oil leak

JFromm

While driving my hornet for the first time,oil was not dripping but rather pouring out as I drove up my driveway. I suspected the rear main, but after letting it idle for about one hour, I saw no drips underneath. Would driving it increase pressure and thus cause the leak? I checked oil pump and fuel pump area as well as the pan and saw no leak.Am obviously hesitant to drive the car. It is definitely oil and not tranny fluid. Any help to figure this out would be appreciated Thanks, John

Frankvintagefullflowcom

From where? Certainly there must be some indication as to the source. Pressure will increase with increasing rpm up to the point where the regulator limits it to ~40 psi. This should occur around a thousand rpm or so, maybe higher,  depending on condition of several components.

When you say "up the driveway", do you mean a significant up-grade?

F

Chris Smith

Ken, I have a leaking rear neoprene seal on my 54 and I want to fix it. Did you pull the engine to swap it out? Any advice on installing a rope seal as I have never installed one.

thanks

JFromm

The oil leak has been found. I drove the car for a few miles and then pulled into my garage and the oil was pouring out of the rear main seal.

Geoff

Bummer!   That's quite a job to fix.  However, it could be like the rear seal on my Hornet, it was leaking real bad, so I dropped the sump and pulled the  bearing cap, and somebody had tried to  pull the cap off previously obviously by inserting a hook into it and this had damaged the seal.  I got away with just renewing the bottom half. To remove the bearing cap, insert a bolt into each sump bolt hole and lever it down with a pinch par or claw hammer.   Good luck,

Geoff