GMCers,
Just got back from what should have been a 3 day trip to Lake Powell. Left
Friday night, after about 150 miles on I 70, going up a long hill at 60mph
it started to smell like burned oil inside the coach. We pulled into a rest
area to check it out, engine oil was dripping from all over the transmission
pan, the starter and from the mufflers ( set off the smoke detector in the
back of the coach! ). No leaks at the front or the top of the engine,it
looks like the rear main seal is leaking.
Checked in the maintenance manual about replacing the "rope seal" ( sounds
like something right out of the "stone age" of automotive engineering ) -
are there any updated seals available? ( probably a stupid question, but we
work on European cars and haven't done a rope seal in years )
Who has the best seals for the 455?
I've been on GMCnet since December '99, haven't seen any posts about rear
main seal leaks - is this a rare failure? ( maybe the rope seal isn't all
that bad
)
Has anyone replaced a rear main seal on his/her 100k mile engine?
Anything else I should do while the oilpan is off and the crank is out? ( I
guess it's a good time to do the timing chain )
All comments / suggestions are appreciated!
BTW, we spent the night in the rest area, checked and topped off the oil in
the morning ( had lost about 1qt ), turned around, pulled into Island Acres
State Park on the Colorado River, relaxed without thinking about the leak,
and drove home this morning. The leak doesn't seem quite as bad now, lost
only 1/2 quart on the way back. And the fridge I had problems with worked
fine all weekend!
Thanks,
Peter
77 Eleganza II
Colorado
Just got back from what should have been a 3 day trip to Lake Powell. Left
Friday night, after about 150 miles on I 70, going up a long hill at 60mph
it started to smell like burned oil inside the coach. We pulled into a rest
area to check it out, engine oil was dripping from all over the transmission
pan, the starter and from the mufflers ( set off the smoke detector in the
back of the coach! ). No leaks at the front or the top of the engine,it
looks like the rear main seal is leaking.
Checked in the maintenance manual about replacing the "rope seal" ( sounds
like something right out of the "stone age" of automotive engineering ) -
are there any updated seals available? ( probably a stupid question, but we
work on European cars and haven't done a rope seal in years )
Who has the best seals for the 455?
I've been on GMCnet since December '99, haven't seen any posts about rear
main seal leaks - is this a rare failure? ( maybe the rope seal isn't all
that bad
)Has anyone replaced a rear main seal on his/her 100k mile engine?
Anything else I should do while the oilpan is off and the crank is out? ( I
guess it's a good time to do the timing chain )
All comments / suggestions are appreciated!
BTW, we spent the night in the rest area, checked and topped off the oil in
the morning ( had lost about 1qt ), turned around, pulled into Island Acres
State Park on the Colorado River, relaxed without thinking about the leak,
and drove home this morning. The leak doesn't seem quite as bad now, lost
only 1/2 quart on the way back. And the fridge I had problems with worked
fine all weekend!
Thanks,
Peter
77 Eleganza II
Colorado
