Rear Main on 340 in 73 A-body

[73Dart340Sport]

I have a leak on the rear portion of my engine. I put dye in the oil, and using a black light, have determined that the oil seems to be coming from the rear main. I checked with a mirror and could see no evidence of oil oozing from the oil gallery plugs or the rear cam cover(what ever you call that). When I bring the engine up to operating temperature the oil leak is very noticable, and "drips" instead of seaps. After cooling the oil loss stops. The oil seems to be emitting from the right rear side of the block.

Question one of three.

Has anyone ever experienced a leak of this magnitude that wasn't from the rear main? I dont see any evidence of a leak around the pan, or the oil filter, but am open minded!

Question two

Can I get away with simply removing the engine mount bolts and hoisting the engine 1 inch to get the pan off or are ther other qyrations I have to go through. I would like not to have to remove the steeering gearbox if possible.

Question three

When replacing the seal, there are few directions for getting the old seal out of the engine. If the seal does not want to come out can I safely loosen the bearing caps to remove pressure on the seal then re-torque them?

Question four of three

Any ideas on RTV usage, and how do I go about applying the silicon to the tips of the seal while avoiding getting anything on the crank?

Question five of three

Any directions to be had on this proceedure that are written down. I have done this on a engine on a stand, but never laying upside down.

Any knowlege or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Sanguine]

you dont have to lift the engine to get the pan off...drop the center link from the steering linkage and it will come right off...
you may have to loosen the mains a bit
A rubber seal is much easier than a rope seal(a sneaky pete will make rope removal/install much easier)