rear main seal pace car

[dsleeman]

Does the engine need to come out of my 1979 pace car to replace the rear main seal?

[homer302]

It might actually be easier but the answer is no. It's a 2 piece seal so the oil pan will have to be lowered and/or the engine raised up to drop the pan enough to gain access. So at that point, you have disturbed the oil pan gasket. Do you trust just putting it back in place? It could well be the proverbial can of worms.

It is possible that you have a failed rear main seal but usually the reason for a failed main seal is that the bearings are all so worn that the crank is flopping around and hogging out the main seal. (keep in mind we are talking 100s-1000s of an inch tolerance and that is all a little seal lip has to work with.) So replacing it might work long enough to sell the car but it's very likely you will be at the same place in short order if you plan to keep it and the engine has a decent amount of miles on it.

[dsleeman]

Interesting. So let me give you some background info. The pace car is in excellent condition. 32k on it. The oil that drips when I am on a road trip will hit exhaust pipe and cause it to smoke. What do you recommend?

[erratic50]

Likely due to seal age. Unless there are other signs of excessive bearing tolerance, just replace the seal.

Be sure to pinpoint the leak - it is a lot easier to change several other gaskets than a 79's rear main.

[dsleeman]

Thank you!!

[ashley roachclip]

I just pull the engines , reseal intake , valve covers , waterpump white i am there .
It only takes a couple hours to pull , and much easier than working on your back , or overhead on the lift .

[dagenham]

Also something to consider is what kind of oil are you running? Synthetic oil in that engine may leak where as standard oil may not leak at all or not as bad.
If oil is dripping on the exhaust it sounds more like a valve cover gasket. Probably around the back somewhere making it look like the rear main seal.
Just some things to considers.

[erratic50]

Back of intake is notorious for leaking too.

[dsleeman]

Thank you for all the feedback!!~