My starter is soaked in oil, rear main seal is bad is what i'm thinking.....any other ideas? there is a bit of oil on the exhaust from the valve covers but nothing to substantiate a soaked starter. (i've wiped the oil off the rear valve cover area and it took 1 month or more to show signs of seepage again)

 

Wow my 85 has the same exact issue.......I'm also trying to determine if its the rear main or valve cover gaskets.

If rear main is the culprit I will just leave it alone to much hassle my oil leak isn't that bad

 

pretty easy job on a rwd car.

 

Sure is, once you lift the engine, drop the oil pan, take off the oil pump, remove the rear main cap, take the old seal out of the cap, then try to pull the other half out from between the block and crank. Then clean it all, fish the new seal around the crank, install the other half in the main cap, torque it down, reinstall the oil pump...

Are you sure it's an easy job? I'm thinking you are thinking about something else.

 

I know it's gonna be 100x easier than doing the 98 Dodge Neon I did a few weeks back, where the tranny is crammed in the engine bay alongside the motor. Dropping the tranny alone will give me plenty of room to swap the seal in a rwd. =/ you're saying drop the oil pan? why? are we talking about the same stuffs? I'm talking about the seal for the bearing that keeps the oil from going into the tranny from the motor which is inside the bell housing of the transmission where it bolts to the motor....... =/ confused....

 

The rear main seal is located in the rearmost main cap of the engine. It seals the crankshaft main journal adjacent to the flexplate mounting pad. The only other seal you could be talking about is the rear oil pan seal that seals the oil pan at the back of the engine. Both of these seals require removing the oil pan.

This is not a '98 Neon

 

For your viewing enjoyment:

 

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Not trying to be a hardass just not understanding i guess.

 

Is your dipstick tube loose or broken.
Olds engines are famous for this happening.
This will soak your starter.

 

Bdub, there are very few V-8s that have the type of crankshaft seal you are thinking of, and Olds , Ford, Chevy and Mopar ain't built that way. Think some V-6s are.

 

Check to make sure it isn't the rear intake manifold end rail seal dripping down. It is hard to see, clean everything off and look closely. Generally speaking, a rear main will not soak the starter.

Quite a few SBC used the one piece rear seal, but no Olds V8s that I am aware of. Either way, drpping the pan or pulling the trans, it is not a gravy job, IMHO.

 

I cant find a diagram anywhere. Just not seeing why there wouldn't be a seal behind that flexplate.

I will check this. Thanks.

 

[QUOTE=bdub217;447269] I cant find a diagram anywhere. Just not seeing why there wouldn't be a seal behind that flexplate.


There is a seal behind the flex plate, it is called the rear main bearing seal just as people here are telling you. You have to drop the oil pan to get at 1/2 of it, as said earlier, the other half, unless you drop the crank pistons etc will have to be "fished" around the crank and under the main bearing cap. No two ways about it. Also, as mentioned before, unlikely the rear seal would be soaking the starter. Check the o-ring / seal where the distributor goes into the block. My 68 350 was soaking the oil filter from the valve covers. I know you said you checked them but my bet is that is where the oil is coming from, it will even leak out from the valve cover when parked because of the oil left sitting on the edge of the head where it meets the valve cover.

 

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me but I can't picture removing the oil pan to do this job on a rwd. On the NEON I did have to drop the oil pan to remove a transmission mount.....that was the only reason though.








i just dont see how that's not coming out easy..........

 

IF a V8 Olds had a one piece rear seal like the one pictured, you would not have to drop the pan. But, you are not listening to anyone. V8 Olds engines have a 2 piece seal. One part goes into a groove in the block, the other goes into a groove IN THE #5 MAIN BEARING CAP. You have to remove the cap. You have to remove the oil pan to get to the cap.

 

Do you have a chassis manual? If not, get one or look at one at wildaboutcars.com

 

im just gonna take the tranny out and look. no oil leaking from the dizzy.

 

I feel your pain, I'm on seal #2 and I have a car that still has to be paper trained if it's going to be in the garage(which it is), the last seal was the neoprene type still the same exact problem I'm looking for a new leak now. Could be the oil galley soft plug leaking but it's very hard to see between the firewall and engine.I may get a scope or get it up on a lift while it's running, I'm also getting flustrated.....Tedd

 

bdub, the reason the olds motors do not have the one piece seal like you pictured is that there is a flange on the back of the crank shaft that would prevent it from sliding out. Give me a few minutes and I will load a picture up so you don't pull the trans for no reason.

 

Did you bother to watch the video that I posted up for you? It is Bill Trovato installing a rear main seal and IS the diagram you were looking for. He walks you through step by step.

Replacing a rear main in the car (on an Oldsmobile engine) is not going to be easy. I would try to find evidence of a leak anywhere else before you go through the trouble of doing it.

 

Oh brother...

I'm done. Good luck!

 

Here is a photo I found. As you can see, the seal sits in the outermost groove. It cannot be take out unless the cap is removed.

 

well that's some ish! why they do that?

 

And as many have said, the rear main is not the likely culprit. Any oil coming off the rear main would end up in the inspection cover. The starter is ahead of the bell housing area and only the nose would really catch much oil. Like stated before, look higher.

 

thanks for all the info - ah64pilot - thanks for your help and input seriously =)

 

You frustrate the crap out of me when you don't listen lol! It's ok though, I'll get over it. That video I posted shows exactly where the seal goes...all of Bill's videos are great to watch and will give you a keen understanding of these Olds motors if you have time to watch a few.

 

I recently had to change a flexplate on my Regency. While it was off, I could clearly see oil seeping out of the rear oil pan seal. Not wanting to remove the oil pan, I cleaned the outside and added some sealant. No more leaks, for now.

As previously mentioned, check your valve cover gaskets. This is a very common leak on Oldsmobile engines. Leaky valve covers can masquerade as oil leaks from other areas, such as the oil pan.

It's never occurred to me that the dipstick tube could be leaking. I'll check mine when I get under the car. It's pretty darn close to the starter and could be part of your problem!

 

I would bet money its your valve cover gaskets, everyone who I talk to who owns a 80-85 olds 88 or 98 always have a oil leak of some kind. When my car was on the lift it also appeared I had a bad rear main seal (oil all on front of tranny pan) came to find out its bad valve cover gaskets.

My leak is pretty slow at most 1qt between oil changes most of the time less, if its the rear main IMHO not worth fixing with that slow of a leak.

Valve covers I would do though $9.99 felpro gaskets and some hard work.

 

The rope seal can be a MAJOR pain to remove in car.

 

I was thinking the same thing, some of us still use that rope seal.