Cost to repair? Inspection results and lifter question

[chevylr]

I bought the 71 Chevelle and had it at a dealership this morning prior to purchase for a total inspection. It's not perfect but what they stated didn't deter me from purchasing it as I know this a 34 year old car.

They said the battery needs changing. It has a small oil leak in the rear main seal. Transmission leak at the pan. Front brakes at 6mm and rears at 4mm.

So the leaks will be the costliest I imagine.

Otherwise everything else checked out great. When I drive it however I do here this tap tap tap. Quick tapping sound in the engine. A lifter problem would be quite significant I'm sure. But if that was the case wouldn't the dealership mechanic's found that? Or am I hearing a normal sound in the engine?

I know that's probably a really hard question for any of you to answer without hearing it. It's not real loud but I can hear it.

Based on the other two things...the leaks. What would you guess those might cost to repair. Is it a matter of changing a seal in the engine and since I'm not mechanically incline (but want to learn!) when they say transmission "pan" what exactly is that and what would need to be done to repair the leak?

I'm female if you haven't figured that out yet and I do plan on attending a autoshop class at our local college. At 35 I'll probably be the oldest in the class...HA HA! That's ok though. But I just don't want to take my car to a mechanic and get "taken for a ride"...like them tell me it's the lifters and it's really not. Could the dealership mechanic's that did the inspection miss something like that?

Anyway, I'm thrilled with this car! It's GORGEOUS!

Thanks,

Kel

[daveid]

what they probly mean by leaking at the pan is you just need to take it off and put a new gasket on there. Scrape off the old on and clean the bottom of the transmission where the gasket is going to go so theres no liquid.
Then make sure there pan is nice and clean too so you can get the gasket nice and flat on there.
Then take some gasket sealer and put a thin layer on the pan and spread nice and even and then bolt it back up.
Or you have a hole in your tranny pan.
As for the other stuff, I cant anwser those.
GL though, maybe try a trust worthy mechanic that is a small buisness and they will probly be able to help you more on the older cars like yours.

[MagicRat]

Good post.
If you remove the transmission pan, be sure to change the transmission fluid filter. Its very easy to do when the pan is off.
Clean out the pan, too, before reinstalling. It likely will have some debris. A small amount of grey/black debris is a normal by-product of normal transmission operation. There should be a round magnet inside the pan, too, about 2 inches in dia and about 1/16 inch thick. If its missiing, put one in. It sticks to the bottom of the pan, inside the transmission, so it is always immersed in fluid.

As for the lifters, one or more might be stuck with debris or oil sludge. Lifters have very small oil passages and valves in them. They are easily clogged if the car has missed a few oil changes in its lifetime.

Try adding an oil additive specifically designed to quiet down noisy lifters. Read the instructions and make sure you get the correct oil additive. There are many additives there that do different things.
This is best added after an oil change, then drive the car for a couple of weeks then change the oil again.
Sometimes this works, and its a lot cheaper than a mechanic installing a new cam and lifters.

There are also oil additives that can seal up minor leaks on engine seals. Again, its worth a try, because its cheaper than a full repair.

Good luck on your mechanics course. You will find that repairing an older car, from the 70's or earlier is much, much easier than repairing a new one.

[MrPbody]

Kel,
You didn't say which engine the car has. Small block? Big block? A '71 would typically have a 307 (economy car), 350 (sportier), 402 (SS396) or 454(SS454). Remotely possible it's a straight 6?
The tick-tick is either a lifter as previously mentioned, OR, a valve guide. Chevy V8s are known for guide issues, especially in that era. If you have the lifters adjusted, and the sound goes away for a few seconds, then comes back, it's probably a bad guide. That will require disassembly and repair.
Felpro makes a 1-piece oil pan gasket that is relatively easy to install. It is absolutely the best way to eliminate oil leaks due to pan problems. The rear main seal often gets blamed for pan leaks. If the back side of the flywheel/flexplate is dry, it's not the main seal.
As for the transmission pan gasket, under no conditions do we use ANY sealer on that gasket. Clean and dry will seal the best, UNLESS there's damage to the sealing flange. If the trans pan is bent, replace it. And ditto on the filter change.

Jim