Rear main seal ?

[kahl]

I came across a 98 V70 XC to add to the stable. This car may have a rear main seal leaking. My question is if I smoke the crank case will smoke escape from the rear main seal?

I am hopeful that the rear cam seals are leaking fooling the owners mechanic into thinking it is the RMS. Car has recently had the PCV system serviced.

[Ozark Lee]

I doubt it unless it is really gone or you crank the smoke pressure up to frightfully high levels. Even then, I'm not sure how you would tell for sure unless the engine was separated from the transmission and you were looking right at the seal. Maybe you could use a borescope to try to look around the flywheel if you remove the RPM sensor off of the bell-housing.

...Lee

[Klausc]

Give the engine the 'glove' test first. A leaking RMS is expensive. While checking the rear cam seals, get under the car and check the turbo oil return line for leaks.
Then check the oil cooler lines, both of them.

If it is not leaking a lot, you could try Bars RMS sealer. For $7, it's worth a try, but the engine needs to be run a lot. Figure 1,000 miles.

If the seal needs to be replaced, replace the tranny seals also.

[erikv11]

I would try ATP AT-205 before dumping in the Bars product - there are very few snake oils I trust (AT-205, Auto-Rx, whatever that sealer is that Ozark Lee uses for the power steering rack).