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331 Rear Main Seal Leak After 1000 Miles
Hey All, my rear main seal is leaking oil into the bell housing. Thankfully I caught it before it rendered my plate and clutch useless. I have never replaced a rear main seal before and would like some directions. I'm replacing a national single piece seal.
I'm also surprised that it would go after so few miles. Engine was built by a professional engine shop in town and it appears from the outside to be a reasonably good install. I may find a bur or something once it's pulled. Appears that most of the oil is coming out of the block side but it's hard to tell. Any advice much appreciated. |
Check YouTube, "How to install a ford 302 rear main seal and sleeve."
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Thanks Wbulk, saw the video, just wanted to know if there are any altering opinions.
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Are you positive it is the rear main seal?
It could be the intake. Did you try using one of the oil dye kits to trace the leak? |
Hold on before you do anything...
Did you put sealant on the flywheel bolts? The flywheel bolt holes on a 302 based engine go all the way through to the crankcase. |
Chris, the Dye is a very good idea, should have thought of that. Not taking the engine out of the car so doing the rear seal swap from the underside. Checked the flywheel bolts, oil pan seal, header seals, covers, and the only spot of oil appearance is on the bottom of the oil seal. All this considered (and while still not wanted to tear out a perfectly good seal) I decided tonight to pull the seal and replace it since a new one is only 20 bucks. This way I can also inspect the crank and see if it'll need a sleeve. It's my first time doing this but so far everything appears fairly simple. Fortunately it's a single piece seal. Plan is to put the new seal in with perhaps a dab of RTV where the block meets and then run a thin ring of synthetic axle grease around the inside so I'm not fitting a dry seal. Let me know if you guys thing there is an improvement to doing any of this. Thanks!
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I have tried a number of single piece seals. Without special tools, they can be a real bear to get in straight. You'll ruin a couple of seals trying to get this done.
EXCEPT the Ford seal. That one slips right just as easy as can be. IIRC, it goes in dry. no silicone, grease, or oil; but I could be wrong on that point. I wouldn't use anything except the original Ford part. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fm...b302/overview/ |
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