Well, here we go again. The rear main leak has always been a problem with my car of 40 years. Engine has been apart a few times for various upgrades and a leak always becomes present sooner or later. Sorry if this has been discussed many times. Is there any good way to do this while keeping the crank installed? Motor runs excellent & I don't really feel like pulling it apart for this reason. What's a good rear main seal I should buy. Thank you.
I personally like the bop enterprise's seal. It has a wider contact area. I have never had to grind it to fit either.Did you have your machine shop crank grinder guy really polish the seal area? When you install it did you use the right stuff silicone and apply it from the edge of the seal to the cap where it meets the block-the press area?? Forgot what's its called. Do you know what or how much crankcase pressure you have?
Last time I put this together I used ( the right stuff ). I did put a little of this from the edge of the rear main cap seal to the flat area there on the block. No sure what my crankcase pressure is. I do know I have good normal oil pressure though. How do I check my crankcase pressure ?
Easiest way would be with engine up to normal temperature running,pull off the oil fill cap or a breather and see if it smokes-worst case,or feel how much pressure. We have a meter at work that taps into valve cover.
Have the same issue with the Riv's 430. Next time I'm pulling the crank and getting the seal area polished smooth. Have had it out several times for that same reason
Some Pontiac engines have a problem with the seal groove not being concentric with the main saddle. Lip seals end up "off-center" compared to the crankshaft seal surface. Doesn't matter much for rope seals, but it can screw-up lip seals. I've not heard of Buicks having that issue...but I suppose it's worth checking. Beyond that, I'd be concerned with too much RTV Silicone on the cap mating surface, excess blow-by and/or a defective/disabled PCV system. NO, there is no good way to put in a rear main seal with the crank installed. There's some crappy ways, though. AT MINIMUM you'll want to move the rear of the crank as far as practical off of the main saddles. Guys try to sneak a new seal into the groove while leaving the main caps bolted down, and that's a great way to screw-up the job.
If you ever pull crank out again, have crank grinder grind the cross hatch off seal journal. Neoprene seals have a usable size range of abt .030, so grinding x hatch off will still let seal do it's job.
Sure there is, I've done plenty of them back in the day. There are times to be a club, and there are times to be a surgeon. Replacing a rear main seal with the engine installed and w/o removing caps requires steady hands, patience and a some tricks. Heck, I remember doing a few w/o even removing the pan from the vehicle.
Not at all. Saves time and aggravation, and saves customer's money if you do this in the wild. Not sure why you would want to take the scenic route. Of course, this assumes that you have a lift and if you don't, out it comes. My comment was pointed at Shurkey. I prefer laparoscopic surgery vs open if possible. Much less invasive.
