A sudden gusher

[janan5243]

Is it possible to replace rear main seal on a 237 with engine in car? I see two types of seals, one with rope seal & one that has some type of metal frame around it with 3 bolt holes. Does second one fit my engine?. I was lucky & dodged a bullet Friday evening. Car had a leak that looked like it was on manifold side of engine, thought it was valve side covers or fuel pump. Was ordering engine gasket set & get it up on buddies lift to check it out. Left for dinner Friday evening & saw oil pressure drop to 10 lbs, the go back to 40 lbs. Kept doing that, went back home & put 3 1/2 qts in it. when putting it back in garage, went to move something, left it idling in driveway. After parking it, saw good size puddle where I left it idling. Obviously, leak has gotten pretty bad. Appreciate all input. Thanks Jim

[janan5243]

On a possible good note, spoke with PO, who was a mechanic on vintage vehicles way before they were vintage. He believes my problem is rear oil pan gasket. Doesn't think rear main seal would leak as bad as mine is leaking. I ordered oil pan gasket set. Am also ordering rear main oil seal, just in case. Actually when I have it apart I may try to change seal also. Can't hurt, I think. problem is which seal to order. all three types say they fit my engine. Any help?

[Don Coatney]

This might or might not help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[janan5243]

Thanks Don. I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to look in my manual. According to Berbaum, My engine takes the rubber seal w/o the metal plates. Book shows a one piece, with one cut to slide it on. Replacements come in 2 pieces, as the book shows. I've ordered one from a place in Florida. Great price but shipping kills it, still best price. Will probably change it when I have pan off. Be foolish not to. As I stated earlier, PO believes it to be pan gasket in curve. Have that gasket coming & a complete engine set. Interesting that all engine sets do not come with rear seal. Rock Auto set doesn't have timing change gaskets either. Hopefully I can get to it this coming weekend. Still some nice days here in capitol region, NY.

[Reg Evans]

Last time out in my 42 coupe,J-Lo, I noticed a trail of oil drops on the ground leading up to where I parked and under the engine was a good sized puddle. I finally got around to investigating this afternoon and put her up on the lift after starting the engine. Well, oil is dripping out of the edge of the oil pan between the last two rear bolts on the drivers side at the rate of about 1 drop per second. I don't understand why that much oil would be pouring out of there without the car moving and the oil sloshing around in the pan. It stops soon after I shut the engine off.  The gauge shows 40lbs of oil pressure. Can this be just a simple oil pan leak or do I have a crack in an oil galley in the block ?

[Bmartin]

Not sure where I heard, read, saw this but....There was a similar situation where oil was leaking badly from the same spot.  I believe it was the oil that was being pushed throug the bearings/crank actually was pumped out back there and hit that area of the pan.  So a simple gasket leak was made worse.  Sorry for the lack of detail, but its just too fuzzy in my brain.  But at least it may generate some better ideas.

[janan5243]

My car also developed a gusher. almost lost engine past Friday night. didn't realize leak had gotten very bad. Haven't had a chance to pinpoint it. Thought it was rear main but PO felt it was pan gasket. Will find out this weekend. Good luck with your leak.

[janan5243]

found my leak today. was oil pump cover. would leak when running, fan would blow oil back on frame. took cover off, cleaned & sealed with RTV. will test drive tomorrow.

[janan5243]

Found leak today. Oil pump plate/cover. Fan would blow oil down frame rail. when parked, oil would drip in a long line. took cover off cleaned & reinstalled with rtv gasket sealant. Will test drive tomorrow.

[_shel_ny]

found my leak today. was oil pump cover. would leak when running, fan would blow oil back on frame. took cover off, cleaned & sealed with RTV. will test drive tomorrow.

 

Pump will require priming to get oil pressure.

[TodFitch]

Pump cover to gear clearance is critical. Not sure how you would check it and get it right using RTV instead of the official gasket. I guess if it is not making noise and the pressure is up you got the sweet spot but I think if you did it will be by luck alone.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Do it right use the OE gasket or square O-ring.

[ptwothree]

Do it right use the OE gasket or square O-ring.

I still have 2 of these.....PM me if interested......

[janan5243]

I drove car Sunday.50 miles. made sure parked on blacktop to check for oil. first time I had car up to 65 mph for an extended run. when stopped at light, pressure dropped to 10 psi, then to 20 psi. when started moving went back to 40 psi. when leaving, just one tiny drop. drove back home, on interstate, 60 mph. stopped to have a beer at local spot, looked out at car, 2 puddles under car. oil pressure was doing same thing but was steady at 40 psi when running at speed. seemed oil was coming from pan. haven't had a chance to get up on lift. should have remembered that clearances are critical on those type pumps. Ptwothree ,I will PM you. Incidentally, I didn't start this post. I posted after someone else. I had another post about losing a lot of oil & almost blowing engine & somehow they got linked. No Biggy. Appreciate response's. Will post findings. How apropos, on the bottom of page is ad for Perma Tech Oil Stop Leak. Lol.

Edited September 30, 2014 by janan5243

[janan5243]

I got the rear main seal I ordered. Was good price. Too good, wrong seal. It's the seal with the metal flanges with three bolt holes. It's for sale. JV134-6. New, not NOS. PM me if interested. Only reasonably priced, correct seal is MOPAR NOS. Has anybody used NOS seals? It's rubber, from 60-70's. Think it's worth trying? Any & all input appreciated.

[Don Coatney]

I got the rear main seal I ordered. Was good price. Too good, wrong seal. It's the seal with the metal flanges with three bolt holes. It's for sale. JV134-6. New, not NOS. PM me if interested. Only reasonably priced, correct seal is MOPAR NOS. Has anybody used NOS seals? It's rubber, from 60-70's. Think it's worth trying? Any & all input appreciated.

Posting a photo would be helpful.

[janan5243]

have to figure out how to do that, Don.

[Don Coatney]

have to figure out how to do that, Don.

http://p15-d24.com/index.php?app=core&module=help&do=01&HID=8

[deathbound]

A quick Google search turned this up:http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=4438254

[Merle Coggins]

I remember my engine having a seal like that as a dust seal on the back side of the main cap/block. But the rope seal within the cap/bearing saddle was the actual oil seal.

 

Merle