Cant get rig of the oil leak

Hey guys, im having an oil leak issue that is driving me insane. This is what I know.

1. It's coming from between the engine and bellhouse. With the torque converter plate off, it hits the flywheel and basically goes everywhere.

2. It got worse after changing valve covers and oil pump.

3. I lost about a quart in a day of daily driving (60+ miles)

4. Its ruined the underside of my car!!, nice coat of oil on everything.

Naturally I thought it was the valve covers or oil pan. I've gone through a set of re-usable mr. gasket rubber ones, and went to the cheap cork ones (better i think). The back of the heads and block and top of bellhouse is DRY, and has been for some time.

Then I thought it must be the rear of the pan. I've changed the oil pan gasket 3 times. Im not new to changing oil pan gaskets either. Never had a leak issue like I do on this engine.

Last time the oil pan was off I pulled the rear main and inspected the oil seal. It was installed correctly and rotated off center like to keep the ends from "aligning" to help eliminate leaks. The seal is facing the correct way. Its a rubber seal. I put a dab of silicon on the seal ends. Spend some time making sure I had a nice clean surface for the new 4 piece oil pan gasket, and buttoned it up.

Same result. So then I decided to get right in the problem. Dont try this at home. I cleaned up all the oil on the underside of the engine / tranny. I ran the engine a 3K, got her warm and crawled under it to "watch the oil" it is defidently coming from behind the motor but not the rear oil pan...what gives??

I was told that the flexplate bolts could leak, and that they needed to be sealed. Is this true??

I have resorted to useing heavy weight oil to help the issue. Its hot here in the texas summers, its a black car, and I do sit in traffic...10W 30, on the freeway, and headers were creating an embarrasing smoke screen.

Any ideas? Im about to pull the motor to find the problem.

-mike

Doubt it's the flywheel bolts, not leaking that much, unless one is loose. Have you unbolted the tranny yet? I would usually say rear main seal, but with all you have done, I wouldn't doubt if a freeze plug on the back of the engine near the camshaft is leaking, maybe popped out a bit, has a hole?? Who knows. At this point pull the tranny and see. If nothing's obvious, then pull the motor.
-J

I agree with jrosengarth....The oil does come out of the bolt holes in the crank but I never used to seal the bolts and never had any troubles,certainly no major leaks.If its not coming from the rear seal or the back of the intake/valve covers it pretty much has to be the rear cam plug or the end galley plugs behind the flywheel.

Ahhh yes! I forgot about the freeze plug. Guess I'll pull the tranny, I might try to pull it tonight. The freeze plugs are new on a newly rebuilt engine, but who knows. I'll let you guys know.

Thanks!

mdula : There is only one absolute guaranteed way to locate an oil leak such as you have.Remove the transmission and flexplate. Remove the distributor and have a friend run a half inch drill with an oil pump primer rod attached.Make sure the drill is turning the same direction that the rotor normally turns. Climb under the car with a good drop light and see your oil leak up close & personal. Note: Once you have located the leak & repaired it,run the oil pressure up again to check your repair.

I have always filled my engine with oil on the rebuild stand and run the oil pressure up for 15 - 20 minutes to check for leaks before I ever install an engine.It will save you many hours of extra work and gray hairs.Calspec

Mdula,

If your running an aftermarket oil pan with your dip stick in the pan instead of the hole in the block you may have left the block hole open.
I did and got what you got. Bruce

Your PCV System is operating correctly, right?

I would buy a bottle of leak detector and look with a black light before tearing it down. Verify leak source first.

Nice looking car. I always thought these looked a lot nicer than the fastbacks.

I had the same thing happen to me as bpriggie did. After installing my newer roller block I did not notice the dip stick hole on the driver side of the block that was not being used. It would spray oil directly onto the driver side header and would smoke. It just needed to be plugged.

If your leak is in the rear of the block and it is not the rear main seal then it could be one of the 3 oil galley plugs. These plugs are threaded on the rear of the block so they are not likely to just fall out. If one of these were missing it would POUR oil out the rear of the block. It would make a huge mess very fast.

Check the back of the intake manifold... It may not seem a likely source for oil, but I promise when the engine is running, and tiny small hole there, is good for 1/4 quart an hour worth of leakage....

Did you use cork gaskets, or toss them out and went with a silicon beed.... which I think is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of....

You may not think it is leaking there, oil is tricky, it will flow (seep) along a tiny crack, or seam, till it gets to your flywheel to be thrown all over....

Originally Posted by Mikes66

Check the back of the intake manifold... It may not seem a likely source for oil, but I promise when the engine is running, and tiny small hole there, is good for 1/4 quart an hour worth of leakage....

Did you use cork gaskets, or toss them out and went with a silicon beed.... which I think is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of....

You may not think it is leaking there, oil is tricky, it will flow (seep) along a tiny crack, or seam, till it gets to your flywheel to be thrown all over....

back of intake got me, was leaking a lot, then I finally looked higher and found that.