Am I cursed. I have been at this a long time and when I started in the early 70's I built cars that 99% of the time were dry underneath. These days everything I build if I put it together or have a so called professional do the job I have leaks. Engine drips, Transmission drips and Rear end drips. I think I am more careful and knowledgeable today than I was in the beginning and the engine, trans and rear end guys I pay to do the work today are the best in the area. I expect my Flat head motors to drip, they always have. But a new 9 inch rear, new Winters rear, a freshly rebuilt 350/700R4 or T5 with today's technology shouldn't drip. I have cardboard under every car. Am I cursed?
It might just be a Nebraska thing. I've put 3 pinion seals in my Winters axle and the Pontiac engine has leaked from the hokey *** rear main seal [rope] since I first fired it up. I did a upgrade to a modern lip-seal on the front of the engine......yup, it seeps oil. The Muncie M-21 has never leaked a drop but it sounds like it needs a bearing.
I can relate. Even one of the shops decided to join in. During our Harley/Detroit years if it didn’t leak I checked it to see if it had oil. It used to be a running joke it was the factories built in rust prevention that came with the southern warranty.
I'm wondering if the seal material now used, has changed composition, & is partially incompatible w/the chemicals in todays' lubes. Years ago when I changed a front crank seal from felt-type to neoprene-type(on a stude v8), it sealed real nice at 1st, but I found out that if the engine wasn't used often, the seal would not hold oil & wear-out/leak real fast. At least the felt seal held oil & wouldn't burn, but it would leak, too. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. ??? Marcus...
Back when I worked on British motorcycles, Royal Enfields were reputedly lubed by pouring a bucket of oil over the engine and letting it soak in.
My champ rear end leaked and the cause was the cover bolts were too long. I took them all out, cut off 1/4- 3/8ths" and stuck them back in and fixed it.
New trans and Red Line oil. Thousands of miles and dry as a bone. Changed to a lighter wt oil and seal started leaking. Put new seal in and dry as a bone. Engine [sbf289] has been leak free at crank seals for 30 years; valve covers have started weeping at forty years. Rear pinion enough to ac***ulate some dirt, one axle seal original to build at 50 years and replaced one at ten years. One uses as much finess as possible, buy name brand seals and then its still a **** shoot. Having said all that I hope I didnt shoot myself in the foot!
I’m on my 3rd 9inch pinion seal. So far so good. New pinion bearings and new Quick Performance yoke and 3 seals. I think the quality of everything is just **** anymore!
I can feel your pain. On my recent build my new water pump leaked past seal on the back plate (SBC) and my new GM SBC 350 long block leaked at the rear main seal at first. Fortunately a new water pump gasket fixed the coolant leak and the rear main found it’s “happy place” after about 100 miles. No leaks from my Tremec TKO 500 or Winters QC so far.
These things are finicky. I rebuilt a 258" 8BA and was very careful with the seals (especially the rear main). After I got it up and running, it had no leaks whatsoever. Unfortunately, I had decided to install a new oil pump from Speedway and the engine had lower than spec oil pressure (15 psi idle and 40 psi hot at speed). After some discussions (here and on "The Ford Barn"), I decided to replace the pump with a known, tested original Ford pump. That solved the oil pressure problem, but even though I was extremely careful removing and replacing the pan (the engine was on a stand), it developed a slight leak after the pump swap. This tells me that any anomaly in the installation (of rope seals, at least) is extremely delicate, and if you're not careful, even a second fitting can lead to leaks.
Years ago I had a 73 Ranchero for a shop/loaner vehicle @ my body shop. It leaked so bad that when give to a customer for a loaner would put 2/3 quarts of oil behind the seat and tell em to check oil every morning and add as needed. Never did change the oil in it for over the last 30,000 miles, just changed filter about every 20 quarts or so.
My car, "new" Chevy II pan that had issues. Silver soldered cracks near the rails, straightened the piss out of it, checked on a granite surface plate. Had 2 guys around when I installed it, real pros. Gave me some good tips. I had a good valve cover leak and the tee for the oil gauge had m***ive leaks. Got those resolved. Now it may be the chintzy front cover (was a gift...) and or the pan. I figure I have to yank it and put it back on an engine stand one day. Until then, I hose it off with Simple Green now and then, I call the car The E**on Valdez II...
I too have had these problems and I pride myself in having a spot-free driveway. I notice seals are all almost imported these days and I got a feeling that is a good portion of the problem made in nations where The people making the parts can't afford their own car but I digress. *cough, cough, China-cough*. Also on automatic transmissions I don't know what the fram gasket is made of It looks kind of like cork but it's not cork but it is absolute garbage, You put it on the car it goes through a couple of heat cycles next thing you know all the bolts are loose again you tighten them up and you'll go through this two or three times probably distorting your transmission pan in the process and never fixing the actual leak... I sometimes buy a quality Victor gasket when I am doing a transmission fluid change just to try to prevent this from happening. Also if I'm screwing around with one of the so to speak cl***ic American car automatics you know turbo 350 turbo 400 torque flight 904 torque flight 727 or a Ford c4 or C6 I will go on eBay and buy a transmission pan with a built-in drain plug. (I could weld in plug but I am lazy). Then there are the "better" then cork black gaskets that have seemingly just about completely replaced cork gaskets over the last decade And they are not made in America The American black gaskets don't seem to have the same problem but I am not a fan of those black gaskets from over seas I don't know what the material is made from but I noticed they tend to dry out with age and leak. I think you mix all these things together and you have the perfect storm for guaranteed engine leaks Then you mix that with modern synthetic oil which has a smaller molecule compared to conventional motor oil and it is going to find every microscopic potential leak possible And it's not like you can get away from modern conventional motor oil They are all part of the synthetic now if not completely synthetic... This is great for lubrication and for longevity of an engine but it's terrible for tiny oil leaks as it makes them bigger.
My M20 was a leaker. I noticed that the 7/8" countershaft pin was recessed in the housing, gave it little mind until I saw the puddle under the car. That was fixed in 2018 when I blew 3rd gear and lunched a bunch of internals. One buddy keeps a piece of cardboard in his garage, just for me. When I have the car on his driveway, he hands it to me and I perform the ritual.
On the Jeep forum they say to find NOS rear rope crank seals, as they have taken out the asbestos from the new ones and that's why they now leak.
I live on a dirt driveway...it is dust control actually leaks drive me crazy and all I've been working on for the last several days is getting the Mitchell rebuilt model A transmission in the Cabriolet sealed up...we shall see....
Both the engine and trans leaked on mine. Trans has nearly stopped and level is fine. Adding a PCV system to my engine helped and also running 1/2 qt low on oil. Some was from the external oil pump but stopped that one. I’m not going to change the main rope seal at my age..
I'd agree that, like parts in general, gasket quality is a factor. Rear mains are the worst, especially when it's bad enough on a stick to start fouling up your clutch ***y. For fussy oil pan etc leaks, I've successfully used the trick of blocking off all breathers, then attaching a shop vac to the oil filler tube. Hit the leaking area with carb cleaner, let dry, then follow with RTV. The vac will pull the silicone into the small crevice. I wonder if that flex seal would work? Permatex makes a spray on sealant. Anyone try that? I image some time spent carefully masking so only the intended area gets hit would keep the eyesore to a minimum.
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