help big oil leak, can't seem to fix

Now that my omni will actually run for the first time in 7 yrs, it is leaking a ton of oil from the motor, between motor and tranny. Some history on the motor

1. rebuilt 7 yrs ago with less than 200miles on it. transmission as well
2. Oil started to leak almost immediately after i got the car to run.
3. I have changed the rear main seal twice. the seal from the rebuild was leaking and also the small oil galley freeze plug was not snug so i replaced it as well. Then i started the car and it seemed fine for 40 or so miles and then it started to leak again. i pulled the trans and saw that the seal looked dry but the lip around the oil pan rail was wet so I figured that was the leak. There was also a lot of oil up under the input shaft area of the trans and splashed around on the inside of the bellhousing. I replaced the rear main seal and inspected the oil galley freeze plug. It seemed to be dry. Put it back together.
4. Started the car and drove it a few miles, came back ,and it was leaking exactly the same as before. It seemed to be running out of the bellhousing as well as from the front corner of the oil pan/rear main seal area
5. I decided to do the oil pan gasket and see if new end rails would solve the problem. Got the gasket and changed it. As soon as i started it, less than 1 min, I see oil running down from the front of the rear main seal/ oil pan area.This is the exact same way it leaked before the rear main seal and pan gasket. I can't see how far it is running down from because of the flywheel, but the back of the flywheel is dry from the center( by rear main seal) out about half way and then it is oily on the outer half. I also noticed if i look into the bell housing while it is running it looks like the fly wheel is churning oil at the bottom of the bellhousing. Like I said before there was oil all over the inside of the bellhousing.
6. I know the oil is from the engine because I put leak dye in it and you can see it.
7. I also changed the trans input shaft seal so I don't think it is that
8. I am certain it is not the turbo oil line because it is brand new and i have checked it for leaks. I also can see oil coming out of the timing mark hole of the bellhousing, again like the flywheel is churning it up.
I really need some advice on what is causing this leak. What else can it be. i have sooooo much time into this car and it never runs right. I enjoy working on it but I spend 10X as much time working on it as i do driving it.I would like to enjoy driving it a bit. So far I have driven 100 miles and already done a pan and rear main seal X 2 and the car still leaks like a pig.
Thanks for any ideas because i am out of them.

sometimes the crank need to polished where the seal seat , or move the seal from the housing to move away from the 2 groove the old seal had done over the years

I would think the seal is not leaking because the fly wheel is dry from the seal all the way to about half way out of the diameter. Only the outer 1/2 diameter of the flywheel is wet with oil. Wouldn't a leaking seal shoot oil on to the inner part of the flywheel as well. There is a drop of oil at the base of the retainer/ oil pan where the rubber seal is. I may try the oil pan one more time but it leaks so bad i don't think it is that

It honestly sounds like the rear main, if the crank is grooved enough, the seal can't do its job and no, it won't shoot it out onto the flywheel.

I would remove the rear main and inspect the crank for a large groove or damage, get a speedi sleeve and this way, its nice and new. Also make sure its not coming from the head and leaking down the bellhousing. Also check the oil distribution tee, could be coming from there too.

Are you using the the main seal that has the built in rubber gasket attached to the outer circumference? I had issues in the past with a car where the seal was actually slowly spinning in the seal housing and the oil was leaking from around the outer edge of the main not at the sealing surface of the crank. The seal that was in the car was a rubber seal type without the built in gasket.

I have used both types of felpro seals. The rubber one and then the teflon one. The leak seems to be the same with both so either I am no good at installing seals :thumb:or it has to be another problem.I looked at the oil sending unit and it looks dry around it. The oil feed line is also not leaking. I guess i will be pulling the tranny again for the 3rd time. I love this car. Its more of A TRAILER QUEEN THAN ANY EUROPEAN MAKE!

You said the oil galley plug wasn't snug, how did you figure that out?

How did you install the new one? They are very finicky. :o

The first time I did the seal after I got the car with the rebuilt motor, I saw that the freeze plug was weeping oil out of it. It was flush with the block or head so I tapped on the plug and it moved. I got a new one and centered it and tapped it in till it bottomed out. It did not seem to be wet when I did the seal last week.
I read somewhere that you could tap these holes for a threaded plug? If I take it apart, which I probably am going to do, I want to be absolutely certain it isn't going to leak.
Also is there a way I can build oil pressure without having the car completely together so I can try and find this leak. I was thinking take the car apart and then remove the timing belt and spin the intermediate shaft with a drill. I also have a core 525 that I could rip apart and use the bellhousing to attach the starter to the block and start the car. What do you think would be best.

Yes, you can drill and tap for small pipe plugs, I had my machine shop do it on all my engines.

Did you use sealer?

Yep, remove the timing belt, then you can use an air ratchet etc to spin up the oil pump and look for leaks.

Well I got the tranny out in 2.5 hours. I guess it helps to know what every bolt and step is to take it out. I haven't totally confirmed it but it does look like the freeze plug. The rear seal is bone dry and there is a trail of oil from the plug. Do you think I can tap the plug in the car? I am also not sure about the bottom of the pan since there is oil there as well. It may just be where it ran down. Thanks for the help

You could tap it but you'll have to prime the oil system to get the chips out so they don't damage bearings etc.

Ok well this is very interesting I hope I can be of help. I had to do this to my motor too luckily I got it right the 1st time I took the trans out :p

Heres what I did I ordered this then I bought this Read my thread here You will see you can't put them in until they bottom out or they will block an oil passageway. I would not advise thread it in the car as it will be hard and the chance of ruining your motor is no fun. I did it this way and its held up over 2k miles so far so it seems to work. Also notice on mine the guy who built my motor peened the plugs "to keep them from falling out???" lol anyway I had to dremel the hole a little bit to smooth it out. I did this with a plug in place so that I didn't get metal in the galleyway. You might be able to thread it the same way but I don't know. It took me about 6 plugs before I got it right-the peening was the problem for me. I let them dry for a day then primed the pump to check my work.

The chance of your pan leaking seems unlikely they just seal way too easy for that to be the problem I would think. These little plugs are the devil and I bet thats been your problem all along goodluck let us know how it turns out :thumb:

Another note is do not hit the inner diameter of the plug my machinist told me to do that... I don't know why but anyhow it doesn't work just get a small socket that will touch the outer diameter of the plug.

Well I did tap the hole with a 3/8npt. I packed the hole with grease and then cleaned it out good after i was done. I could not get the plug totally flush to the block but it does not push out the backing plate so i am going to leave it. I had some right stuff gasket maker that did a good job on the oil pan so I sealed the plug with it . I did take off the timing belt and turn the intermediate shaft with my air wrench, 3 times for a minute each. It sucks, so the speed was probably 3/4 what the motor turns at idle but there was no leaking from the plug or the seal. I did see oil running down the main cap, inside the motor, through the crank bolt holes though. Hope that is ok.

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Originally Posted by boboli

Well I did tap the hole with a 3/8npt. I packed the hole with grease and then cleaned it out good after i was done. I could not get the plug totally flush to the block but it does not push out the backing plate so i am going to leave it. I had some right stuff gasket maker that did a good job on the oil pan so I sealed the plug with it . I did take off the timing belt and turn the intermediate shaft with my air wrench, 3 times for a minute each. It sucks, so the speed was probably 3/4 what the motor turns at idle but there was no leaking from the plug or the seal. I did see oil running down the main cap, inside the motor, through the crank bolt holes though. Hope that is ok.

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Yeah, your ok on the bellhousing side if it doesn't sit flush.

You better see oil dripping in there, if not, your in big doo doo, :o

Oh ya also I've heard to put locktite or sealant on those flywheel bolts too. I did at least.

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Originally Posted by 85daytona

Oh ya also I've heard to put locktite or sealant on those flywheel bolts too. I did at least.

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yep i use both and never had leak , interesting for the freeze plug ive never seen one fail but now i will watch that for sure

How the plug is installed must be very crucial to them working properly. The guy who gave me the car built engines at a machine shop for a living. Probably not 2.2's. He had the plug installed flush with the block and it leaked. i tried driving a new one in more, like 85daytona's pictures, and that also leaked. I hope i don't jinx myself but the pipe plug didn't leak in the test so I am going to put it back together tomorrow and see if it stays dry. Wish me luck!

Well I got it back together and it doesn't leak, thank god:hail: I will definitely remember to tap the oil galley hole next time. Two leaky freeze plugs later I don't think I will use those again Thanks for everyone's help!