Okay just today i started to get a oil leak from here the tranny and engine meets. but im not totally sure where between those too. im not sure if its a pan gasket or the rear main seal. is there any other place it can leak from? i just hope its not the rear main seal. if it is how hard would it be to replace it? i know im not goin to replace it but how much would u guys guess it would cost? if its goin to cost an arm and a leg im goin to say F'K it and store the car till i get money for an engine swap, becuz i dont want to waste my money on this 305 if it is goin to cost a crap load to get it fixed.

 

Oil at that point can be coming from the oil pressure tapping or the valley pan gasket. Look or feel behind the distributer where the alloy vally pan meet the iron block. if your hand comes back oily, that is the most likely leak.

It is not usuall for lots of oil to come through the crank seal. But you can get plenty from a blown valley pan gasket. It gets into the bell housing and impersonates a crank seal leak.

 

so is that valley thinger by the oil pan? becuz if i can 2marrow im goin to get it on the lift and check it out and find out whats the deal. if it is something that is goin to cost alot to repaint im goin to say forget it and clean out the gagrge for the car and park it there and save for a engine swap, either supercharged SBC or a 454bbc

 

No, the valley pan is the inlet manifold that sits on the top of the engine, in the valley between the two cylinder heads.

It bolts to the heads, and has to seal the flat edges at the top of the block V between each bank of cylinders at the top. There is a rubber gasket at each end and it is known for blowing out. Some oil comes out when it blows and that oil runs down the bell housing so when you look for the leak, it looks like it is coming from the rear main bearing seal.

 

if thats my problem is that hard to fix or what? and if i dont fixz it right away is it bad to rive around with that leaking or no?

 

It means taking off all the inlet manifold and fitting new gaskets. Not too bad, just a pain. But make sure the oil is coming from there first. Just have a feel around the top of the engine though to see if there is oil down the back.

So long as you don't loose all the oil it will just leak and make a mess. Just keep an eye on the dipstick. the leak might stop after the first splurg. Leaks don't really matter until you loose too much, unless the leak is from a pressure line. Check the oil pressure sender area to the drivers side of the distributer.

The leaking oil can stop the car from rusting underneath.

 

well the underneeth of my car is quite (sp) rusted so i dunno if it will stop

 

Before the polution control valve engines, the oil breathers were just a ball of wire wool in a small contaner to catch most of the oil in the vapor, with a pipe to lead the vapor and any oil to near the ground. You used to be able to rely on that to leave a continual residue of oil under the car to stop it rusting. Trouble was it didn't reach all the places it needed to.

Oil is excellent at stopping rust from getting worse, it just smells a bit. But as an interm way of holding back the rust, until a restoration etc it is great. A bit of oil, and some road dust is a great long term preservative for steel.

 

i was thinking is there anyway that it could also be the oil pressure switch or what ever is back there? becuz it seens like it only leaks when the car is runnin. becuz it only started yesturday and i checked today and theres just a little bigger oil spot then it was yesturday and i havent ran the car since then.

and i tryed reaching my hand around the back of the engine by the distributor and i got a little bit of oil and grease but nothing serious. i think when i bring the car into work on monday ill get it up on a lift and check it out from underneght (sp). also is there any way that from switching from regualr oil to synthentic oil made this leak? like ive read that people have used a systhetic on older engines and they got an oil leak. could that be my problem? i htink ill do another oil change on this and use regualr oil and put a bottle of lucas oil stabilizer in too.

 

it could be the oil presssure switch, if it is the oil will be to the passenger side of the distributer.

I don't know about the synthetic causing a leak, but if you have just changed the oil you might have a leak at the filter.

 

If your car already has a oil leak, and you put synthetic oil in...the oil leak will get worse.

 

no last time i changed my oil was this past june, 4 months ago.

 

If it was a rear main oil will not be ontop of the bellhousing. It would be coming from between the tranny and engine. Probably not your problem. Yours is more than likely a china wall leak. Where the intake meets the block. It is just RTVed so it could be leaking. Mine did and I leaked quiet a bit.

 

so to repare it u have to rip the intake off and put new intake manifold gaskets and put a new bead of RVT in the front and back? right? how much do u think a shop would charge to do that? becuz i dont want to do it at work becuz while im at work i dont feel like working on my car becuz im kinda sick of cars during the day.

 

Well to update u guys on the leak problem. i found out what it was. try and guess......the stupid valve cover gaskets again. they probably didnt seal right after i put my chrome wire looms on. becuz u have to take the bolt off of the valve cover stud to put them, even though i only did one bolt at a time, one in front and on in back i guess it was enuff to let it leak some oil.

then i also did an oil change on it today (even though i only put 1600 miles on the car since mid-late june) and thats when i looked for the leak. so i just used some 10w30 valvoline oil and an AC delco filter and so far so good (knocking on wood).

im just very relieveed that it was something that stupid. and lucky me we have the gaskets in stock at work and all i need to do is get them and a hour of free time and im good to go.

 

I'd settle for a dumb leak over a crank seal anyday. Great to hear it is going to be OK.