Silly idea for leaky rear main seal on 440.

[1969chargerrtse]

My car drips all over the place ( after a 4,000.00 rebuild  ), most of it is dead center off the trani cover plate.  So I came up with this idea to catch the oil best I can.  It's blackened my nice new exhaust and sometimes even smokes a little as I'm on the highway.  This drip catcher is from a plastic oil can.  Inside is a oil absorbing material we use at work.  I cut slits on the side so I could poke some material out on each end to keep it in there.  I would bet I can go months before I need to change the pad.  I'll let you know how it works.  It's actually not low at all.  Should work? I just hate the fact I can't pull into friends driveways drip free.  Not fair to stain their property for a visit.

[tan top]

    intresting idea 

[b5blue]

"Depends" for Chargers? 

[1969chargerrtse]

"Depends" for Chargers? 

  That's funny.  But true.

[Daytona R/T SE]

Have you checked your oil pressure sending unit?  It's up high on the back of the block behind the intake. I swore I had a rear main seal leaking on the 440 in my Imperial...Was driving me nuts, and I really didn't want to change the seal-big pain in the ass.

I got to looking it over one day-DREADING tearing into it...the sending unit was leaking like a sieve and the oil was dripping down off the bottom of the engine just like yours...

Ten minutes and about six bucks fixed it 

[Rolling_Thunder]

you're car really is on the rag now   

[1969chargerrtse]

Have you checked your oil pressure sending unit?  It's up high on the back of the block behind the intake. I swore I had a rear main seal leaking on the 440 in my Imperial...Was driving me nuts, and I really didn't want to change the seal-big pain in the ass.

I got to looking it over one day-DREADING tearing into it...the sending unit was leaking like a sieve and the oil was dripping down off the bottom of the engine just like yours...

Ten minutes and about six bucks fixed it 

Thanks for the advise, I did one time run my finger back there along the base of the unit and didn't see anything.  I am not 100% sure it's the rear main even though it looks that way.  I am going to check out the all the possibilities one of these days before I decided how to handle it.  I have a friend that says he'll do it with the motor in the car for 600.00.  I think for the work involved that's not a bad price, or who knows maybe I'll yank the motor one winter, or just leave it.  I'll take a close look soon.

If you look to the left side up a bit on the cover you can see a drip forming.  So I know something else is leaking, because I wiped that area down for the picture and a drip is already forming.

[b5blue]

My motors a fairly recent rebuild and "the drip" showed up not long after...another trick I use if I'm going to end up on a nice clean driveway is a carpet-Kotex thrown under when I pull up and stop.The cheap floor mats with the rubber bottoms work good. By the way...Nice ride! 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Can you say G H E T T O?

Thats almost as bad as leaving the shipping label on the inspection cover

I do feel your pain....I suffer from the same malady....the BB rear main seal curse

PS--the leak towards the left is the other curse...valve cover gasket

[Back N Black]

Was there any warranty with the engine rebuild?

[mikepmcs]

That's fricken awesome.   Do what ya gotta do until you can fix it right. 
I love it!!!

[Rolling_Thunder]

It is 90% odds it is your rear main seal....     it is very difficult to actually seal correctly...    I have only had to redo 4 seals out of all the engines I have built...           The other possibility is if oil is seeping by the oil galley plugs at the rear of the block   

[oldschool]

Can you say G H E T T O?

[1969chargerrtse]

Was there any warranty with the engine rebuild?

Getto  huh.  Your only a couple hours away, how about I swing by and do a drip drip for you in your driveway?

If I didn't show you, you wouldn't know.  Is kinda Getto though.

I did make it a point to mention it to the builder, but what he is going to say is pull the engine and bring it to my shop and I'll redo it, and that ain't happening.

This guy cried to me about how "crate engines " put guys like him out of business.  I think I understand why people buy crate engines.  He really does great work, he did a 396 for me and I had no issues or leaks.  Mopars are hard to get right I hear, Oh well.

[1969chargerrtse]

Can you say G H E T T O?

Thats almost as bad as leaving the shipping label on the inspection cover

I do feel your pain....I suffer from the same malady....the BB rear main seal curse

PS--the leak towards the left is the other curse...valve cover gasket

I was kinda hoping that label would just fall off?  Not yet. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Getto  huh.  Your only a couple hours away, how about I swing by and do a drip drip for you in your driveway?

Im not skeered.....you wouldnt make it an hour out anyway

[b5blue]

Jeeze, he needs to make more for you guys cuz your on the rag too!

[BrianShaughnessy]

Replacing a rear main seal with the engine still in the car is not impossible.    Lift engine a couple inches,  drop centerlink,  pull pan,  Loosen main caps, etc.   Use a quality seal like a fel pro. 

If the block was align bored or honed you probably need to take .010 off the seal block or another option is to get a new billet piece.

Or just continue to raid the wife's kotex supply. 

[turbobitt]

I'm not one for criticizing an idea but you just made a good opportunity for a stray cigarette but to catch fire in that "catch can". You provided a nice wick to get things started. I wouldn't risk any old classic car this way. Let it leak on your buddies driveway and maybe it will inspire him to help you fix it the correct way and have some piece of mind.

Don't take this as a dig, just thought you should be aware of the opportunity for disaster.
Allan G.

[1969chargerrtse]

Getto  huh.  Your only a couple hours away, how about I swing by and do a drip drip for you in your driveway?

Im not skeered.....you wouldnt make it an hour out anyway

This car probably couldn't make it there period.

[1969chargerrtse]

I'm not one for criticizing an idea but you just made a good opportunity for a stray cigarette but to catch fire in that "catch can". You provided a nice wick to get things started. I wouldn't risk any old classic car this way. Let it leak on your buddies driveway and maybe it will inspire him to help you fix it the correct way and have some piece of mind.

Don't take this as a dig, just thought you should be aware of the opportunity for disaster.
Allan G.

I appreciate the thought but that's been well thought out.  I disagree as the unit is tight up against the trani hump and nothing Is going in there let alone something hot and burning. The underside of the car including the hot smoking exhaust covered in oil is more of a worry to me than that little catch can. This is just Temp fix. I always do things correct in the long run. This is just a patch, until I pull the motor or drop the pan in late fall. I haven't dug into where the leak is really coming from yet anyway. I've been busy restoring the interior, removing the painted stripe, putting on a tape stripe, installing the gas tank, finding an electrical issue, replacing my brake pads, and now dropping the steering shaft and pulling the dash gauges. I'll get to the leak soon enough. 

[SeattleCharger]

creative ingenuity   

[1969chargerrtse]

creative ingenuity   

Thanks, I was on the hghway for at least an 1/2 hour going about 65 and I didn't smell anything burning off the exhaust. 

Parked in the driveway this morning after my coffee run, no leak  . To be seen anyway. 

[472 R/T SE]

Getto  huh.  Your only a couple hours away, how about I swing by and do a drip drip for you in your driveway?

Im not skeered.....you wouldnt make it an hour out anyway

You're just marking your territory.  Years ago people took pride in that.

Not quite as bad as an old Detroit Diesel.  You could put a pan under the motor for the night to put back in, in the morning when it was a gallon low.

My aunts' & uncles' used to park in the street when they came to visit.  When you asked them why, they said my old man would cum unglued on them for leaking oil on his driveway.