Rear Main Seal

[barabar]

Have any of you had rear main seal problems? And if so what did you do to repair it? I've notice most of the big block 385 series have had trouble with the rear main leaking.

[cdog]

I think mine is leaking.... I see oil. I ain't taking it apart for that, I'm putting down some paper towels.

[Tom Wells]

barabar,

Here's some reading: http://www.460ford.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128568

Hope it helps,

Tom

[barabar]

Tom,
Thanks for the reply. This is the first BBF 385 series I've built. And this is the first time I've ever had a leak, to include rope seals. One guy on 460.com I think nailed it after he pulled his engine 6 times. You can't have over .010 to .015 crush on the seal or it will distort when you torque down the rear main cap, causing a problem. I thought that cap sat a little high on the block before I torqued it down, but the crank turned easy so I didn't pay much attention to it. Also after researching the problem I found stroker cranks are more prone to leaking. I will have to Mic both cranks to see if there is a diameter different.
I still have it on the test stand, so it isn't to much of a problem tearing it down.
I can't believe with a problem like this someone hasn't come up with a one piece seal, like on the 6.9 & 7.3 diesels.
He also mention different blocks have different groove diameters, can't confirm that until I start Micing things up.