In other words, to answer his question, no, oil does not reside in the flywheel area. To elaborate, if there is oil in there, then obviously there is a problem.

 

Just to add scary scenarios; the transmission seal is in there, too.

That pic sure does show old oil in the joint, could infiltrating from outside. The rest of it does look like sloppy filter changes.

 

i use a driprag when i do it so i really dont understand. i have not had a real hour to set aside to do this clean up or retorque the bolts. it is awful gray out there today.

 

finally the stars have aligned for me!!

i tightened the oil pan. how the hey do they loosen up!! the larger bolts to the driversside moved about a 1/4 turn. also the 1/4" screws on the lower pan were loose as well. so i walked each one from inside to out.

now lets see if that stopped the leak.

 

They really need to be torqued, and it is not much. 18 lb ft for the engine oil pan. 106 lb inch for the trans pan.

I know from personal experience that over tightening the trans pan is a very bad thing that ruins the pan!

 

oh man now im nervous!!!! i hope that i didnt go overboard!!! they were all super loose. i may have caused an issue now. so now i have to look for leaks in that as well??

 

Stay calm check for leaks first.

 

106 in/lb is roughly 8 foot pounds, so just about hand tight will do it for the trans pan. Only be worried if you monkeyed them on, otherwise, a bit more than hand tight should be safe. You should invest in a small inch pound torque wrench. If you live in an area with a harbor freight, one can be had for 20 USD and with the 20 percent of its only 16 bucks.

 

ok my wife was telling me it was shifting strangely. so i drove it around abit. technically i like the harder shift but it is too much for that car and it gets harder as it goes along. i guess i tightened it to much and the pan is holding back flow and it builds pressure. also after a while when you stop and put it in park and shift it back into drive you feel it. then you feel first. almost feels like when my monte shifts into first and that has a 4l60e.

it rained all day yesterday so i couldnt back off the bolts. it is supposed to clear up later today. i have the lb ft torque wrench just have to find it. forgot where i stored it. been ALONG time since i really needed to use it. IF I CANT I GUESS I WILL BE GOING TO HARBOR FREIGHT!!

 

^^^ above. Uh...............No. The pan tightness has no effect on flow or pressure. The pan is just a reservoir for the fluid, not a pressure or flow area.
Any CEL's ? If none are showing on dash, have them pulled to see if any are stored. Certain CEL's can effect transmission performance.