Thanks for the kind words; I really appreciate hearing the videos have helped others!

exactly what i was thinking.. use the main seal to center and position the cover.. this tool is just fluff.

Hi, so I was told at a shop that I have a rear main seal leak, and so decided to do the repair myself, and i have the motor out, is this really true? It’s the metal plate that leaks and not the seal?

Thanks for watching!!

Matthew Creel Awesome! Glad the video was helpful.

Awesome. Good luck on your project!

haha, not soon enough. Luckily I realized it before the RTV set.

I was looking down the comments to see if anybody else noticed that.

😂

Yea, I was very happy with how the Cam Motion Titan 4 turned out. Nice flat torque curve. Choppy idle but not so rough that it affects driveability.

Glad it was helpful!

Between the block and rear cover plate is a gasket. Between the rear cover plate and the oil pan is a gasket. Put a dab of rtv in the corner where those three pieces come together (block, oil pan, rear cover plate). That helps prevent oil from seeping past where the pan gasket and rear cover gasket intersect.

The white plastic just falls off inside the tool. It should be left in while doing the install, it holds the seal lip open so it doesn't fold in during the install. Christian

I used GM gaskets. Reused the cover bolts. I used a SacSity billet barbell... I have a separate video on that. Thanks for watching!

You can do it! 👍

@@ScrufsGarage thanks man! Merry Christmas to you 👍🏼

Yes, as far as I know, this tool works for any of the LS motors. I haven't worked on a Hummer so I can't share any specifics there... but if you can work on OTR trucks, I'm sure the Hummer won't be any problem. Just don't use any of your 1" drive impacts on it, haha.

Yes, I did a video on the barbell here... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aq6ZbLt-tpe3j2g.html Thanks for watching!

You would destroy the rear main seal pulling it back out of the cover, and if you leave it in the cover you risk alignment issues/leaks. You might be able to reuse the cover gasket, the challenge though is that you should put a dab of RTV in the corners where the block, the pan, and the cover come together. That RTV can be tough to get off the gasket once it has cured. The billet barbell is a nice unit, but may or may not be worth the extra work to change it at this point. Good luck!

Correct, you aren't going to see any significant differences. Oil pressure is a function mainly of main bearing clearances. The tighter fit of the billet barbell helps prevent any unfiltered oil from getting past the barbell.

@@ScrufsGarage The differences in non filtered oil without the barbell installed

Yes, add a dab of sealant in the bottom corners where the block, cover, and oil pan come together as shown around the 1:38 mark.

It comes with lube there already

GM manual says to not lube it, install dry. but i have no idea why

It's a PTFE seal and needs to be installed dry on a clean shaft . Check this short video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iq2Igcqh0NyplWQ.html

@@danielg4228 awesome. Hadnt seen that before . thanks guys

Learned this the hard way . I've installed a well lubricated PTFE seal Few days later it was leaking worse than the old one . Had to drop the transmision again !

The tool is from SacCity Corvette. As for blowing out the seal, you may be building too much crankcase pressure. Take a look and make sure the PCV system is venting correctly.

As scruff said something is wrong along your pcv to be blowing seal as its preasurising

@@ScrufsGarage It would be hard to "blow" the seal unless there was an explosion of oil vapors in the crankcase in which case, you'd probably have several other seals blown including the oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, valley cover gasket, and knock sensor seals. I say this, because of the PCV intake tube that normally allows air into the crankcase via one of the valve covers. There is no check valve on this tube -- nothing to keep crankcase vapors from going through it back to the throttle body or air intake tube. Even if the PCV valve (on the OTHER valve cover) is completely blocked, you shouldn't be able to build any notable amount of pressure on the crankcase without an explosion within it.

When I first filmed the install, I forgot the barbell. I highlighted it around the 30 second mark so that others won’t overlook it. You’ll really hate life if you get the motor installed and forget the barbell, haha.

Ugh, very sorry to hear you left out the barbell. You absolutely have to install it. The barbell is what routes oil down into the oil filter. Using the bypass delete won't do what you need.

Correct. As noted at the 30 sec mark, I had forgotten to install the barbell. Fortunately I noticed it sitting on the work bench immediately after, so I was able to go back and get it installed. But otherwise would have been a very unfortunate mistake.

There are a number of good online resources. I also purchased a book called "How to Rebuild GM LS-Series Engines" which had useful tips and a nice torque spec chart in the back. amzn.to/2XbuZfw

@@ScrufsGarage thanks brother. Will it cover the t-56 trans? And other transmissions?

@@Leveluplivin No, that book is focused just on the LS engine. I'm sure there are other books that might focus on the T-56. Or, you could buy the Factory Service Manuals which would details everything for your specific model. While those manuals are typically several hundred dollars, they are very extensive and if you're tackling a major project, can really pay for themselves.

Yes, make sure you have the barbell installed! See the 30 sec mark in the video. I forgot mine and had to go back to install it. Fortunately I caught it immediately afterwards as it was sitting on the work bench, haha. But would have been a major problem later on.

That's very common on a lot of motors, but the service manual and manufacturers like Fel-Pro instruct that the seal is designed to be installed dry.

It's a PTFE seal and needs to be installed dry on a clean shaft . Check this video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iq2Igcqh0NyplWQ.html

You could, but the flexibility of the gasket can allow the cover to be slightly off center. The installation tool ensures the cover is perfectly center on the crank, so when you install the seal, it is perfectly centered too. Less chance of a rear main seal leak.

If you install the seal before installing the cover, there is enough play in the bolt holes that you may not get the cover properly centered and you get a rear main seal leak. The tool allows you to get the rear cover perfectly centered, then tighten the bolts. Then when you install the seal, it is perfectly centered around the crankshaft. They make a similar tool for aligning the front timing cover. Must-have tool. Makes it a simply job. Pulling the torque tube again to fix a rear main seal would be a nightmare!

@@ScrufsGarage just trying to understand......so there is play in the bolts regardless of if the tool is used or not. the rear cover needs to be aligned, and then bolts get tightened, and cover will not move anymore. the question is why cant we use the seal itself to align the rear cover before tightening bolts, vs using tool to align before tightening bolts. i know the engine manual shows using a tool. but i dont understand why. only thing i can think of is that the oil pan bolts may pull the cover down too far, resulting in misalignment. in which case the tool wouldn't be able to be removed, and thus be a sign that there is misalignment.

The seal can flex, so it's difficult to get the cover perfectly centered. The tool is a rigid fit to the cover and the crank, so that the center of the opening in the cover is perfectly concentric with the crank.

Right lol i did it and it works and no leaks so

It won’t center itself I’ve tried before u have to have the tool u get it off a mm it leaks

0:31 I did… luckily I saw it sitting on the work bench right after putting the cover on. Would have been a major pain if I hadn’t caught it!

0:32 definitely don’t leave that out!

Haha, I know. Luckily I caught it before I got too far along. It would have been such a pain to try to fix it after it was back in the car.

@@ScrufsGarage hahah, nice. fkn was a ass hole clench moment there hahahaha. Legend!

Got too excited to put things together, haha. Luckily I caught it before I got too far. I called it out in the video around the 30 second mark so that hopefully others don't make the same mistake. It would really stink to get the motor back in the car and to have missed this!