I just replaced the rear main seal on my VT V6. After the seal was replaced I ran the car for about 15 minutes and had look for any leaks. I found that a drop had accumulated on the back of the sump. I wiped it and ran the motor for a further 10 minutes. Once again a drop accumulated on the back of the sump. Then I took it for a 30 minute drive and parked it under newspaper for a few hours and so far there are no stains on the paper. So i'm just wondering does the seal need to be run in for it to stop leaking entirely. Is it even possible to have a rear main seal seal 100%?
when you did the seal did you add any loctite etc to the area? I used a little application of non hardening loctite to the area, torqued it up and then let it dry before adding the oil. worked a treat
The seal doesn't need to be run in but it could be oil left from the old leak. First step would be to do pretty much what has been done and wash any oil present off and recheck after a few days. They shouldn't leak noticeably. If it is leaking: The seal has to be in square to the crank. The sealing surface on the crank has to be good, no grooves or scratches. The sump gasket or the gasket between the oil seal plate and the block may have been/be leaking and difficult to distinguish from a leak past the rear main oil seal. If the plate the oil seal is in (V6?) has been removed (not necessarily by you) and not set up again correctly relative to the crank and the engine block/sump, the oil seal may not be concentric with the crank +/or the sump seal may not be compressed enough to maintain an oil tight seal. It is virtually impossible to set that plate up with the sump (really the seal or gasket) in place.
Thanks for the replies. I will monitor it and see how it goes. So far tho it hasn't dripped on the ground.
