Pretty sure my Trans Am needs a new rear main seal

Jim K said:
Call me old fashioned, but a second Gen bird with a shaker needs a NA Pontiac 400 or 455, with the holes on shaker cut open. That sucking sound as the engine gulps air, fuel, & money is half the fun.
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Reminds me of back in the day when we would flip our air cleaner lids over to hear the induction sound. We also thought it gave the car more power. Doubtful, but it sounded cool.
 
Ted said:
and starts every time you turn the key.
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I thought only Toyota’s did that?
Jim K said:
Call me old fashioned, but a second Gen bird with a shaker needs a NA Pontiac 400 or 455, with the holes on shaker cut open. That sucking sound as the engine gulps air, fuel, & money is half the fun.
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We think alike. When I was a kid, my dad had a late 80’s electric blue IROC Z-28. Boy what I’d give to have that car now.
 
I rebuilt a '70's model Datsun (yes, Datsun, not Nissan) pickup bought in an auction which suffered a botched overhaul. It either threw two rod bearings, or possibly the previous owner never installed them. They also put the head gasket in upside down blocking the cooling passages.

A trip to a local machine shop for a knurl job saved the crank and rods, and a new set of bearings, seals and piston rings later, and the engine was good to go and had a nice long happy life. The point of it was that the rear seal was a high quality, bolt on one piece rubber tensioned unit.

Rope seals in the eighties? It truly was a dismal period for the American automotive industry.
 
Crashnburn said:
Pictures are coming up. My wife loved everything about the car but the AMUs I poured into it. Unfortunately, the CoVid jab killed my wife. California Air Resources Board (CARB) puts the cabash on dropping older engines into the car and 1979 was the last year of the Pontiac 400. Also, the chassis is engineered for the low deck 301 to save weight.

I’m surprised I have such a leak. The previous owner overhauled it not so long ago. Maybe they didn’t get a good seal then. I had at least 40K more miles on my Firebird Formula 400 and never had a problem with that seal. It had a 4 speed manual with a Hurst Shifter and a racing clutch. The PosiTrac was standard. I miss its acceleration.

The shaker hood was designed to allow a higher rise carburetor for the higher displacement engines. Sort of gilding the lily for this car.
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Oh that's a much easier solution, move out of Cali!
 
Somewhere I still have a rope rear seal removal/installation tool, the kind to replace the seal without dropping the crank.

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455 Bravo Uniform said:
You said rope seal. 1989 Pontiac T/A with Buick Turbo V6?

You can drop the pan and pull it out or push it forward to uncover the rear main cap. When you pull the cap off, you can either grab the upper seal with needle-nose, or if it’s really bad, use a short length of copper wire to push it out. You want a two-piece rubber/neoprene seal. Clean the seat with solvent, put some RTV on the upper half, and slide-push it in (might need to have someone turn the crank). Don’t put it flush, offset by about 1/8”. Tiny dab of RTV on ends, then a very thin stripe on the cap parting line. Reassemble. I’ve done this twice (at least; on different vehicles, lol).

I believe there was a good write up on BuickV8.com

Edit: here it is
www.v8buick.com

BOP 455 Rear seal Install- Step by Step

I have had a few folks ask for this, and don't mind sharing. Once again, as I mention in every "how to" I post.. this is how I do it.. and it's been...
www.v8buick.com www.v8buick.com
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That's a Gen 3. As far as I'm concerned, Gen 2's were the last real Firebirds.
 
L J Donelson said:
I'd love to see a picture.
Of the car... not the dealer, or the fish.
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Here's a picture of my late wife, Tammy, the Firebird, and someone else's airplane. My Three Loves.jpg
The T/A is Starlight Black, with a Gold Firebird decal, and original gold honeycomb wheels.
It's numbers matching and a survivor Special Edition car. I've replaced the tires with Cooper Cobras since the picture was taken.

Edit. It was taken on a birthday brunch trip to the One-Niner Diner in San Carlos, CA.

Another edit. I got lucky. Her mother was a model and a singer in a rock-n-roll band. Her mother never did drugs as far as I know, but Tammy’s uncle burned his brain out on ‘shrooms.

Tammy was a soprano with soul in her voice. If her smile hadn’t gotten me, her voice would have.
 
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Oil leaks are a drag. Best to jerk it out and reseal everything you can.
Always liked firebird’s more than Camaro’s until my buddy got one with a 301 smog motor. Those were sad days for us hotroders.
Personally I am a Mopar muscle car fan, Dodge Challengers to be specific. Just a couple days ago I pulled this driver out after too many months of sitting. It is running in this picture on 100LL. Owned it since 83. Bought my first one in 76.
 

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Gary Ward said:
Personally I am a Mopar muscle car fan, Dodge Challengers to be specific. Just a couple days ago I pulled this driver out after too many months of sitting.
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Great looking ride! I've owned a few Mopars (my old Plymouth ain't running) over the years. 69 Cuda was pretty fun but it had the little 318 in it. My Friend had a Satellite (1966 IIRC) with the 383 ... man I liked that car!

My only complaint with the Mopars were electrical, not with the engine but everything else. At one time I thought they were partnering with Lucas ...
 
Good news on the Firebird. The rear main seal has a very small leak, but one of the cylinder head cover gaskets split and sprang a leak and was spitting oil. It was last replaced last year; the shop did the repair under warranty.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Yeah, a leaking valve cover gasket can certainly make a mess quickly.
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True enough. I've also had a GM OP sensor (the type for an idiot light) that screwed into the rear of the engine start leaking down the back of the motor and make it appear that it was a rear seal ...
 
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One of the cars we had when I was in high school was a '68 Dodge Dart. It had manual steering with something like twenty turns lock to lock, and half a turn of play. The suspension was so loose that the rear end would sway on every turn. It was actually pretty scary to drive faster than 40 miles per hour.
 
Sac Arrow said:
One of the cars we had when I was in high school was a '68 Dodge Dart. It had manual steering with something like twenty turns lock to lock, and half a turn of play. The suspension was so loose that the rear end would sway on every turn. It was actually pretty scary to drive faster than 40 miles per hour.
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It have the 340 in it?
 
DaleB said:
He did say it was a Dart.
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I thought if it had the 340 or a 383 it might have at least had some pep in its step!

FILs Duster w/340 for reference. Not the worst Mopar.
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SoonerAviator said:
Man, no handling AND gutless. Deadly combo lol
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Acceleration wise it wasn't that bad. Then again, the base roads didn't allow for very high speeds to begin with.

Funny thing is after returning to the States, I ended up taking a racing course set up through my local community college. The instructor, a former driver on Mario Andretti's team, got a hold of two Dodge Monaco police cruisers. He stripped them out, installed roll cages, redid the suspensions, and rebuilt and modded the 440's. Although similar in appearance to the older Dart, their handling was razor sharp for a car of its size and weight, and they were very fast. The driving course was set up on a closed airfield. The highest I got the car up to was 140, and it wasn't tapped out. They were basically stock cars, back when stock cars were still stock.

That was a fun class while it lasted. After a second semester, the school decided that even with high course fees, it was still eating up too much money and canceled it. Probably these days even if a course like that was financially viable, it would likely be a no go from a liability standpoint.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Acceleration wise it wasn't that bad. Then again, the base roads didn't allow for very high speeds to begin with.

Funny thing is after returning to the States, I ended up taking a racing course set up through my local community college. The instructor, a former driver on Mario Andretti's team, got a hold of two Dodge Monaco police cruisers. He stripped them out, installed roll cages, redid the suspensions, and rebuilt and modded the 440's. Although similar in appearance to the older Dart, their handling was razor sharp for a car of its size and weight, and they were very fast. The driving course was set up on a closed airfield. The highest I got the car up to was 140, and it wasn't tapped out. They were basically stock cars, back when stock cars were still stock.

That was a fun class while it lasted. After a second semester, the school decided that even with high course fees, it was still eating up too much money and canceled it. Probably these days even if a course like that was financially viable, it would likely be a no go from a liability standpoint.
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Yeah the 440 was quite the monster. While the 426 Hemi gets the accolades for outright performance and tech advantage, it was often said that they were a bit more difficult to keep running in top shape consistently. The 440 would often win out over the same car with a Hemi just due to consistent performance. FIL has a 440 Cuda (green car behind the Duster in pic above) and a Hemi Challenger as well (and a 340 Challenger). I don't try to put any of them through their paces though, since I can't afford to replace them if I blow one up, lol.
 
The 440 6 pack was a formidable street cleaner in its time.

www.allpar.com

The History of the 440 Six Pack - Chrysler's...

The History of the 440 Six Pack - Chrysler's Ultimate Street Motor Story and photos by RICHARD EHRENBERG. Copyright © 1989 Richard Ehrenberg. Used by permission. First printed in Mopar Action Nineteen sixty-nine was a very good year for those Hamtramck high flyers; virtually every car...
www.allpar.com www.allpar.com
 
I have been a challenger fan since 1974 or so. I have owned 6-7 since then. I totaled 2 of them before I was 18 .
I had a love affair with 340s.
I have 2 challengers now, one 340 with edlebrock allumium heads with hi compression pistons and one with a 440 6 pack with hi compression pistons. It also has edlebrock aluminum heads on it.
I have been on and off with them over the years. Need to sell parts for them that I will never use in my lifetime. Hate selling stuff...almost feel like giving them away.
My wife and I used to drive them to dinner.
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This one I have owned since 1983, from 2006-2014 we trailer ed it all over the country and used it a driver. Drove it over the golden gate bridge, top of pikes peak twice, grand canyon, on the bonnelville salt flats 3 times, daytona beach, key west, dream cruise in Mich, and other places. Had a lot of fun with it. Have the rust to prove it now. That is OK, I saved it for 30 years in the garage and glad I used it for what it's for.
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Cruising up pikes peak. 340 got a special tune to make it to the top.
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Pikes peak when the top was still gravel!
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Gary Ward said:
Pikes peak when the top was still gravel!
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What, they paved it?? The gravel was half the fun! We drove our bone stock '73 Mustang (351C, 2-barrel) up to the top in '84, got out with the kids and tossed snowballs around in August. No special prep to get up there, but the old girl was wheezing just a bit.
 
We went out there 2 years in a row and drove to the top both times on the same date 7-30.
One year it was 32° at the top with snow. The other year it was 90°at the bottom and the rangers were telling everyone at the bottom to turn off AC so not to overheat on the way up. I turned ours off and halfway up my wife complained and I turned it back on. It did not over heat.
The first time there was some gravel left at the top, the next year it was paved all the way to the top.
At the top it sounded like a motor boat to me, the 340. Barely had enough power to spin the tires on gravel.
When I went to start the car at the top I thought someone stole my spark plugs as the engine spun over fast like there was no compression from the thin air.
Fun times.
 
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