455 rear seal problem
 

Hello new here ..thinking of buying an outstanding 63' GP with a very healthy 455 from a 76' Pontiac ..it is a beautiful car with one problem, it has a rear seal leak.. does the tranny have to come out to replace the seal.. or is it worse than just that..thanks for info

Yes, the transmission has to come out. I would imagine the oil pan has to come off and the crankshaft dropped out as well.

Having said that, how bad is the leak? If it's just a few drips I wouldn't be too concerned.

its more than a few ....not real bad but it would be a pain to live with for my driveway and garage

Unfortunately, this is a common problem among Pontiac V8s of the era. When I was rebuilding my 389, I purchased a Viton rear main seal. They are available from our host, as well as BOP Engineering and other places.

Better than the old rope seals and it can be installed with or without removing the crankshaft. You'll still have to remove the oil pan and probably transmission, but at least it saves you having to remove the crank.

would absolutely like to buy this car, it is a great car.. but I'm not capable of doing the job and the expense may make the car more than I want to spend .. I'll have to check around to see the cost but I think its going to get ugly....just a shot in the dark, does anyone know of a reliable shop that can work on a classic like this in the Buffalo NY area ...........thanks for replies ,..(love these sites)

I'm running the Best Gasket graphite rope seal, no leaks.

Not NY but you might check with Jim Pickett at Pickett automotive in NJ,he does classic car work.Tom

Picketts are outside of Philly PM me if you need there number.

thanks ..but thats about 500 miles from me