Rear main seal failure after only 12 mos. and maybe 200 miles! Dealer installed. WTF??

[Thomas Gentilin]

Chev/Buick dealer installed/replaced new rear main seal last year............my 87 Turbo T sits in the garage with a few rides here and there. Yesterday, i start the car to find a puddle of engine oil. How could this seal Fail so prematurely???

 

[THensley]

Hop you read my reply post
90 % chance the seal did not fail but the craftsman ship is the problem
O did any one tell you Turbo Buicks tend to mark their spot.
35 years ago cars leaked oil when brand new. The invention of the one piece rear main in 89 was the beginning of trying to fix a 35 year old problem started in 1955 witch was a big improvement over the previous 20 year span.
And Y blocks have its own special problem a square deck doesn't have. A old Ford mechanic may have a better chance how built FE's

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Spoolfool diaper will help the frustration.

Each valvecover needs a free flowing breather.

Vacuum draw on the crankcase at WOT will help too.

I have all 3 above and my new engine has a little leak still.

 

[xlr8ngn]

When your turbo Buick stops leaking oil, it means the oil pan is empty.

 

[THensley]

Spoolfool diaper will help the frustration.

Each valvecover needs a free flowing breather.

Vacuum draw on the crankcase at WOT will help too.

I have all 3 above and my new engine has a little leak still.

these are more good recommend problem solving solutions to oil leaking
The OE PVC system has its problems too.
Catch cans seem to be a common fix too and at lest 10 different was to plumb it.
If you have the PCV valve, I would be installing a RJC valve

 

[jlat]

hello peoples: I've been chasing leaks for a while but I keep alum. pan under the car when my 86T sits. One good thing about the pan is that if you drop something while in the engine area the pan catches it. But snot all the time.
IBBY

 

[MikeS]

It may be worth using the oil dye and a black light to verify the leak is actually the rear main. I had a leak at the back of the intake that initially looked like the main. Rerouting my pcv system fixed it.

 

[ITSAV6]

Breathers on both valve covers and check valve in pcv line

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

When I invented this product, I was told by more than one engine builder that it was a stupid idea. Those same engine builders are now my biggest customers for this thing. I will be the first to admit that it is a stupid idea. But, it's a stupid idea that works. It keeps the oil off your crossover pipe and actually changes the smell of your car. No more headaches while sitting in traffic, smelling burnt oil.

Happy Spooling
Mike Barnard

 

[MikeS]

When I invented this product, I was told by more than one engine builder that it was a stupid idea. Those same engine builders are now my biggest customers for this thing. I will be the first to admit that it is a stupid idea. But, it's a stupid idea that works. It keeps the oil off your crossover pipe and actually changes the smell of your car. No more headaches while sitting in traffic, smelling burnt oil.

Happy Spooling
Mike Barnard

I bought one from you and can testify to its effectiveness. Great product.

 

[turbodave231]

The only way I ever got my rear main to stop leaking was to run an electric vacuum pump on a closed breather system. I used a custom catch can and pulled the vacuum on the top of the can. It was like magic! Leak problem solved!

 

[xlr8ngn]

The only way I ever got my rear main to stop leaking was to run an electric vacuum pump on a closed breather system. I used a custom catch can and pulled the vacuum on the top of the can. It was like magic! Leak problem solved!

Which pump? Is it noisy?

 

[BEATAV8]

Modern lip seals aren’t really designed for old school crank shafts with knurls. Knurls were meant for rope seals. But nothing is worse than a rope seal!

You might get lucky using a lip seal on a stock crank and end up with only a tiny leak, you can feel pretty good about it if that’s the case.

 

[turbodave231]

Which pump? Is it noisy?

I used a GM AIR pump off a Trailblazer. I also used a hobbs switch that turned on the pump only under boost. This was a racecar not a streetcar. I ran no pcv system at all.