without leaks. But I haven't had a leak in
6 years with the RTV gold on my front timing cover.

i bought a 94 formula with a rebuilt engine, and the bottom of the front cover has a whole bunch fo gasker sealer on the bottom of it. i was gonna just off the front cover and try to seal it with a new gasket or replace the cover. anybody know whats involved in doing that, and why they would put alot of gasker sealer on it?

also my latch buttom under the steering wheel doesnt open the trunk, any suggestion on how to fix it. thanks alot for your help!

[1995z28]

well there is ALOT of sealer. it used to be sealed, but now leaks oil (but i put the car in a ditch and i guess i broke the seal so now it leaks oil slightly whent then engine warm) i know i have to take the fans, water pump, air pump, optispark, and crak pulley off, but when i remove that, whats all involved then?

Yeah, you've got alot of work to do. Remove the radiator too, it will give you
alot more room to work.

And if your going in that far, you should remove the pushrods, intake, lifters,
and swap out the camshaft!! WOO HOO

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Yes, I do. This is the MAFB approved way of sealing the front cover.

Is the the orange sealer (the RTV Copper Gold)?

If you try to cut that gasket and or clean it up - you will probably
damage the oil pan gasket. When removing the front cover you
need to be careful not to ruin the oil pan gasket. Sealing the front
cover like that prevents oil leaks.

If it isn't leaking, you should definitely leave it alone because it isn't
hurting anything.

The RTV Copper gold resists oil superbly. I've got a bead about 1/2" wide
around the lower front cover. Many other f-bodys will too.

The oil pan gasket isn't the same after you remove the front cover.
That is why this is necessary to seal it.

Maybe Kevin has been lucky without leaks. But I haven't had a leak in
6 years with the RTV gold on my front timing cover.

Actually, mine has a bead of the same stuff on it where the gasket meets the cover and the pan, but not all over the outside like the guy described in his post. Mine has never leaked there when stock or after being worked on, but that's because I replaced the gasket and cleaned all the surfaces before sealing it up. True, it's hard to get it apart without wrecking or tearing it because they usually glue it in at the corners and it can tear. Sealing anything from the outside is the wrong method and usually doesn't work very well. He said his engine was rebuilt, so there's no reason for it to be that way unless they never took the pan off.

If you are going to be pulling the cover on a regular basis to change cams or whatever, you might consider cutting the inner lip to the cover which prevents having to drop the pan to get it off and wrecking the gasket. It's actually pretty hard to get the pan gasket off, so most guys probably just settle for gluing the front cover up with silicone instead. I don't find it necessary, but on the other hand, it is almost impossible to see, so do whatever works....

[1995z28]

We should probably see a picture of his bead.. his 'excessive' amount might
seem normal to us?

Good idea on the splicing the pan gasket.. its is a pain in the rear..

Actually, mine has a bead of the same stuff on it where the gasket meets the cover and the pan, but not all over the outside like the guy described in his post. Mine has never leaked there when stock or after being worked on, but that's because I replaced the gasket and cleaned all the surfaces before sealing it up. True, it's hard to get it apart without wrecking or tearing it because they usually glue it in at the corners and it can tear. Sealing anything from the outside is the wrong method and usually doesn't work very well. He said his engine was rebuilt, so there's no reason for it to be that way unless they never took the pan off.

If you are going to be pulling the cover on a regular basis to change cams or whatever, you might consider cutting the inner lip to the cover which prevents having to drop the pan to get it off and wrecking the gasket. It's actually pretty hard to get the pan gasket off, so most guys probably just settle for gluing the front cover up with silicone instead. I don't find it necessary, but on the other hand, it is almost impossible to see, so do whatever works....