[Shotimes] Metal gasket?

[BJamesjr@aol.com]

> You mean the metal plate between the transmission
> and the motor?

> I don't know what it's called, but it's not a
> gasket and wouln't cause leaks.

I'll apologize in advance for my memory being foggy, but there are TWO plates in there.  One is the dust shield that has been mentioned.  It will come out from the bottom pretty easily after removal of the starter and one or 2 other bolts.  There is another plate in there that relates to the rear main seal and the rear oil pan seal.  I don't remember the name of it but you might find the name on Josh T's website or on the shotimes website in articles related to clutch replacement.

The ideal situation is to pull the flywheel AND the oil pan, then you can replace everything back there that you need to replace.  Otherwise they are related such that when you pull the flywheel and rear main seal you slightly disturb the rear oil pan seal.  However you can apply a little RTV and get it to work acceptably.

The answer to the original question is that the oil is probably coming from the rear main seal but could be coming from the rear pan gasket.