My "Late Life Crisis"!

[66cayne]

I know you don't want to hear this, but hopefully it's not a rear main seal infant mortality issue. How much and what kind of oil are you filling it with? One way to localize a rear of engine leak is to raise the engine to a 30 degree angle or so so the oil is now sitting in the rear of the pan and leave it there for a few days. Check for dripping frequently. If it starts to seep get under the car and try to identify if its from the pan or possibly from the RMS. A RMS leak will likely leave a 'starburst' pattern on the engine side of the crank flange, but you will only see that after some extended driving and checking. I hate engine leaks. Love the car, good luck .

['69Novajoe]

Originally Posted by 66cayne

I know you don't want to hear this, but hopefully it's not a rear main seal infant mortality issue. How much and what kind of oil are you filling it with? One way to localize a rear of engine leak is to raise the engine to a 30 degree angle or so so the oil is now sitting in the rear of the pan and leave it there for a few days. Check for dripping frequently. If it starts to seep get under the car and try to identify if its from the pan or possibly from the RMS. A RMS leak will likely leave a 'starburst' pattern on the engine side of the crank flange, but you will only see that after some extended driving and checking. I hate engine leaks. Love the car, good luck .

Yes, I don't want to hear that, but I also know it could be a possibility!!

One guy I talked to had the opinion that if the rear main seal is installed correctly, pressure from the crankcase would only allow it to "push" harder on the main surface? But that doesn't account for a mismatched parting joint.

Per the engine builder, I'm running Valvoline VR1 20W-50, 5 quarts in a stock pan.

I will try your "technique" also to see if I can isolate the problem.

I'm also wondering if it might be possible to create enough "suction" with this adjustable PCV valve to overcome oil trying to escape past the pan gasket (if, indeed, it's coming from there!!). I'm also wondering if I can measure crankcase "pressure" through the oil dipstick opening, while closing off any other opening, like the valve cover breather locations?? If, so, what might the correct or acceptable amount be??

I, too, hate oil leaks.......and on a brand new engine to boot!!!

Thanks for your input and the kind words about the "build!!"

['69Novajoe]

Originally Posted by 66cayne

One way to localize a rear of engine leak is to raise the engine to a 30 degree angle or so so the oil is now sitting in the rear of the pan and leave it there for a few days. Check for dripping frequently. If it starts to seep get under the car and try to identify if its from the pan or possibly from the RMS. A RMS leak will likely leave a 'starburst' pattern on the engine side of the crank flange, but you will only see that after some extended driving and checking. I hate engine leaks. Love the car, good luck .

Okay, I've elevated the car up on jack stands to see if I'll notice any seeping of that "dinosaur juice!!"

I checked the crank flange for the "starburst" pattern you mentioned and didn't see any tell-tale signs there, so I'm assuming that's a good thing!!?? The motor now has over 500 miles on it, so I'm thinking that would be enough to see other areas of concern??

I'm still going to try that adjustable PCV valve just in case it might be able to help though.

['69Novajoe]

Hey guys, I know it’s been “a minute” since I’ve updated you on my progress, but what with the holidays and stuff, the Nova got put on the “back burner”, but I did drive it a little in the meantime. She’s an “animal” but I’ve yet to do a proper burnout!

I installed that adjustable PCV and, just to be safe, plumbed in that oil catch can. I really didn't think it would “catch” any oil, but after driving it around a bit, it actually had a good amount of oil in it! I think I had the PCV adjusted for too much “suction” and have since dialed it back a bit.

['69Novajoe]

Since I had those bungs welded into the headers I decided to buy the Innovate Dual Air/Fuel Gauge #3891. My neighbor, who has been a big help, figured out the installation process and even bought a cable to be able to hook the system up to a laptop! Now I would be able to see, in real time, what the A/F ratio is. It was kinda fun adjusting the idle mixture screws with it too! So far it looks to be within “specs.”

['69Novajoe]

One thing that has started happening though is, the clutch pedal started “sticking”. I’m pretty sure it’s because I didn’t grease the inside of the throwout bearing (like I’ve done in the past!) and instead used spray graphite suggested by another guy. It has bothered me so much that I’ve decided to take the transmission out to take care of it. One other part that I think is “compromised” is the clutch fork, which I’ll be replacing also.

['69Novajoe]

If you’ll remember, I also was chasing an oil leak. The one thing that was really bugging me was that the headers were getting “sprayed” by oil from the “windage” of the flywheel. I had decided to ignore the leak and even tried to add some metal duct tape to help contain it. I cleaned the headers as much as I could and even bought some header wrap to help protect them. Since the bellhousing I bought way back in 1969 didn’t come with an “engine plate” to cover up the flywheel, I then decided to try and make one, or at least make a template for someone else to make it. That would also help to keep the oil contained in the bellhousing, if it was indeed coming from behind the flywheel and I could then take that ridiculous duct tape off! Wow, this picture really makes it look bad, because it was!! So much for those nice clean coated headers!!

[Arrowsmith]

Sent you a PM Joe...

W

['69Novajoe]

It was then that I decided, since I was taking the transmission out, I might as well go all the way and remove the bellhousing, clutch and flywheel to see if I could tell where that stupid oil leak was really coming from.

Before doing all of that, while making the cardboard template, I happened to look up and saw this. Yep, it looks like the rear of the pan gasket got pushed out somehow! Since I really don’t want to take the motor out to fix this, I’m going to try and do it from the outside. I had mentioned this to my engine guy, and he said it might be possible, but it would take a lot of “brake/carb” cleaner to get rid of the oil and it still might not work. I've found out that RTV doesn't stick to RTV, so I'm thinking of using JB Weld to seal it. I think it’s worth a try and I can do it before I take everything apart. And I’ll be able to see if it will work while it’s up on jack stands. Any other suggestions??!!

[RPOLS3]

Can you loosen the pan bolts enough to gently shove the gasket back in position with a prybar or screwdriver?