Rear Main seal

[Valiant72]

Hi everyone. I found the dreaded oil spot under the car this weekend. The engine had sat for two years before I swapped into my Valiant 3 months ago. It's a 360 out of a 79 Newport. Can the rear main seal be changed without pulling the motor? I replaced the oil pump and pan gasket. Is there anything special that should have been done around the back pan seal? Thanks for any info.

 

[moper]

Surre it can. If it still has the rope seal in it, there is a tool kit KD Tools sells, with a "chinese finger cuff" type dohicky, and a few picks and stuff to get the upper 1/2 out. But, if you just swapped the pump, and the rear main didnt leak before, I'd lean more towards perhaps a pan gasket or end seal leaking. It's difficult to get all the oil off the mating surfaces, and if you dont clean it very well, no gasket or RTV will keep it sealed for long.

 

[Valiant72]

Thanks Moper, I'm thinking it's more likely the pan gasket too. I read you can put 4 psi in the pan and watch for leaks. Never tried it but sounds like a good idea. It's nice to know it can be changed without pulling the motor back out.