Sid

Can you tell me where I can purchase a rubber one piece rear main seal for a Olds 371 engine to replace the rope seal.




Thank You----------Sid Hiatt

59-59-59

I'm not sure if there's even a 1 piece rear main seal you can buy new for a 371, but you can buy a 2 piece neoprene rear main seal from a company called Best Gasket

Oldskeeper

If you decide to use the best gasket, the paper work will tell you not to use any sealant on the outer surface. I found out the hard way that in the rear main seal groove there are two styles ( for 394) first type has a smooth surface and the second type has locking grooves to hold the rope from slipping, if yours has the type with the locking grooves you will need to add a small amount of sealant to fill these grooves. I didn't know this when I replaced mine and it takes 20 minutes for the oil to work its way out the rear end and drip on your floor.I replaced it with a new one and the same thing so I pulled the engine again and went back to rope, no more oil on the floor. I talked to a friend from Toledo who experienced the same problem and he informed me how BEST gaskets solved the problem. I'm doing another 394 for a convertible 98 and I now know how the seal installs.
Steve

Tedd Thompson

I used a neoprene Best Gasket on my 324 last time with no problems. For years they(Olds community) has used Ford 292 neoprene gaskets to do the same thing but I always felt better using a gasket labeled for the car/ engine I was going to use it in . I don't think there is such a thing as a one piece gasket, just think about it how would you get it installed without a seperation in the gasket...Tedd