Rear Main Seal

[athawk11]

I forgot to answer Moose’s question. The crank won’t really drop by loosening the bearing caps. The transmission and bell housing pretty much lock it up tight.

To get it to drop…

-Loosen the middle and front main bearing caps at the crank. (your rear cap is already removed)

-Loosen all bell housing bolts. Do not completely remove them.

-Completely remove the two dowel bolts (Lower engine flanges)

-Lower the transmission cross member as much as possible without pulling the bolts completely out.

-Use a block of wood and a jack to lift the engine block.

Doing this will let the crank stay with the lowered bell housing and transmission. Raising the engine block creates a workable gap between the engine and crank. It’s not much, but it helps.

The Leaker points out one of the other challenges. Trimming the seal so it’s flush with the engine surface. This is a flat out bitch of a job with the crank in position. The key is patience and a couple tools. A sharp set of scissors, (As long as possible) and some type of pointy pick type tool. Even with the sharpest of scissors, you can barely cut this stuff. You literally have to trim it hair by hair. Use the pick to stand it back up. Trim…trim…hair by hair. Pick it. Trim…trim…hair by hair….and so on. This is slow and tedious, but eventually you’ll get it flushed out. If you are having an impatient day, don’t bother doing this. You’ll just get pissed off. It you try to cut more than just a few hairs at a time, you’ll cut nothing.

Tim

[Deleted]

Excuse me. It has long been my understanding that flush trimming would allow a leak. Trimming to leave a tail of about an 1/8" is the approved method. Or am I thinking of something else?

[athawk11]

Hey Scout,
All of the instructionals I've read have you cutting the rope seal flush with the surface on both the engine block and the cap. In my mind, it makes sense to leave it a bit long, let it compress, and improve the seal at this joint.

The possible problem might be...if left long, there is a potential for the fibers to spread sideways and out of the channel when resetting the cap. This could leave a bit of a gap between the mating surfaces.

This is just a guess.

It is recommended to leave the rubber dowels a 1/4" long and allowing the oil pan to compress them for a tight fit.

Tim

[Deleted]

It's been a while since I did that job. Right place. Wrong part.

[Haines Garage]

I went back and checked out page 2 of the chai drive thread. I marked and then cut slightly higher than the block and cap.
Seems to be OK so far. I have run this engine quite a few times.

[athawk11]

Round 1
Pulled out the seals. Installed new. I may have cut them a tad short. Result….leaking. Opened it up to find a spun seal.

Round 2
Pulled out the seals. Installed new. Used Permatex 2 in grove for the seal so it won’t spin out. Made the decision to forgo the rubber dowels. Per a suggestion I read, fill these holes/ports with RTV black. Let it cure. I let it sit for 3 days. Test Run Results…I was losing a court of oil in a 4 mile trip.

Pulled the pan and cap to find…the RTV never cured. No oxygen, no moisture, no heat…no cure.

Round 3
Pulled out the seals. Installed new. I went back to the dowels with a coating of RTV Ultra Blue. I left the rope seals proud about 1/16” from flush. I temporarily reset the oil pan to add pressure to the dowels. I let it sit for 2 days, then reset the oil pan permanently. Test Run Results. No loss of oil detected on a 3 mile trip. After sitting for a few hours, one drip of oil. I’m calling this good. I am out of time anyway.

All of this was because Lee embarrassed me last year. Thanks Lee!

[Haines Garage]

Don't worry Hawkster.
You will get it!
And Leemeister is going to get his as well!!!

[Deleted]

yippeeee, I'm getting something!. Tim I am sorry I noticed your rear main leak, certainly a follow up photo will reveal your success at repairs, I will be mixing up your thermal nuclear jerky tonite.

[Deleted]

I though it was pronounced noo-key-lur.

[Deleted]

Here we go again!

[jeffwho]

You mean, it's not "New-kler" ?

[Deleted]

Mild, hot, and this stuff is Hawky Hot!

[Deleted]

are you using this tool to install it?

link

[athawk11]

Jun 20, 2015 10:46:55 GMT -5 @scoutpilot said:

are you using this tool to install it?

link

Yes...with mixed results. I used two different versions offered by NAPA and I also tried a Chinese Fingers version.

***Chinese Fingers...Didn't work for crap. Don't even bother.

***NAPA... Made in Korea. The teeth on the seal grabber broke (all three supplied) very easy, leaving pieces caught in the seal...up in the groove.

***NAPA...Made in the USA. The grabbers with teeth never broke, but the button on the wire did.

I ended up using the wire from the Korea kit and the grabbers from the USA kit. Success.

[surveypunk]

Bringing this to the top for an update.

Jimbo

[athawk11]

Well, all of these attempts were done by pulling the rope seal over the crank. Though I thought things were in decent condition, I was proven wrong at the South Dakota Run. Short runs around the block didn't expose the leak. Long runs in South Dakota did.

Once back home, I pulled the engine and crank. I set the seal the proper way. Results at the FCT were much better. A small drip or two. Whether this holds up, only time will tell. With my luck, I suspect I'll be doing this all over again in short order.

Tim

[Deleted]

That rope needs to leak some to get lubed. Then it will settle down. Some leakage is very normal. I say this because all my rope seals seep.