oil leak
 

A little info. Please, I have a oil leak that I thought
was the rear main bearing. I checked the rear main
and thought the oil pipe might be screwed in to for.
would the flywheel housing gasket be causing this?

Thanks, Bill

Re: oil leak
 

Yes, a missing or a bad gasket will cause a significant leak.

Re: oil leak
 

One other thing to check as to the gasket there are two ways that it can be installed . Be sure that the rounded area is installed to cover the back of the block and cover the camshaft . If it is installed the opposite way oil will run out . I just had to pull my enging to fix my oil leak . Stupid me!!

Re: oil leak
 

Thanks Guys, I wasn't looking forward to pulling the engine, but all in a days work.

Bill

Re: oil leak
 

You can often see the gasket edge peeking out between the block and the flywheel housing. So, don't tear the engine apart until you're sure there is no gasket. Clean an area so that you can examine it with a strong light for signs of the paper gasket edges being exposed. If you can't see the gasket edge extending beyond the block and flywheel housing, take a dentist's pick or other small, sharp pick and scrape along the juncture between those two parts. If you pull out pieces of paper, the gasket is in there. If only metal scrapings come loose at the pick's point, the gasket was probably forgotten. If it is there, unless the gasket was improperly installed or damaged during assembly, it's rare that a leak would form here. So, if you discover paper gasket material, the leak is most likely not coming from between the engine block and the flywheel housing. Not impossible; just unlikely. You're back to a rear main leak, which isn't restricted to originating only if the drain tube is missing or clogged. That's just the most obvious cause - and rarely is the problem. Look elsewhere, such as at the main bearing clearances, especially the center main.
But even a very badly leaking rear main bearing can't hold a candle to the amount of oil that will leak if that gasket is missing. It's the back of the camshaft under pressure that is pumping out that oil every revolution it makes. A paper gasket barely contains this gusher. Metal-to-metal sans this gasket doesn't have a chance of stopping the leak, unless a lot of goop took the place of a gasket, which some guys do. Too much chance of error there for me.
How badly will the engine leak if that gasket is missing? One car I repaired had a small bucket tied under the flywheel housing to catch the puddles of oil that streamed out from between the engine block and the flywheel housing in only a matter of minutes. Why couldn't the previous owner just do the job right and fix the darned thing? Nah! Hang a bucket instead and sell the car to a friend of mine. MORON!!! Yeah, she'll hemorrhage that much sans the gasket.
Anyway, check this out first and get back to us. 'May have to go to Plan B to stop that leak.
Marshall

Re: oil leak
 

I coat both sides with silicone to prevent paper break down . just a thin layer works good .

Re: oil leak
 

Do you have to pull the engine to change this gasket?
Or could you remove the bolts and separate the engine/bellhousing enough to get the gasket in and then re-bolt it up?

Re: oil leak
 

Bolts are behind the Flywheel, no access with flywheel installed.

If the flywheel gasket is leaking, oil will be present on the front of flywheel cover.

Make sure the oil fill cap or the tube is not clogged. This may cause pressure inside the engine, forcing oil out the rear main. Also, if the rear main drain tube (inside pan) is missing or clogged, it can cause the same problem.

To check the rear main, remove the inspection cover, start the engine (be careful as the exhaust gets very hot), and look to see if oil runs down the main cap from the back of the main.

Hope this helps.