At this point, the truck was running and driving again, except for one major issue... Massive oil leak
I spent some time scraping as much caked on grease, dirt, and oil off the trans crossmember and related components. I also took some time to install new door check links that I got back in October. I also got new arm rests because the driver's side was old and cracked, and the passenger side didn't have one (sorry, don't have a picture of those).
I tightened up the valve covers and oil pan to spec, and thought I had fixed the leak. I then drove it to the Varsity in Dawsonville for the weekly cruise in. The engine ran great the whole way there and back, but was still leaking a lot of oil.
I took a break to do a little yard work, then started tracking down the leaks. Unfortunately, at this point, I lost all my pictures of the work I had done except for what I posted on my Instagram. My friend dropped my phone in the lake last Sunday, and it is still down and out.
Anyways, back to the truck. I started with the front seal of the oil pan. I had bought the wrong one piece pan gasket for the pan I was attempting to use. To fix that, I got the one piece seal that would fit the pan and timing cover from the old engine. I cleaned and painted the old pan, then threw it back underneath the truck. Drove it around again, but it was still leaking oil.
Moved to the pcv port thingy on the back of the block by the dizzy. Thought it was leaking from there, so I took that apart, cleaned it, slathered on some more RTV, and put it back together. Still leaked
At this point, I realized that what I feared most had happened. When I put the intake back on, I attempted to use the rubber end gaskets provided with the kit plus a little RTV. That didn't work and was leaking oil enough to douse the top of the bell housing with oil every time I drove it. I pulled the manifold, cleaned the mating surfaces up, and put it back on with new gaskets for the sides. On the ends, I did about a quarter inch bead of RTV only.
I finished that up last Friday, and started to pour coolant back in. Ever since I got the truck running again, I've been fighting a slight leak at the thermostat housing. At first, I had accidentally painted the mating surface, so I thought it was that. Then I noticed that the bolts I had were just a couple threads too long. Trimmed those down, and it still leaked, but this time it leaked a lot worse. I pulled it off for the 3rd time and saw what went wrong. The thermostat housing ended up being warped. Got a new housing that Friday night, but didn't get a chance to put it on until this past Monday.
Over the weekend I moved most of my furniture from my grandparent's house to my house in Milledgeville. No more gross dorm room for me! I also spent some time with friends at the lake on Sunday and Monday, so I didn't get a chance to drive the truck until today.
I still need to get up underneath and check again for leaks, but hopefully by that point I'll have this phone situation all figured out so I can post up some more pics because
