Rear main seal stop leak yes/no? (1 Viewer)

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Jun 19, 2015
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Alabama
I just returned home from a epic 800 mile round trip with extended highway driving in hot weather.
It did not do my 1988 fj62 any favors. (or my marriage). AC compressor seized so I did most driving old school with windows down.

My once dry engine exterior is now showing a very noticeable engine oil leak from what is most likely the rear main seal. I've stuffed the gap under bell housing with a oil sorbent rag so I could try and gauge how bad it was leaking and keep oil off the underside. I found it saturated about every 200 miles with no huge difference on the dip stick level so I nursed it home hoping I wasn't going to have a catastrophic blow out. The engine has 265K, all new gaskets, new head, hoses and major tune up at ACC about a year ago.

Before I run up my VISA on a transmission pull to change out the seal, is there anyone with leaky LC that is currently using BARs Rear Main Seal repair additive? Any comments appreciated.
 
I'm running Rotella 15-40 in it now.
 
The oil pan arch can look like a RMS, have you tried gently snuggling up the oil pan bolts?
 
Thanks all for your inputs - headed to auto parts store now to find some 20-50.
 
Stop leak just gunks up stuff. I never trust engine cleaning additives and stop leak. Seems like things that will just clog the oil pick up and cause a failure.
 
I agree with HemiAlex on his opinion of Stop Leak but the thought of pulling that MF'ing transmission in my carport in the dog days of summer makes me want to give anything a try.
 
It doesn't sound like your losing that much oil (dipstick comment). It is an annoyance. Very very rarely will you lose a "catastophic" amount of oil through that seal (most likely through oil galley plug). It can wait till fairer weather. Hell, Ive driven Cruisers with RMS leaks for thousands and thousands of miles. Drip pan and regular checks of oil levels and you'll be fine.
 
Thanks - I've bought a few rolls of the blue auto shop towels and making small sorbent tampons to stuff in the gap between the bell housing and pan. I'm just about to pour in the Blue Devil stuff and will see if that works.
 
I’d rather lose oil than lose the engine.

I’ve been leaking for over 22,000 miles. Not stressed about it and it’s not ruined my clutch or caused any leaks on the ground. It’s like 3 drips a week and I’m at 300,000 miles.

Next week we will fix the rear main.
 
If our votes count, I vote against pouring anything other than oil into the engine.































Skeptical me is curious if it does more good than harm though :grinpimp:















I still vote don’t do it.
 
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The oil pan arch can look like a RMS, have you tried gently snuggling up the oil pan bolts?
You were absolutely correct on the pan bolts being loose. Each one took about 180 degree turn to snug them up. To be on the safe side, I still put in the Red Devil stop leak. I'm going to check the driveway for the next few days for any improvement.

thanks again for your input.
 
everything on my engine leaks. I just top it up and continue on. I would not hesitate to go anywhere. I have not heard of a rear main seal catastrophic failure, stranding anyone. Not saying it could not happen, but I have not heard of that.

The absolute worst thing for either of my cruisers was using synthetic oil. They really started leaking after that. I don't think it would hurt to put in a bit of seal swell additive. It's not like clotting blood, it swells the seals slightly. It's only a short term fix, as the additive looses effectiveness, and the seals continues to wear, which is most likely caused by a worn bearing.
 
Thanks brown bear.

I found the pan bolts had loosened up which was probably most of the issue. Red Devil seal swell additive was put in as well so I'm hoping I got this leak under control. I'm a little OCD about leaks since owning series Landrovers and wearing out my welcome wherever I parked them due to oil stains.
 
I have the sam issue. The recent re-paving of my street has really got me thinking of fixing the leaks.

I won't of course. Not in the summer with no AC.

Check the gas and fill the oil.
 

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