I've posted a few times about leaking from the rear of the engine. My mechanic now has the engine out, and the oil pan and rear main seal out (it was leaking out of the main seal).

My question - how snug should the seal fit in the block? He thought it should pull out more difficult than it did. The crank is still in the block.

And the seal doesn't look faulty or anything, and the crank looks very good (had work done last summer). I wonder if it was leaking somewhere around where the retainer meets the block, but otherwise he's not sure exactly where the leak is getting through. Is that area typically more difficult to get sealed up with a good sealant? I also told him (and showed him the article on this site) to offset the seal to help prevent leaks in the future (I think, since he's pulled the motor 3 times, he doesn't want to see my car anymore).

Thanks

I would print out and take to the mechanic, Doc's article on Rear Main Seals...that might help things out and keep it sealed up...

-D.Idiot

Hello,

I had mysterious leaks...unitil I realized I needed to put some sealant inside the pan area where the riight angle corners of the rubber gasket mate to the main seal block. A pinhole will look like the rear main has failed. And indeed, it slides right out...push out with a stick of wood, a pencil or somesuch and grab it when enough appears to grab.

rock
'64d100

I posted some additional main seal checking tips in this message:
DD
http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... c840dcb5f9

Thank you all so much!

While I was with the mechanic today, I brought up Doc's article, and he printed it out. Doc, I'll also print out the other checks from your other post for him to check out.

And rock, he did put sealant on all of those 90 degree angles next to the main seal. It looked like it was leaking a bit there (he tipped the engine up and the oil dripped out off of the crank and the block), and I think he may have gotten some of the sealant between the two halves of the main seal, causing a bit of a gap.

Hopefully this weekend I'll have a leak-free 170

I wish I would have thought of this during my last post - Does a rope seal do as good as the neoprene?

I'm inclined to go with the rope because the rear main journal is grooved, and the crank probably won't come out of the block to sand that smooth. I also think it's not lining up exactly perfect either.

Thanks.

A rope type seal is really hard to install correctly with the crankshaft in the block.
The rope seal must be "packed" into the receiver groove and then the ends need to be trimmed. ( see the FSM)
DD

If I have the mechanic sand the journal, can that be done with an emery cloth, or is it better to have that machined? I do think I'd rather go with the neoprene seal because I would think that'd be better. I know I said that I thought the crank might not be exactly centered, but there is definitely compression of the seal on both sides, so the seal should be doing its job.