I've got the same chassis for my 54 Project ( mines a long box though ) . Not having an engine crossmember makes oil pan removal much easier!

 

So that's the deal? Should I have one?

 

Yep that's why it was so easy.

Not in a 70's 4x4. They slid the crossmember forward and boxed the frame rails where the engine mounts.

 

Whew.....it didn't look like anything was missing!

I think I'm gonna have to blow off the rear main seal replacement for now. I didn't know it was a one piece and I'm not interested in pulling the tranny/clutch right now. I'll just see how the pan, intake and pushrod cover gaskets do for drying things up.

I got a lot to learn but thanks for the start!

 

I immediately want your truck. I love that look and color.

 

Thanks! The pic is a little deceiving......it's not quite as nice in person but it's a good, solid start.

 

No, you have a very nice truck!

 

Agreed!



How'd the clean up and resealing go?

 

Thanks again for the compliments! I was going to update this but between actually working on the truck, house project and working multiple jobs I've been kinda busy.

I changed the oil pan, pushrod cover and valve cover gaskets. All of those sealed up nicely and solved about 1/2 of the leak issues. Now it's on to the front cover which looks to be responsible for most of the rest. I'm doing at least the tear down portion of that today. I gotta find my balancer puller......wonder if I loaned it to someone?!?!

A pleasant surprise while doing the oil pan gasket was that I found that one of the threaded holes in the front cover was still intact (the bottom center). One of the others was completely stripped and the other was cross threaded. I love spending time fixing previous owner's ham handed mistakes. The good news is that the pan still sealed up fine.....the one piece rubber gasket is awesome and I'm sure it'll be fine after the front cover is reinstalled as well.

 

Awesome, and good to hear.

I love the one piece upgrade and do not recommend that anyone ever put the 4 piece back on their engine. It's simply inferior. The grinding is easy enough to do.

When you pull the balancer, if it comes off in two pieces, you know you need a new one. Also, when you get the gasket set for the timing cover, be sure to get the more expensive of the two sets (I think it's ~$17 vs ~$11), it comes with a sleeve repair that you put on the balancer to fix any grooves that may have been worn in it over time. Of course, if you need a new balancer, it doesn't matter.

Also, when you reinstall the cover, get the bolts in but don't tighten them down. Then, reinstall the balancer enough to where it's seated in the cover (doesn't have to be on all the way, just enough so that the cover can't move side to side). That'll center the cover onto the engine. It's very important that it's on straight or it'll wear out the balancer gasket in no time. Once it's centered, snug down the bolts enough to hold the cover in place and re-pull the balancer back off. Now, you can torque down the bolts of the cover properly. Once they're torqued, then you can re-install and torque down the balancer.

Another good tip when pulling the balancer is to take the large bolt and washer off the end, and then reinstall the bolt. That'll protect your threads. Buggering them up is not a fun ordeal... Been there!



And don't you just love fixing up work that previous owners have done?

 

Thanks for the tips! That is the gasket set I ordered BTW. My puller, if I can find it has different tips to guard against thread damage.

I should have known I was screwed as far as previous "repairs" when I saw all of the Permatex slathered on seams from the outside. Ugh! I pulled the replacement stereo to put in a superior unit that I have......it looks like there wasn't much finesse in the area of wiring either. Oh well, part of the fun is getting things back to where they should be.

 

Just a minor update. Upon pulling the front cover I found that the seal was about 1/2 missing......I imagine that this could be the reason why oil was dripping from my rear bumper after a short drive.

I also fixed the stripped oil pan bolt holes in the cover. $20 for a heli-coil kit and about 5 minutes should solve that problem for good. The biggest problem I've had with this whole project is getting the a/c and power steering brackets back in place.....what a PITA!

I ran short of time yesterday so after work today all I have to do is put the radiator back, fill it and tighten the belts. Hopefully it'll run without spewing oil everywhere now. Wish me luck!

 

Ugh! So with the radiator back in I fired it up and let it idle while I topped off the radiator. I checked underneath on the clean garage floor and no drips. Yea! I take it out for a spin around the block, park it and, again, oil is dripping from everywhere. The biggest "puddle" of oil is under the front diff. When it idles and I look for oil dripping there is a little here and there but nothing major and appears to be accumulated from
the drive vs. direct leak evidence. When driven it gets everywhere and there's no way to narrow it down since everything is bathed. Frustrating. The oil pan gasket area itself looks dry and there doesn't appear to be oil around the back of the dampner that's getting sprayed around (my thought after finding the original front seal dry rotted).

Two of the front cover bolts, by the power steering pump bracket, were wet with oil but that was the worst direct evidence that I saw (very minor).

So I guess it's back up on the ramps for a pressure washing to try and see where the problem is but with it only getting so bad when driven I'm not overly confident. Even when revs are held it still doesn't spew oil.

BTW.....the PCV valve is new and the oil filler cap is an open breather. The breather lets out light puffs of smoke when revved. Not sure this matters but just additional info.

 

Off hand, I can't think of any engine leaks that would increase to that level while driving only. Does it possibly have a leak from the transmission cover? Or a differential seal?

 

I am certain that it's engine oil. There may be a small transmission leak but it's easy to tell the difference (manual trans).

I ordered new gaskets so I'm gonna pull the front cover and oil pan again. I'm gonna check the front cover for cracks as well. I just can't imagine that I screwed up the installation bad enough to have leaks like this. I have a thought about the front seal and balancer but I'll wait until I pull it apart to see.