Hello,

I am a new vette owner just bought mine last summer on ebay put a new interior in it,  suspension and brakes it is now safe on the road but it has engine oil leaks it looks like valve covers, oil pan maybe,  and auto trans pan leak.  I was just going to head to the local parts store and get a trans kit valve cover gaskets and a oil pan gasket and get to work.  Is there any special tricks or problems i should watch out for?

Jeff,  Your 81 will have all of the same emissions "stuff" on it as mine does, the valve covers are a PITA to get too but just take your time, and wiggle them out, they will come but you may have to do some slight bending on the emissions hard pipes that come out of the top of the headers, they will stand some "slight" bending, just dont get to heavy handed.  The one way the large one way valves on the emissions pipes can be removed with some effort but will give you about an inch more room when removing the covers.  Not a bad job, but one that will lead to skinned knuckles and lots of blue language.  I sure envy those guys with the clean, roomy non-emissions engine bays.

If you see a clear path for the oil from the valve covers, that's a likely suspect. The oil pan is a bit of a challenge, but if you drop the center link of the steering down from one side, you'll have plenty of access.

Thanks for the info i figured that more than a few people have been down this road before.

Projects like this are very satisfying when completed. Love those '81s  .

It might be worth it to have the engine bay steam cleaned and then watch to see where the leaks are originating.

I had a 81 and it was leaking from rear engine seal which made it look like it was coming from the transmission.

Also check out where the speedometer cable goes into the tranny,there is an O-Ring that sometimes takes a dump,I had to replace mine,you have to pull out the drive gear housing to do it,you will loose fluid when you pull it out,stand back, Ron 782007-03-26 08:42:40

Another possible source for your oil leaks could be the oil pressure sending unit located just to the drivers side of the distributor, it's a black plastic piece with a wire connector on top that screws into the block.  When they leak, the oil drips down both sides of the transmission bell and blows back onto the transmission and on the back of the engine block.

There is also a "passing gear" cable that goes into the auto tranny. Replace the seal.