Fixing the rear main seal on FE

[FFR428]

You are putting the lip of the rubber seal towards the inside of the block correct? And the nails on the maincap side of the seals?Just checkin! :-) G.

[Cal Metal]

Ken:

Where did you get your motor?

[mr0077]

Cal, a long story, but the short version is, I built it myself...it is a 68 service block I bought from a friend here in Houston...I had the machine work done and assembled it myself.

[Excaliber]

HEY,,, thats what I'm doing! A '68 service block, machined and new parts coming from George. Assembling myself.

...now lets see, the rear seal lip goes TOWARD the piston side. Offset the seal a little on each side of the main. No silicone on the main cap. Slide the side seals down a little first. Anything else?

Got any more details on the "build"? I'd love to hear them! My block has been "decked" so I got to order custom pistons for the wrist pin position to be right. -22 cc "dish" for lower compression, shooting for 9.8 or so. DOWN from 12.5! Flat tappet cam (no roller this time).

[68gt500]

Could it be that you have a boat crank that is supposed to run backwards ?

Check the ///// grooves on the crank surface and make sure they are pushing the oil back when running in the right direction .

Backwards grooves will force the oil out of the engine.

[mr0077]

Ernie, I was watching your thread (s?) earlier on your unfortunate experience with the rollers, good luck on your rebuild. I got a lot of satisfaction from putting mine together, you will too. I've got Le Mans rods and crank, E-brock heads with the big valves, 10.7:1 compression, roller rockers, Comp Cams 282S (that's a flat-tappet) set straight-up, and dual Holley 600s on a Ford intake. FWIW, I really like the cam, it has a nice lope at 750-800 rpm idle, and makes plenty of power.

R U Yella, sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread...I agree with one of the posts above to check the hash marks on the rear seal area of the rear journal on the crank IF you're not assolutely SURE of where the crank came from...but before you go through that effort, just be sure it isn't a leak from one of the areas at the back of the block (cam plugs, intake/block/head seal, etc.). The dye may show you more about oil leaks on your motor than you really wanted to know! :-) But that would be a good thing, it'll give you something to do on those nasty winter days when you can't drive the car anyway!

[R U YELLA]

I am using the rubber seal & yes the lip is towards the front. This time (the second time) it seams that the oil is coming from between the block & the block plate. The first time I could see the oil leaking off the back of the crank but not so much this time. I also used sealant all over the main on the first time but not the 2nd. Just on the seal at the ends. The upper half of the engine is completely dry. This engine was rebuilt apparently 10 years ago and only 2k mi since. It runs fine with plenty of power. I think this was a problem with the engine from the beginning. I do not know the exact specs on the engine but I was told it was a 410. The only thing that I can find on the crank is "3U". It is a service block as well. I'll have to look at a pic I took to make sure which way the grooves are going.

Thanks
Ed

[R U YELLA]

It looks like the grooves are going the correct way. Should I remove everything after the crank to see where the leak is coming from?

Thanks
Ed

[mr0077]

The grooves look good to me. And if the block above the crank is dry, I'd say no need to pull the flywheel, block plate etc. off. It seems the leak would just HAVE to be at or related to the rear main seal and/or pan gasket.

[FFR428]

Yep grooves are good and the 3U crank is a 73-76 390 truck crank with a 3.78 stroke. G.

[Excaliber]

FFR428, would you know what the 1U crank is? That's what I have.

[FFR428]

Sure the IU crank is a 428 3.98 stroke.

[FFR428]

I'm assumed you meant IU as there is no 1U cranks. The IU was also used in the Mercury 410 as well. G.

[Excaliber]

Actually I didn't know if it was a 1 or an I, never thought about that!

Gessford commented one day that if I had a 1U or a 2U crank for my 427 build, that would be "fine". Kind of left me scratching my head at what that meant!

[R U YELLA]

BUMMER! I thought it would have been a 428 crank to make it a 410. Son of a Beach! Oh well at least I know what I got now.

So what do you guys suggest that I do now?

Thanks
Ed

[FFR428]

Ed were you told the engine was a 410? Also is there anyone in your area that could swing by to help and see what you have going on? Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can spot something overlooked or offer a different outlook. I hate to say three's a charm without suggesting this. Plus your working upside down which is not easy at all! G.

[R U YELLA]

Well I took out the trans, clutch & flywheel. Cleaned it all up & started it up. I sure am glad that I did what I did. It wasnt the Rear seal at all. It was the damn cam shaft cover. I folowed the oil to that & I thought that I should try to tap it in but it was pretty loose.

[R U YELLA]

When I took out the cap this is what it looked like. What do I need to do next? Do these caps come in a larger size to get a better fit?

[Excaliber]

DOH!!! It's installed backward!!!! Turn it over and put it back in!

[FFR428]

Well for starters the cap was installed backwards. Try a new one and install it the other way. The "cup" should face in towards the cam. Some good sealer also around the edge. G.