Neoprene and they have been good, all three. I've just had different issues with my motor over the past few years and each time i'm crossing my fingers that they work and they do. I use the t/a one, off set it about a 1/4" in the cap and block, use some gray rt on the rear cap parting line and a very thin coat under the seal itself.
I have heard of people having issues after the neopreme 2 piece deal that it was rather tight. I have noticed that the crank and the stock front balancer have slotted grouves around whare the rope seal rides, I always had a little oil seeping off the front, when I replaced the balance r with a spiffy new aluminum one from TA i noticed no grouves . And no leak. I think its something to do with the grouves.
Yup, but i expect it from an engine 50+yrs of age and original. Doesnt help matters the car has sat for a long time with minimal miles driven and then i buy it, run the hell out of it and rev the crap out of it doing burn outs.
1973 bottom end so Id guess at neoprene. Area is just damp, and will probably get re-gasketed this winter... Bill in TR
Going through some old magazines, I recently read an excellent article from an old school engine builder who specializes in neoprene rear main seals. He did not recommend neoprene over rope. He did say that rope seals are supposed to leak a little. According to what was written, a rope seal needs to be lubricated or it will move. This lubrication comes at the expense of a small leak. Makes sense to me since I have never had a rope seal not leak a bit.
Happy to hear that the Vitron seal works as i have one coming tomorrow,what kind of sealer did you use and did you smeer some where the cap meets the block also,Thanks Chris :TU:
Rope seal on mine leaked about five drops in as many months in its new garage. The seal has been in there since 1975
Phew, its a good thing this photo isn't black and white or the object flesh color, it would be pulled in a heart beat, or labled NSFW :laugh: gary
No reason to pull it OOS on a safety call! That's was a pic from when I first joined here and hadn't mastered this forums' size mandates, but here goes... The bottom of the car isn't as soupy as that one pic looks. However, the wife was following me on the E-way last summer (car has about a 360 ish gear (Olds)) and she mentioned a little gray smoke coming outa the back, as I started to gain on that Cadillac at about 70mph! The other pics here show the area aint soaked, but damp. What ever loss there is burns off the headers pretty quick, and may leave a few drips on the floor when parked. Maybe a quart every 500-1000 miles Now for the killer: I plan on doing a fluorescent dye check to ID the exact leak. May be its an intake (rear) leak, but if its a main out comes the tools! I had a few 455 pans off in the LONGGGG ago past (1974), but don't remember how high that motor has to go up. Anyone care to refresh my memory? One job entailed new rod bearing while apart, but really don't wanna pull the motor for a gasket job. Lay it on me fellas! Yes, if the motor comes out so does the trans for a seal job, U joints, and a lower bay power wash. INPUT???? ws
Just offering a little levity,my friend.:grin: Anyway,the seal can be replaced while in the car, done it many times myself. Heres what I do: Remove trans inspection cover, remove starter, remove engine mount bolts, loosen fan shroud to allow fan to rise, Place a floor jack under the harmonic balancer ,if the head of the jack is too wide it will bottom on the sway bar before you can raise the motor high enough,so either use a small head or loosen the pan ahead of time and move it rearward so its out of the way of the jack head. fwiw,I used a wooden 2x8 with a half circle cut into it to match the bottom of the balancer then used that on top the jack. Raise the motor as high as you can till it bottoms on the firewall, be carefull if you have a/c the rt side valve cover can crack the a/c housing if you raise it too much. Unbolt the pan, it should now slide out the rear. Remove rear main cap and push out the old neoprene seal, Reverse process. gary
Thanks! That's pretty much the way I remember it. Aside from the pan issue, does the oil pickup need to come off? I kinda recall loosening the mains to allow a slight drop on the crank to give just a tad more room to roll a new neoprene seal into place; may have swapped the main shells out too. Nothing like trying to remember a 40 year old job, ya know? Gonna do the front end work too; as in timing chain and an oil pump job and all the associated stuff up there too. Levity is appreciated... ws http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31lsag
