rear main seal

[t-bucket]

thought some one might have some insight on this

we have a 336 chev v-8. 1958 circa and the rear main is leaking
this is a two piece rope seal. can it be changed without removing the crank?
and without wrecking the front seal? I've heard that you may be able to loosen off the main bearing caps and get the block side out and new one in.
Another question can this be done with the transmission, clutch and flywheel still hooked up??

thanks for helping out

Stuart

 

[zzrodder]

336 ? Chevy ? Dunno that one...[S
Anyways, it can be done, I've done it on a few engines with neoprene rear seals, they can drive out easier because they have a steel core that you can push on with a punch - careful you don't nick the crank !! In a couple cases, I had to loosen off all the main caps so the crank could drop down a bit to ease the job - there should be enough play in the trannys' input shaft to let you do this without disconnecting the flywheel etc. Don't loosen the front main cap as much so the crank snout doesn't drop down too far and mess up the front seal, though if the rear is leaking and you're going this far, I'd sure change the front seal too. Of course this is all assuming you can even get the oil pan off with the engine in the vehicle ....

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

336 GMC? Pontiac design.

Roll down to Lordco and get yourself a "Sneaky Pete". Remove the rear main cap and screw the tool into the rope. Rotate the crank slowly and draw the seal out. Soak the new seal in oil for a couple hours and use the tool to pull it back thru, again slowly turning the crank to help it rotate thru the channel.

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