So sad to see that mess on the ground. IF the engine has to come out again, do you have an engine stand you could run it on ?
I have an engine stand, but I really don't want to start it on that stand.
I said in an earlier post how a car I redid leaked even with new seals and gaskets. It wasn’t that I didn’t to a good job, it’s just the nature of the beast. The tolerances aren’t as good on the older machines as newer ones. The question is leak or drip? If it’s just a drip you might start chasing your tail.
Oh, it's definitely a leak. When I backed it into the shop, it left a drip every few feet or so. The picture was what leaked in a few minutes after I shut it off.
Is it coming from the same place or difficult to say?
As near as I can tell, it's coming from the same place. I sprayed it off with brake cleaner, then started it up and let it run for a few minutes. It's coming out right around the crank and running down the back of the oil pan and flywheel cover.
I would get an oil pump primer tool. When we build a motor we always prime it before starting it.
Pull distributor, run pump with a drill. You'll see where oil's coming from since you'll have pressure.
View attachment 927068
I have that tool and used it to prime the engine when I first assembled it. I thought about what you suggest too, but after a conversation with the shop that did the machine work on the block, it seems that since it was line honed, it requires a special rear main seal that makes up for the material removed from the seal seating surface. Line honing, or line boring is done to true the main bearing bores, and takes material off the crank seal mating surfaces, so a seal with a larger O.D. is required, as a standard one will not crush the seal half ends together to make a proper seal.
I told him it would have been nice if they had told me that when they did the machining, and he said the machinist that did the work probably assumed I knew that little nugget of information, which I didn't.
Sooooo, I worked all afternoon and just have to pull the drive shaft, left header, shift lever and disconnect a few wires and it will be ready to pull back out. I'm going to try to get the left header out without pulling the steering box, but I'm not sure it will come out either from the top or bottom that way. If not, I'll either pull the steering box or try to pull the engine with it still bolted on the engine.
I ordered the special Fel-Pro 2909 rear main seal, pan gasket and a pair of head gaskets today, and they should be here on Saturday.
Oh yeah, as a bonus, it was also leaking coolant out of the rear of the right side head when I jacked it up to look at the oil leak. Not sure what's going on there, but I'm going to check the torque on the head bolts and if they're up to spec I'll pull the heads too.
The fun never ends.
