50 pontiac rear main oil leak-rope gasket

[Guest 50silverstreak]

When I park my car I have a oil leak from the rear main rope gasket. It is not a terrible leak, but enough to make a mess in the garage. I have been told that this is a common problem with the rope gaskets and that in the Pontiac you need to jack up the engine to get to the rear main to replace it. Right now I just add a quart of oil every once in a while. I have been told to not worry about it until it really becomes a problem and that replacing the rope seal may not fix the leak anyway.

At what point should I have this replaced?

Will this slowly get worse over time or just have a blow out and leave me stranded on the side of the road?

Any idea on what this repair should cost on average? I have been quoted ~$500-$600.

Any other suggestions?

I know the additives for gasket expansion does not work with the rope seals.

Since I would have to lift the engine out I thought I might go ahead and have the engine rebuilt and a valve job done at the same time which I have been quoted ~$2000-$2500 for the entite repair. Is this reasonable?

[Guest rshoestock]

I've got a 48' and 46' with S8 engines and both are leaking in a similar way. I really need to put new seals in as well. I ordered an engine gasket kit from Kanter and it comes with several wooden wedges which are also installed at the rear main seal to prevent oil leaks. The kit does come with the rope seal. I've looked in the repair manual and not found much on replacing it but I'm about to try. I've had the tranny pan off before and the cover to the flywheel but still can't see the seal without removing the oil pan. I was thinking I'd have to raise the front of the engind a bit to get to the pan bolts under the crossmember. I was not planning to raise the rear of the engine. Thanks. Rick in NC 828-586-1467.