How urgent is a RMS leak?

[Nathans_Dad]

I just finished doing some oil leak work with the engine in, new oil return tubes, new hoses from the T stat and new S hose. That seems to have knocked out several leaks. After driving it some I have one decent sized leak left and I'm pretty sure it's the RMS. Oil is dripping from the middle of the case near where the tranny meets. Also can see oily gunk in the space between case and tranny. I've checked the triangle and it looks reasonably dry. It leaks 2-3 drops per night.

How urgent is this issue? I was hoping to drive it for a few months and maybe drop the engine this summer for a major clean and reseal. What risk am I running?

[kodioneill]

If it leaks 2-3 drops then you're probably low on oil. Just kidding, is it engine or tranny oil? I wouldn't worry about a couple drops from the crank seal although you may contaminate the clutch friction disc over a long period.

[Nathans_Dad]

No, it's engine oil. I read a thread talking about damaging the clutch which concerned me.

[Scott R]

I'm certain my PO was driving around for years with a very leaky RMS. When I finally replaced it the clutch was fine. Most of the oil flung itself on the back of the flywheel and dripped down.

[tobluforu]

I had a leaky rms and a 72 tranny that leaked as well. It never contaminated the disc enough so I got shudder so I left it alone. What type of oil are you using?

[Nathans_Dad]

Right now I am running some Prestone 10/30 just because I didn't want to waste good oil if my fixes were leaking like crazy and I had to drain it immediately. Plan to change the oil in a few months

[brads911sc]

Running 10w30 anywhere in Tx is much more urgent than an RMS leak. Running prestone is also an urgent matter. Id drain that out and get a good 20w50 or 15w40 in there asap. VRI is readily available and is good. As is Brad Penn, Kendall, etc. I wouldnt wait a few months...

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

Right now I am running some Prestone 10/30 just because I didn't want to waste good oil if my fixes were leaking like crazy and I had to drain it immediately. Plan to change the oil in a few months

[tobluforu]

Like stated above, run thicker oil, better for car, and it will decrease the leak some. Since you have a leak, run dino.

[Nathans_Dad]

Point taken, like I said the Prestone is really just a placeholder. I didn't want to waste expensive oil if my new oil return tubes and such leaked like crazy. I'll put better oil in there ASAP.

[yelcab1]

a few months is not going to make a big difference,,,

[aigel]

The issue is the viscosity. Cheap is fine, but the low viscosity stuff will leak at a significantly higher rate. You may not even have a leak with 20W50. Also, 10W30 is nothing to drive on, even for a few months. Especially as it warms up.

My advice is to put 20W50 and re-evaluate. I would not worry about the clutch. If it soaks the clutch, you have to go in and fix the leak. If it doesn't, then you may be able to tolerate it. The only thing at stake is the clutch disk, which isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

G

[Nathans_Dad]

I'm eventually going to drop the engine anyway for cleaning, powder coating, seals, etc. I'm thinking maybe this summer. So it would probably be 4-6 months max anyway.