It looks like the rear main seal of my 302 is leaking pretty badly. Short of dropping the exhaust, disconnectuing the radiator and motor mounts so I can raise the engine and C4 to drop the pan, is there another way to reduce or stop the leak? Perhaps an additive to swell the seal?
If you just unbolt the idler arm from the frame rail, you will have plenty of room to drop the pan.(Unless you have the stock 'Y' pipe)Then it must be dropped as well. Is your engine a two piece or one piece rear main seal? If its one piece you will have to separate the trans/flex plate from the engine. If its the two piece style. You can drop the bearing cap and replace the bottom half easily. The top half can be slipped into place over the crank if... The original rope seal has allready been replaced with the rubber type seal in the past.If its still a rope seal and hasnt been molested it could be a problem getting a new seal in place since there is a pointed pin in the seal groove in the block that holds the rope seal in place. You will have to creatively knock the pin out to insert a rubber type seal.(be certain you recover the pin) once you knock it out. Just remember this: Something caused the seal to fail...(loose bearing clearances) Round seals generally dont fail unless they have been dried out for a long time. As for useing an oil additive to slow/stop the leak. Good luck, most of the stuff out there that claims to fix this sort of ailment is snake oil. May be time to consider a bottom end freshening, Good luck!!!
Thanks, Mavman. I've been wondering about that too. May have to remove my pan -- I won't say why. Has to do with something that happened when the distributor was out.
I wish it were that simple. But I haven't told you the rest of the story. The engine/trans is in a 1933 REO Roadster and the pan is only about 1" off the cross brace of the frame. I'm gonna have to lift the engine to clear the frame member. Also, I believe the engine is all original, right down to the old style seal (about 1972 vintage). I posted this here because I've found a wealth of information from you folks and had unreasonable hopes someone here had a magic bullet. But alas and alack, no such luck. Regardless, thanks for the input. It's helps me make a decision. Bob Mahon Milford, PA
Just a 1/4" drive 1/4" deep socket. Fell off the extension when I was priming the oil pump. Glad there was no one around to hear me scream like a girl. I'm HOPING I can get it out the drain. But its good to know I can remove the pan without pulling the engine out again.
It sure gets a lot of attention and questioning at a show. Most people don't even know what a REO is. The thing that puzzles me the most is that the leak only appeared after a 6 mile drive to get it inspected. There wasn't a sign of leak before. In my experience, generally a rear main seal will show signs of weeping before it becomes a major leak, no?
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I know that one. Anyone who's going to need it more than once should do that or buy the tool that's made for the job. I actually started taking an old distributor apart but decided it wasn't worth the trouble since I'll probably never have to prime a pump again and I've used the 1/4" socket successfully before. Socket with duct tape sounds good for one time usage.
