Rear main seal fun n games

[3.0T91]

So I drop my transmission the weekend before Christmas, and notice some oil coming down the back of my flywheel. Thought nothing of it (don't ask why) until a couple of weeks later when I'm driving it and there's "a little bit more" oil coming from the same region. Long story short, due to my insufficient PCV system (no catch tank and not plumbed into the intake, who wants that shit in your IC/pipes???) the rear main seal was leaking. So I order a new rear main seal from Champion Toyota and a Greddy 15mm catch tank from Titan (best deal!). Install the catch tank last night, drove the car to work this morning, and lo and behold, no more blown rear main seal symptoms, with the exception of 2: A small spot of oil on the ground where I first parked, maybe 2 x 3 inches, and a bit of smoke after boosting up before a redlight (just can't get enough of that 62-1 spooling!). I get 'er home and look underneath while it's running, and there's a large amount of nothing dripping from the flywheel/transmission area. Did my plumbing in a catch tank cause the rear main seal to re-seal due to the lack of crankcase pressure? Your thoughts and opinions (don't tell me this is too winded, I say I write with "extreme detail") are all welcome. This is honestly freaking me the hell out. Replies welcome!

 

[mk3_dude]

wait...your saying after the install of the oil catch can, no more oil leaks? how does that take care of the rear main seal???

 

[CPT Furious]

I think he had also reattached the PCV line to the intake to allow it to suck the vapor through the catch can and then to the intake.

 

[GrimJack]

What had you done with your PCV before this? If you just plugged it, then yes, that will blow out your front and rear main seals, and possibly your oil pump drive seal and cam seals as well.

If you are really lucky, plumbing everything properly again might let them reseal. It's a whole lot more likely, however, that you'll have to replace them all much sooner than you should.

 

[3.0T91]

i plumbed everything back together to relieve the pressure off the RMS. I parked the car a few weeks ago when I first saw the initial symptoms of rear main seal failure. Before the catch can, I just had the PCV dump to atmosphere.

Supposedly, the catch tank works by being attached to pre-turbo suction and the valve covers. The gasses get sucked in and burnt off, but the oil mist and heavy liquids get trapped in the bottom.

I've also been driving the car all day and have experienced zero oil leakage/smoke after parking like I used to. Think I dodged the bullet on this one guys. Or not. Still getting some seepage. :3d_frown:

 

[3.0T91]

It's confirmed. I retract the last thought in my last post, it's seeping like it did before the catch tank. This saturday, it's time to pull Mr. R154 out and replace the rear main. Dammit.

 

[BJ91T]

Ohh fun times..good luck with that. Call me if you want an extra hand.

Oh and thanks for coming to the meet i had fun...the chicken was good to

 

[3.0T91]

Not a prob man. I had a good time, though my stay was short. Chris's advice on breaking in the motor was very helpful, forgot to thank him. Thanks Chris for your advice. There, I said it. Hopefully next time I'll be in the Supra. Won't need help w/the RMS install, I'm doing it at work this saturday.

 

[3.0T91]

*************UPDATE*************

Upon closer inspection (aka, removing transmission, clutch and flywheel) of the problem area, I found that the oil pan flange was somehow off of the sealing surface of the rear main seal housing and pan rail of the block. After some persuasion with a flat chisel and a retorquing of the bolts, all is well in the world of Jon's oil leak. In simpler terms, I'm not leaking oil out of the engine, finally.

In other news, boost is JATO-unit strong, even at the "low" numbers I've been hitting (10-11 psi, but I try to keep it around 7 when I do boost). Thank you Chris for the advice on break-in. My mileage has improved by leaps and bounds. Talk at you folks later!

 

[NashMan]

once oil leask it will all wasy leek in less add in crap to your oil but still ti will just weep or leek

 

[3.0T91]

I was told to expect some seepage, none of which I have seen. It's too early in the engine's new life to introduce any additives (stop leak, etc) that may be detrimental to (form deposits in) the refreshed engine. I check the oil every day and since fixing the leak Saturday I have not seen any additional leakage. All that's under the car is there from when it was shooting out of the pan. Really need to lift it up and clean all that crap off.