How big of a job is a rear main on these?

[3/4 Ton-O-Fun]

I just did the rear main seal and wanted to add somethings that might help those that care to read.

Icanfixall said "Just make very sure you get the joint at the oil pan flange and the oil pan really clean and use plenty of rtv at the juncture. You don't need half a tube there... Just enough to see it squeeze out some like the pan being attached to the block...."

Imagine this one, Icanfixall is correct. I hope my *** of RTV stays attached to the back side of the clean engine cover...

It is hard to *** paper towels into the opening to keep stuff from going into the pan while prepping the surface for RTV. If someone has figured out a trick, I didn't know about it.

My pic is the fel-pro twin lipped seal from O'riliey's. Notice how deep it is set? I set it flush to the inside of the engine cover. Had I set it flush to the outside, like the traditional one that came out, the outside lip would have been off the crank.

My mainseal was fine. The rear engine cover was leaking at the driver's side.

 

[icanfixall]

Thank you so much for the great pictures of the seal. I can even read the instructions on the seal... "Install dry"... Nothing worse than blurry pics trying to so us something... Getting things clean enough is important at the suggested pan-cover-block joint. As noted.. Enough rtv to see it squeeze out when you install the plate is all thats needed. You really don't even need the rear cover gasket either since we don't use a pan gasket... Why do we need the main seal cover gasket... The crank bolts do need a thread sealant and a torque of 47 lbs... I use blue loctite for the sealant and thread locker on those bolts.. Works great and I never leak or loosen a bolt driving down the road... Like some members have had happen to them. I think it was Mels's son who just had the crank bolts shear off at a stop sign with no warning...

 

[snaponprofile]

Great rear main thread.

I am doing mine and I am not sure to get a twin lip or sleeved one?

 

[3/4 Ton-O-Fun]

I think if I had it to do again I would spend more time figuring out where the seal rides before installing it. I did not install a new sleeve. You shouldn't need to either if you install the seal to ride on a different part of the crank. There is enough depth to do that easily.

I should have put the rear engine cover back on without the mainseal and measured where the groove was. Remember the gasket depth, if you use it. I did, but thinking about it now I had to use rtv everywhere else, so should have just tossed the gasket and made it simpler.

I lucked out on where the seal wear surface ended up. You might not. Don't chance it.

Disregard all of this if it has already been done a few times, but if it has already been done 4 times, you probably need to be doing more than just a mainseal or there are bigger problems.

I did install dry. I prepped the end of the crank with emery paper and brake cleaner before installing it. "They" say it has to be done this way because as the teflon polishes its wear ring it also lays down a bit of teflon on/in the metal, giving you the teflon on teflon wear area. Done right, it should be good for a long while.

I used the HDPE cone that came in the felpro box to get it slipped over the crank. Folding the inside lip is how you fail. I also laid it in the sun before installing. I'm not sure it helped, but it went on fine.

The instal dry is only for the teflon twin lipped seals.

 

[CaptTom]

If there no signs of a leak just leave it alone or... Buy the twin lip seal with the special repair sleeve from Ford or international. Usually the oem seals wear a groove in the crank. If you just replace the seal it will leak no matter how its installed. Thats why the sleeve is used here. The seal I'm refering to is the upgraded type seal and it just plain works great. These rear main seals are installed in a cover thats removeable from the block. Makes fixing easier. RTV seals the plate back up to the pan and block really nicely too. Just make sure you have everything clean so the rtv will stick and seal...

Hey Smokerz!

If you've got grooves in anything steel, stainless or whatever, I've got a solution for you.

Spray ceramics or other harder steel, sprayed onto the affected area and machined back to spec. Ceramic works great on areas of high wear.

On boats, we have shafts that run through cutlass bearings... basically big rubber sleeves that keep the shafts aligned and hung off the bottom of the boat. These sleeves are grooved to allow water to work through and lubricate/cool the shafts. Well, growth gets into these areas and the shafts break it loose, so we have scoring as a regular wear problem.

The solution is to either spray a harder stainless metal or ceramic onto the affected portion of the shaft. The shaft is then milled down to spec for a perfect and more resilient wear surface.

Flame spraying is what it's called.... basically shooting molten metal onto a surface to build it back up.... ARC welding at its most gross application.

It isn't cheap, but it's less than replacing a shaft. I'll make a call to see what something like this might cost.... letcha know when I know.

WOW! That was a fast quote.... like all caveats.... "DEPENDING" on how severe the damage is, it could be between $350.00- $450.00 for a crank. Not bad as the crank would also have the opportunity to be balanced again after the machinist gets done with it.

 

[towcat]

Great rear main thread.

I am doing mine and I am not sure to get a twin lip or sleeved one?

like Capt Tom said, where is the wear mark at?
personally, I like tilting the odds in my favor. the twin lip teflon seal imho needs a "perfect" environment to function in, and a worn crank seal suface is hardly that. that's why I went with the fel-pro "kit" if nothing else, there's a renewed seal surface for the seal to eat up. I've had very good results in resealing rear mains with this kit and the jobs stay away from the shop for revisits on leaking mains. that's a very good thing in my book.

 

[snaponprofile]

Just did the seal, boy if that thing leaks, I'm bringing it to a shop

How long should I wait before running it?

 

[OnDaRoad]

How did you set the seal?

I just did the rear main seal and wanted to add somethings that might help those that care to read.

Icanfixall said "Just make very sure you get the joint at the oil pan flange and the oil pan really clean and use plenty of rtv at the juncture. You don't need half a tube there... Just enough to see it squeeze out some like the pan being attached to the block...."

Imagine this one, Icanfixall is correct. I hope my *** of RTV stays attached to the back side of the clean engine cover...

It is hard to *** paper towels into the opening to keep stuff from going into the pan while prepping the surface for RTV. If someone has figured out a trick, I didn't know about it.

My pic is the fel-pro twin lipped seal from O'riliey's. Notice how deep it is set? I set it flush to the inside of the engine cover. Had I set it flush to the outside, like the traditional one that came out, the outside lip would have been off the crank.

My mainseal was fine. The rear engine cover was leaking at the driver's side.

Thanks for the explanation & pictures ...

I am doing my clutch right now ...

Couple of questions if you don't mind:

Did you drain your oil from the pan before
replacing the rear main seal?

How did you set your seal?

What specific type rtv sealant did you use on the pan
and rear main seal cover?


Thanks,


Jim

 

[sle2115]

I used the same kit Towcat suggested with good results. I've done several and used the tool on each. Not had a problem thus far.

 

[3/4 Ton-O-Fun]

Sorry, I don't check here every day and things get off the first page fast around here!

Did you drain your oil from the pan before
replacing the rear main seal?

No. This led to my concern about fouling the oil with stuff scraped and cleaned from the back of the engine. I tried stuffing paper towels in the opening but that didn't work well. I'm sure some stuff got in there. Oh well.

You need to get all the surfaces really clean. Prepped metal wiped with brake cleaner is the ticket.

How did you set your seal?

I tapped it in from the engine side with hardwood scrap and a drift and a 3lb hammer. Lots of little taps working around to get it in evenly.

I put rtv on the inside surface of the rear engine cover hole where the seal goes in, but it was so tight it probably didn't do anything. You can see from the pics that I finished it by finger wiping the bead smooth. It will not be leaking from there anytime soon!

What specific type rtv sealant did you use on the pan and rear main seal cover?

I used permatex ultra black rtv and permatex blue threadlocker. Hell, I pretty much use those two on everything.