My new motor has a leak on the rear main.

I have everything apart and am ready to replace the seal. Here is my question:

Do I just need to pop the seal out and replace the seal or do I need to remove the seal retainer and gasket also (lowering the back of the oil pan to do so)?

 

Just the seal, nothing else.

 

Thanks - Should I soak the new seal in oil and pop it in, using a small block of wood to flush it with the block?

 

I don't think it matters if you put it in dry or with oil on it. I put mine in dry and it was fine. You should go to the hardware store and get a 4 inch PVC pipe end cap. That will fit over the lip of the seal almost perfectly and let you tap it in evenly into the seal retainer. They have a raised square in the center which is perfect for tapping the hammer on. Just go slow and there shouldn't be any problems. Be sure not to damage the crank surface that the seal rides on when you are pulling the old one out.

 

Put it in dry

 

Thanks for the PVC idea, I'll head to home depot and grab one for the install.

 

The PVC pipe cap is exactly what I do too... except I drill some holes in it, and use longer bolts to draw it in... since about 99% of failures of those, esp on new installs, are due to the seal being bent by not being driven in straight; and the other 1% are due to it being driven in crooked. Moral of the story: DON'T try to tap it in around the edge; and do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to ensure that it goes in STRAIGHT.

 

I installed my new rear main with the PVC cap (works good), bolted the flywheel back on and had the SAME leak still! I think it's one of the three oil galley plugs above the cam. I'm cleaning them up, lubing the liquid teflon and re-installing. I'll update soon!

 

Looks like I was leaking from an oil galley plug and the oil pan gasket. The oil pan gasket was leaking on the passenger side stud near the rear main.

I'm currently dropping the oil pan (motor in car), any tips on getting it leak free are welcomed?

 

Sure....

Don't do it that way; pull the motor. Doesn't have to come "out"; just, enough that the rest of the car isn't in the way.

 

I lifted the motor up a few inches and put wood underneath the motor mounts. The hard part was removing the oil pump in order to get the oil pan removed.

When I put the pan back in, it was difficult again to get the oil pump installed while it was inside of the pan!

 

Found out the leak on that side was the OIL DIPSTICK TUBE! I bought a nice aftermarket Loker braided SS tube with o-rings. Leak fixed.

Now, I was able to find my other leak. Back corner of the china wall... ughhh..

 

Didn't need the new dipstick just needed a lil sealant on the tube.

 

It is SO hard to remove and install the stock dipstick with Edelbrok Headers with Air Tubes. The stock dipstick was so bent to **** and I had to do a bit of grinding down on the part that enters the block to get it to go in so I didn't want to go throught all that work and still have a leak. I spent my entire weekend changing seals to find the leak: replacing the rear main, oil pressure sender, cam galley plugs, and oil pan gasket in the process! It was well worth the $70 to not have to deal with the stock one and ensure no more leak