72 350, motor is out of car and oil pan is off. What is a fast and easy way for a rookie motor build to replace the rear main seal.
rear main seal Hi, The best way in my book is to drain the engine flip it on a stand and pull the crank. Replace with a neoprene seal. But if you want to replace with another rope seal and don't want to remove the crank, push the old seal with a punch then with vise grips pull the rest out, if it doesn't disentigrate. There is a tool called a chinese finger that you feed around the crank and grip the seal with then pull the seal back around the crank. Sounds easy but hard to manipulate. Good luck!
Rope seals suck. They disentegrate and end up getting sucked into the pick up screen. I have a chinese fingers, and it will work with the crank in the block. You turn the motor while pulling it through. That stretches it and it only comes apart faster. Again, rope seals suck. The proper way to install one is to soak it in oil overnight, and carefully pack it in tightly before putting the crank in. They still fall apart. My best advice is that since the motor is out of the car, remove the crank or at least drop it down enough to clean the seal groove and install a molded rubber seal. While you're at it, change the front seal too with a rubber one. If you can't find them, Carmen should have it. 716-693-4090. Good luck!:Smarty:
did this on my 71 block in the summer. there was a rope seal in it, VERY intact, not falling apart at all. It was a bear getting the upper half out, we loosened the mains and turned the assy while pulling on the seal, and it did come out. replaced with a TA neoprene seal. Also did the front seal with a TA neoprene piece.
That may have been a factory rope seal. I don't know how they did it, but they did it better than I can. I don't have good luck with them and I don't like them. Especially when you consider the amount of work necessary to replace one with the motor in the car.:bglasses:
