As of now, I am going to hold off pulling this apart until I have the gaskets in hand. Should be here Thursday. I think what I will do as I have nothing to lose at this point is to clean the leak area up as well as I can, then push some right stuff into the void. Let that cure and then cover it with some JB Weld. I have nothing to lose except a little delay. If it holds, this job can wait until winter. I am glad I started this thread as I didn't even consider that the gasket thickness would come into play. I ordered the SCE gaskets from Summit, they were cheap enough. The radiator has been drained a full day now, so it isn't seeping anything.
Worth a shot Larry.....RightStuff ain't cheap but has saved me from taking some things apart. Holds up and bonds better than sillycone. May not be pretty or the "right" way but saves time and trouble.
Never seen that...ya gotta wonder what the system pressure was to do that. I'd run a 7lb cap after repair. You run cool anyway.....
For the gasket to have pushed out like that I would be highly suspect of the radiator cap. Production tolerances being what thay are today I would even pressure test a replacement before installing it. After reading JW's post personally i would wait until I had replacement gasket to do it properly rather than crutch it in the meantime in case it is gone internally as well
I was going to pull it apart, but now I am concerned with the gasket thickness and my roller cam. I ordered both the Felpro and the SCE gaskets, so I'll be prepared.
I could do that, it's pretty fluid logged though. I have it on my work bench. I'll measure it tomorrow.
JW assembled it? I'd ask him which gaskets he used. He likely uses the same kit all the time. Or maybe the gasket kit is listed on your invoice from him.
Larry, quit monkey-farting around and get that thing apart! Aren’t you retired? You can all the cleaning and painting done before the gaskets get there. Don’t forget the Vaseline for the oil pump. If I were doing that job, it would get a very thin layer of gray Right Stuff on BOTH sides of the timing cover gasket and water pump gasket, 592 on any bolt threads that go into water jackets, and anti-seize on any threads that don’t see water. I would also skip the cork gasket for the front of the pan and use The Right Stuff there too. There is a time to be a “club” and there is a time to be a “surgeon”. In applying of the sealer and the cleanliness of the parts, it’s “surgeon” time. Use chlorinated brake clean (and gloves for your protection) for final cleaning, make sure you stuff a rag in the oil pan opening to stop the as much as you can from getting in the pan, and DO NOT use any type of abrasive discs on anything for cleaning. While I don’t recommend risking any type of lick-dob repair, Aluma-Seal powder seems to work pretty good, but usually that type of “repair” is saved for vehicles heading to the auction.
He was 90% sure he used the TA gaskets which were original GM. Curiosity got the better of me, and i followed Marts suggestion. Looks like the SCE gaskets are the right choice. They are .032".
Thanks Bob, I already started taking it apart. I'll take my time and do it right. With the amount of gasket that popped out, I don't think it will hold anyway. I couldn't get it dry to even try pushing some sealer in there. Looks like the SCE gaskets are thicker like the GM ones. I'll use those. I'm not pulling the oil pump apart unless I have to. I have a primer tool, and a drill.[/QUOTE]
I always like the Victor thicker gasket myself as well ,..now all Cometic now I believe they all by each other out every other year
Once the cover comes off, you will more that likely loose prime, and the only easy way to get that back is to pack the pump unless you have a pressured-vessel. Sometimes putting 10 or more quarts of oil in the pan gets the job done too, but it’s a good time to inspect the thrust plate, gears and cavity anyway. Then use the priming tool. The tool doesn’t get you your prime back, it only saves you from cranking or running w/o oil pressure. It’s going to be hard putting the cover back on with oil running out of it everywhere. It would really suck if you put the cover back on and couldn’t get the prime back and then pulled the pump apart to pack it only to find some trauma in the cavity. But you can do it however you see fit. Just trying to give some helpful suggestions.
Thanks Bob, I just didn't want to pull apart the pump if I didn't have to. If the gaskets rip, then I 'll need to replace them with the right thickness to keep my end clearance. JW put it together. Maybe I'll order the TA shim kit in case I have to. I'm just remembering the debate about packing the pump with vaseline, which I have done before. See JW's comments in post #6 in this thread, http://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/455-oil-pump-priming.267834/#post-2202120
