Q: I BUILT A 350 SMALL BLOCK CHEVY ENGINE. IT KEEPS LEAKING OUT THE FRONT MAIN SEAL. I'VE HAD TO REPLACE IT TWO TIMES. I'VE PUT NEW TIMING COVER & NEW BALANCER ON IT. I PULL THE ENGINE EACH TIME TO FIX IT. THE OIL PAN LOOKS GOOD ON IT & I HAVE TWO OIL BREATHERS ON IT ALSO. I NEED SOME IDEAS ON WHAT TO CHECK ON IT OR TO FIX THIS PROBLEM.

A: The oil leak could be any one of a couple items.

Because you replaced the balancer and it still leaked I would not suspect a burr on the balancer (unless both balancers were buggered up). Also, Make sure that you are not installing the balancer dry. Put a little oil on the seal.

Chances are the leak is a gasket. There are different thickness gaskets that go between the pan and the front cover. Make sure that you have the proper thickness.

Sometimes you can also get a leak at the main pan rail gasket and the gasket under the front cover. I use silicon on the little tabs and have pretty good luck.