Customs drip

Oil dripping from the bellhousing in the old dodge pickup. 360/727 top of engine is dry, valve covers,intake, oil pressure gauge all dry. Either rear main seal or cam plug??? How can I cipher which? Thanks.

 

Your oil leak could also be coming from the back of the intake, and there is a gasket or oil ring around the distributor that has also been known to leak. I would suspect either (or both) of those before I would suspect the cam plug or the rear seal. A leak at either of those two locations will run down between the block and the bell. You need to get up on top of the motor and inspect the top of the block behind the intake to be sure neither of those are not leaking. If neither of those two are the problem, you probably won't be able to tell if the rear seal or the cam plug are leaking without at least dropping the trans. Biggest problem is the bellhousing is the lowest point on the motor/trans and will be the catch all. Gene

 

rear crank seal is the most likely culprit, since it seals a moving part.

 

And needs most labor to replace

 

Is the leak more prevalent when you first shut down the Engine?

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Could it be the front seal on the transmission where the convertor slips in, if so it would trickle down the inside of the bellhousing, however transmission fluid is different to engine oil? Just a thought.

 

I've had a lot of 360 Mopars through the years, the rear seal has not ever been a problem, now the back of the intake is a different matter. The intake leak always shows up at the trans bell first. Maybe I've just been lucky. Gene

 

It's definitely worth another look.

 

If it is the rear of the intake manifold, you could use an inspection mirror or a shop rag to scope out the the situation...

 

A Quick trip to the spray wand car wash and six or so quarters will clean the top and back of the top of the engine off reasonably well so that you can readily spot oil leaking out of the back of the intake gasket or valve covers.
Take a can of WD-40 a screw driver and a roll of paper towels along as some distributors don't like getting wet.
I've done that on a lot of rigs over the years chasing oil leaks. Works a hell of a lot better than the by guess and by golly method.

 

While you're poking around under the hood, make sure that the PCV system is in working order. A little pressure build-up in the crankcase can push oil past seals and gaskets that might just barely be doing their job under the best of conditions.