I am trying to fix a oil leak on my 97 LT1 T/A, do you have to drop the oil pan to get the timing cover off.?

Im changing the distributer and water pump, spark plugs ext.I am trying to fix a oil leak on my 97 LT1 T/A, do you have to drop the oil pan to get the timing cover off.?
You used to have to drop the pan on the older Chevy small-blocks, because the bottom of the timing cover had a lip on the back. I've got a picture from Alldata here, for a '96 Z28 that looks like it's still there. Some guys used to grind the corners on the lip, but it's still tricky because of the front crank seal. And that was with a stamped steel cover. Not sure if they still use that. If they're Aluminum now(?) wouldn't make things any easier. The cover looks like it's thicker than the old ones wouldn't help either if that's the case.





Edit; Turns out they do have a repair guide for those years that I missed in my bookmarks. (listed under Camaro/Firebird!) Says you gotta drop the pan.


http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/090鈥?/a>


Turns out I was right about it being Aluminum too.I am trying to fix a oil leak on my 97 LT1 T/A, do you have to drop the oil pan to get the timing cover off.?
No, but you will have to take off the crank pulley, and most of the accessories.