Rear main seal

So, i finally get my car running and take it out on the road after it sitting for 3 years. I get back home and there is

A lot of oil coming from between the trans and the engine under the car. I was thinking rear main seal or oil pan .

Do i have to pull engine to do a rear main seal? Maybe i should just take it to a shop and let them do it on

account of me never doing one before. Is there any type of 'stop leak ' for oil? Thanks

Bob,

First you need to determine where the leak is coming from. I had a pretty substantial oil leak that ended up being from the back of the valley pan. It only showed up after driving at highway speeds. In your case it is probably likely that it is the rear main seal.

Check out the following article, http://www.ctci.org/gilsgarage/Neoprene.php which covers the installation of a new rear main seal. It is on the CTCI website. Have you joined CTCI yet? There is a lot of helpful information for the T-Bird enthusiast available for club members.

The rear main seal can be changed from underneath the car, but it is a job for a contortionist and will be pretty messy with the dripping oil and such. It makes the most sense to pull the engine. A friend of mine in our club did that and has had zero leaks since.

Good luck,

Mine only leaks when i get on the highway....Maybe i'll get lucky and it will only be the

oil pan ...I'll look there first. Thanks again Lew

Long shot, but if it only happens at higher rpm, check the road draft tube and oil fill cap. Crankcase pressure will cause leaks at the weak point. If it's been converted to a PCV valve, start there.

Someone, Best Gasket I think, had some orange rear main seals that failed early. The new black ones are supposedly better.

On rare occasions, the soft plug at the back of the cam will have a leak. Hard to find without pulling the tran/clutch/converter, etc.