Mummert lists one now for a painful $48.
Anyone try one out yet?
My rope seal aint, and the drip tray under the 'Cruiser is wading deep in 10-30 for your average house mouse.

 

I have followed several posts on replacing the rear engine seal, as I need to do it to both my 64 292 and 55 272. The following are 3 of those posts. Maybe they will help.

norwood

Begin posts:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...k/message/4428
From: Daniel Villanueva <dzv@q...>
Date: Mon Apr 5, 2004 2:46 pm
Subject: RE: [y-block] Rear Engine Seal
And you jogged mine!

Fel-pro gasket set part # OS10701C. It goes for about $11.00 at the
local parts store, I found it for under $10.00 at www.rockauto.com.
The Torque spec on for the 312 mains is WRONG in the '57 ford manual. It
should be 95. I don't know the torque spec for other engines..

As I wrote in my email that is now posted on y-blocks site, I was WAY over
cautious when I did this. There was also alot of hit and miss on my
part... I think you could do this in a lot less than 10 hours (like 2 to
4). Mind you, I did this over a few night, no power tools, and had never
worked on an engine outside of doing an oil change. I also washed and
detailed everything so well I could eat off of it....

Dan


http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...k/message/4431
From: SBWB1984@a...
Date: Mon Apr 5, 2004 8:46 pm
Subject: Re: [y-block] Rear Engine Seal
I believe I posted my seal changing procedure before, but I will run through it again.

Once you get the pan off you are half way there and by all means use the neoprene seal. One argument for removing the tranny is so that you can let the whole crank assembly drop down around 1/8" once all the main caps are removed. But, don't despair, the seal can be successfully replaced without dropping the crank assembly. The other reason to drop the crank is in the case where the crank seal surface is corroded. You would need to take strips of medium, followed by fine, emery cloth and thoroughly polish the seal surface. If I have a crank out I take it to my local machine shop and have the crank seal surface lightly machined and polished out. The reason for this is that the factory knurling on the crank seal surface was meant to work with the rope seal and is not totally compatible with the neoprene lip seal. Others might take issue since the neoprene lip seal does work with the knurled seal surface provided it is well polished and not corroded. As I said, if the crank is out I will have the knurled seal surface machined and polished out for the added bit of insurance. Supporting my argument, all modern engines using a neoprene lip seal all specify a smoothly polished seal surface.

First, remove the seal retainer and the rear main bearing cap. The old seal halves can now be removed.

Next, thoroughly clean the seal retainer, retainer bolts and retainer bolt holes. In order to clean the block half of the seal groove I squirt brake cleaner into the groove. In addition, clean and dry the internal and external block surfaces adjacent to the retainer.

A short word on sealants. I have had the best results with Permatex Right Stuff carried by NAPA. It is expensive, but it does work very well. Others use Permatex Ultra RTV and will swear by it.

Now, apply a thin coating of sealant to the back of block half of the seal and a thin coating of grease to the crank surface of the seal. (Seal lip points to the front of the engine). Gently work the upper seal half into the block groove and up over the crank. I will leave about 1/4" of the seal sticking below the block surface. The idea is to not present another parting line at the seal retainer and block mating surfaces.

Next, apply a thin coating of sealant to the back of the lower seal half and a light coating of grease to the crank surface of the seal. Also, apply a little sealant to the ends of the seal where it will mate with the half already installed in the block. Apply a thin coating of sealant to the block mating surface of the seal retainer. At this point you need to replace the rear main bearing cap since the cap cannot be installed if the seal retainer is in place.

Apply some sealant into the ratainer blot holes. Don't worry about putting in too much as is will ooze out once the bolts are installed. Carefully set the retainer with seal into place and install the bolts without the washers. This helps to prevent galling. The retainer bolts should be torqued to spec. Apply more sealant around the bolt heads and smooth it out level with the retainer surface. This is where the pan mates with the retainer and block so you don't want to risk any potential leaks.

At this point apply some sealant into the side seal grooves and install the side seals and steel rod stiffeners supplied with the new seal. The last thing to do before installing the pan is to apply some sealant to the retainer and block interface on both sides of the block. This step adds a bit of insurance which is why I said earlier to clean these surfaces thoroughly.

That's about it. Sorry to be so windy, but done correctly, you will not be bothered by rear seal leaks. One of the most important things is to clean any surface where the sealant goes and to have a nicely polished crank seal surface. Good luck.

Steve Behuniak

From: "Coder" <coder@f...>
Date: Mon Apr 5, 2004 1:52 pm
Subject: Re: [y-block] Rear Engine Seal
Fine, if you have money to burn! The job is really not all that difficult
and there are several references on how to do this job available with a
minimum of tools required. It just takes a little time and the new seal. The
transmission has little if anything at all to do with the job unless you are
planning on removing the engine, which is not required. The most difficult
thing about the job is removing the oil plan and it is do-able without even
lifting the engine on your car. If you are willing to attempt the job there
are several folks that monitor this site that will give you a detailed
description on what to do. I myself have not done the seal replacement but
have read what others have posted in the last year or so and it isn't that
hard. It would be best to use the newer style "neoprene" seal though instead
of the "old style" rope composition seal. That is what you have now if the
engine is original or has even been rebuilt since new. I'm certain that
someone else on this site will give you a heads up on what to do if you are
interested in trying the job yourself. I'm not positive but I think to
remove the oil pan in the car number one cylinder needs to be on top dead
center for the pan to clear the crank counterweight to pass the crossmember
on the frame. Good luck. Rick
end posts:

Hope these helped.

 

Thanks- I had seen these posts.

My post was regarding the fact that until recently, us 312'ers ONLY had the rope seal option.

So my question still remains whether this new 312 neoprene is good to use.
Just fishing for a testimonial before I shell out $48 and put those hours in on the creeper.

 

its easy to install but your crank seal surfuce must be in good shape or it will leak like a sieve.i got into that just awile a go.if theres any marks at all stick to the rope.

 

Those directions and advice are on the money for sure!!!! Take time on Yblock rear seal and don't get it a hurry with them, if you get it right the first time, then you may not have to worry with it again. This is aside the subject, but Norwood, we have a real coincedence here. I have a 63 ford Yblock 292 pichup, one year earlier than yours, and i also have me a little 55 Ford Fairlane. My 55 Fairlane has the 292, but it's not the original engine, it came out of a 1960 Ford Galaxy. I rebuilt both mine, i hear neoprene seals do better as a seal, but at the time i rebuilt both mt 292.s i wasn't aware of those seals. i will say i have had really good luck with my seals though, what i did was go to a pump company that sells roper pumps, and bought me some thick sticky black rope seal, i soaked it in oil for several days, and took my time with the overlap and everything, and you know on the 55 model that has now got around 70k miles and the ford truck that has a little more miles, both of those suckers haven't given me any problem, in the event they ever do, i am going with th neoprene, or what i've heard of a plastic chrysler plymouth seal from the dodge 318 engine is supposed to be made to use as a seal on these Yblocks, ive heard about this in many Yblock forums, and some people have done this also. Someone or you may have heard about this before too......Janet

 

Apparently everyone was speed reading your question and could not wait to post a reply before engaging their brains. He wants to know if you have tried the new seal, not how to install it. Correct?? I have just installed one in a friends motor and it should be up and running in about a year. I will keep you posted. If you can't wait that long, I would suggest reposting your question, only maybe type slower. Sorry for the sarcasm, my typing finger is getting sore, and patience is waning. NOTE; if you are installing one of these new seals, be carefull, they are very soft. I test fitted one in the retainer, and after trying to retreive it, I put a nick in it, with my fingernail!

 

Yeah thats right. Just wanted to know if there were any in successful running mode.
It didnt hurt to repost the procedure stuff though. This whole seal procedure still looks like a matter of slow cautious work and some luck from the truck gods.