Rear Main Seal Leak

Jake_N_His_Hornet

Hey HET,

I have a pretty significant oil leak on my '51 Hornet. It does not leak sitting or at idle, but when I am running down the road the oil is hitting the driveshaft and slinging all over the bottom of the car, so I assume it must be rear main seal. Any thoughts?
I am going to do some more checking, but if that is the case does anyone know of a readily available replacement? Is it a rope replacement or a modern rubber seal? 
Finally, if I am tearing into it that far, should i replace main/rod bearings or maybe even do a full rebuild?

Any thoughts and/or parts leads are greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,
Jake

Jon B

Hi, Jake, I'm no expert but first off:  are you sure it's motor oil and not coming from the transmission (or clutch, if you have a manual shift)?

charles4d

Check the drain plug and your dipstick also you never know missing a little thing can be a big mess my two cents worth

Jake_N_His_Hornet

I know for sure its motor oil. It used 6 quarts to go on a 100 mile cruise up to a car show 2 weekends ago. I then looked under the car to find the oil everywhere from the back of the engine all the way to the bumper.

I filled it back up with a synthetic blend (high mileage) which seemed to stay in much better (Only used like 1 pint on the way back) Either way pretty substantial loss

I did do some updates to the dipstick, but i am uncertain if it is sealing all the way, it doesn't have a wiper seal or anything, i made a little grommet thing to seal it up better

I also replaced the oil fill cap

onerare39

Perfect place to say this, WWFD... what would Frank do?

Geoff

You need to drop the flywheel cover and see exactly where the oil is coming from.  It could be the  sump gasket, or the seal, or the packing up the sides of the bearing cap.

Glowplug

There are also Welch plugs in the back of the block which are connected to oil passages