The intake seal is dry. I'm using the 430 dipstick, which has no tube. I wonder if it is being pushed out there? I retorqued the pad this AM, a few of the bolts had loosened up. I loc-tite'd them as well. Just a drip as we speak. Been sitting for an hour. I'll know in the morning. A drip I can handle, but a PUDDLE like I had today is not.
BRUCE! how the hell are ya? The woman been keepin' you in line? I've heard this some where. I woulden't drive a car that woulden't have the gumption to mark it's own territory.
I've never once had good luck with rope seals. It's neoprene for me!:TU: Some of you guys mentioned bad tranny leaks.....my Dodge Caravan.......OMG, that thing leaks so bad I have to consider tranny fluid mileage! :laugh: It has a bad converter seal.......and that ATF+4 fluid costs $4 a quart! Might be cheaper to just fix it but I hate to put all that the effort into a POS. ou:
Neoprene seal and it does not leak, but my oil pan gasket does seap a little. I farted around down there for so long trying to stop that crap it isn't even funny!!! But, the seal itself is AOK. Bob
My machine shop has been in business for 30 years, and they have built hundreds of engines. They like rope seals, and have the tooling and experience to install them correctly. When they built my last short block, I wanted a rubber rear seal. They told me that a rope seal is better, and they would replace it free if it leaked. So far so good......:grin:
I have a neoprene seal, installed in 2005, and it leaks. My rope seal we installed in 1998 never leaked a drop. Then the neoprene seal was installed during a rebuild, and look what happened! RW
This is a good thread. But what I can't stand is leaking on someone else's driveway. If someone leaked on mine I would not be happy with them.:rant:
The last three Buick engines have not leaked a drop at either end. I hate rope seals. I had to deal with too many of those when I was a line tech at GM dealers. I hated 235 6 cyl. Chevys. Those things were born to leak. I did build one for a 54 5 window pickup I had in the 80s that never leaked. About a first for me. If you get them exactly right a rope will work, but I would never fool with one when I can use something else. JIm N.
I put the rope seal in the other day on my 455... Wow, I didn't know how much drag the rope seal applies on the crank. Without the seal, the crank turned easily by hand. With the rope seal installed, I need two hands to move it. I came across this thread and I'm pulling the bottom end apart to put in the TA neoprene seal. I hope it doesn't leak. We'll see.
My 455 has a rope seal.The shop I use has done hundreds of rebuilds in their 25 years. I watched them install a rope seal. There is a packing tool that needs to be used to fill the seal cavity. Then, the right amount of sealer to mate the ends, as well as on the rear main cap intersection. Mine is as dry as a bone.....:beer
Had a HUGE rear main seal leak before the engine was built...you guys know, 1 quart per mile...never mind fuel mpg :laugh:. Had the motor rebuilt and put the rope seal back in cause I didnt know about the neoprene replacement at the time.....drips if the car is on an incline . Other then that it stays kinda dry under it. Sometimes you just cant win I guess o No: . Larry
When I first built my 455 it didn't leak with the rope seal. I also had the oil pan gasket covered in Yamabond 6B gasket sealer(great stuff but expensive) Then I blew it up, bored it out, new crankshaft, resized the rods all new bearings & the rope seal again & it leaks like a siv. Tomorrow my engine will be out (again) and I am going to replace the rear main seal & reseal it. I needed to get the motor out anyway to install my new tremec tko 600. I will post pics of the install & floor cutting. :3gears:
My Buicks don't leak enough to call them a leak. More like a seep. I have an 81 F-250 351M/C6 woods hoopie that used to leak alot. I had to add 2 quarts of oil every time I took it to the woods. One day I got kinda stuck. It happened to be in clay. After thrashing around for 20 minutes I managed to get out (so it wasn't really stuck). The clay went about everywhere. I got alot above the crossover pipe up in between the motor and tranny. I didn't clean it out (why would I with a $200 pickup). After a few more drives the clay turned hard and it hasn't leaked since.
Wow, that's awesome. I wouldn't go over a speed bump too fast or your seal may fall off:error:. When my rope seal started leaking again, I had to bungee a towel to the bottom of motor, so I could go see my girlfriend without leaking oil everywhere. Gotta do what you gotta do. :laugh: Thankfully I don't have that anymore.
