Engine: 49 champion oil leak

[smithhn]

After purchasing the car I notice a bad oil leak at the rear main, on what was (according to receipts) a complete rebuild. Pulled engine, rear seals were new. Did find rear tappet cover had a leak. Cleaned and inspected everything and resealed the new gaskets well. Got it all back together and still have an oil leak. What did I miss?

Any help would be appreciated..........Thanks for past help

[nvonada]

You can't see where the oil is coming from? It should be pretty clear. If not clean everything then see what gets oily first. I assume it is running off the bell housing. Any chance the oil line to the oil pressure gauge is at fault?

[altair]

There is also the rear oil pan gasket, a rear main leak would most likely find the oil inside the housing where as if the pan was leaking it would be outside. The fact it was a recent rebuild makes the pan gasket most suspect. The rear and front have an longer cork gasket than the housing it fits in to and must be compressed in and the ends must not be cut off. The rear also has some small cork square pieces that must pressed into place. If the rear cork gaskets are fitted correctly and the rear main seal is fitted correctly it will not leak. The rear main seal has a top and bottom and it must be installed correctly, if installed correctly will run for years and thousands of miles trouble free. If the oil is coming from the rear pan gasket it will be easy to tell. Also check your breather cap that it is not plugged and creating excess crankcase pressure.

[Jeffry Cassel]

ditto Altair. Clean everything up really well, park with a nice clean piece of cardboard under it and let it set a couple days. You will see the oil on the cardboard so you can get an idea of where it is dripping of the engine. You can carefully examine the engine to try to find the source; it can be difficult. Try something simple like snugging up the pan bolts; I've had that fix the problem more than once. I've known of seals installed backwards. People can easily damage them too. Be sure the afformentioned oil line has been replaced. It is not good to have them break on the road.

[smithhn]

The front & rear pan gaskets were preshaped, cut to length and installed per directions received via the net. All gaskets were carefully sized and installed with gray sealant. It appears that the oil is coming out between the bell housing and the plate that attaches to the block leading me to believe it was rear seal related. The seal wasn't installed as I like to install them with a slight offset, but it appeared to be sealing properly and not cause the degree of leak I'm experiencing.

I thought there may be a bolt adjacent to, or in the oil reservoir that needs sealant. The oil line to the gauge is solid. Both the breather cap and side vent pipe are clear.

Thanks for your inputs....HS

[rockne10]

I was always told Studebakers don't leak; they mark their territory.

[altair]

This is a 259 V8 but the front and rear are the same, the front and rear corks are slightly larger and must be compressed.

[Kurt]

It can be pretty futile to stop leaks on a Stude. In my experience most "rear main leaks" are improperly installed oil pan gaskets and on V8's missing or improperly installed rear main filler gaskets. I'm not sure the 6 has those. I personally have chased a rear main leak for quite sometime that ended up being oil weeping past the head gasket and then running down the bell housing to the ground, again that is on a V8. I found it by accident and didn't even know such a thing could even happen. I haven't fixed it yet, so I assume it is coming from the passage that goes up to oil the valve train.

The point is, when looking for oil leaks, get things clean is first, then start at the TOP of the engine and work your wat down.

[smithhn]

Just to clarify, while the engine was out I cleaned every part masked off and repainted the block and all parts. Because of the new paint I'm having difficulty seeing any oil on any of the surfaces. I'm fairly sure the leak is coming from between the bell housing and the rear plate that attaches to the engine block. Unless there's some other potential source in the bell housing area, I'm focusing on the rear main as the problem. I'll not be tearing it down real time soon, so if in So Cal, watch out for oil slicks. I'll be oiling them down regularly.
Thanks for all inputs......................HS

[Dwain G.]

It's certainly possible for oil to leak out of the rear of the block if some of the plugs in the block were removed during the rebuild and not replaced correctly. There are two threaded plugs and one cup style soft plug.

[kxet]

Some where by the rear seal there are 2 wood blocks between sides of bearing cap and cylinder block. Neoprene seals are used between cap face and block The Brummer oil seal is installed around crankshaft journal. Rear engine plate must be removed to install oil seal. This is from page 211 of shop manual 47 48 49. This is in 49 supplement, nowhere else in manual. Sounds like an easy mistake to make with wood blocks. V8s are of more modern design. Good luck, I may have same problem with 49 Champion.