Rear engine oil leak question

[adf5565]

Unfortunately after a had my ‘72 350 rebuilt by a friend it developed an oil leak at the rear of the engine. I believe it is the rear gasket of the oil pan, however I would like to confirm it’s not the rear main seal as well. Would the crankshaft be “wet” if the rear main was leaking? I haven’t noticed anything on the crank.

It’s probably hard to tell from an image but there is oil at the corner where the rtv ends. But I haven’t noticed any oil running down the back of pan either, it was originally running (a few drips after running the engine) down the front facing sheetmetal piece of the bell housing cover (sm465).

[adf5565]

I should also add that he struggled to find a rear/front gasket piece for the oil pan that fit right. Hence the sloppy look. There is another spot on the oil pan the leaks as well. So at the very least the oil pan is coming over to replace the gasket.

[adf5565]

Another pic after running. Definitely leaking at the oil pan seal at least, oil can be seen at the rear pan lip.

[RustyPile]

That's a goopy mess.. Redo the installation and use the proper pan gasket set, and not so much gasket sealant....

[HO455]

It is difficult to do with the engine in the truck but after removing and cleaning, dry fit the pan to the block and inspect it to see the pan fits flat and square.

If you not pulling the engine to reseal the pan, try test fitting your pan on a different block that's not installed to verify the fit.

Oil pans can take a lot of abuse and many new ones just don't fit correctly.

[treveiger]

Looking at the picture I would guess that's where it's leaking. I bought a reusable felpro one piece gasket that has no leaks for nearly 15 years.

[Rust_never_sleeps]

Those little blue clippy things that come with the Fel-Pro silicone gasket really help keep it from getting distortedf