clearance rear seal
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 375
Likes: 0
From: nc
clearance rear seal
replacing the rear main seal in my freshly installed 302. i have never replaced the seal in the chassis. i really don't want to pull the engine. whats everyones thoughts the shop manual mentions unbolting the motor mounts and space them with a block of wood. drop the pan and the pick up slide the pan out the front. this is a 1978 f100 2wd. any words of wisdom out there... or is it as straight forward as the shop manual suggest.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,494
Likes: 0
clearance rear seal
A rear seal failure on a fresh rebuild...send it back to the assembler. Honestly, I thought if there's a wear groove on the crank you're supposed to sleeve it. You might want to look into this so you don't have to do it again in the near future. Can anyone verify this?
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 30,255
Likes: 37
clearance rear seal
The best way to deal with a wear groove is to have the crank ground and chromed back up, but that co$t$ and rebuilders don't do it. Some seals can be moved to a slightly different location on the shaft but not the rear seal. Unless there is some replacement part I am not aware of from Ford with a different seal lip configuration. I have never had much luck with the "sleeve method".
A seal leak on a fresh rebuild would be a warranty problem.
A seal leak on a fresh rebuild would be a warranty problem.
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 375
Likes: 0
From: nc
clearance rear seal
thanks guys, i would love to send it back to the rebuilder if it wasn't me. the short block was built and used for about 8k and then it was stored for a year and a half. i should have replaced it prior to setting it in the chassis, but i talked myself out of doing it at the last minute. a moment of poor judgement. i haven't replaced one in the chassis before, so that prompted the post. i'm going to drop the pan and go that route this weekend. i appreciate the responses and apologize for not including all the facts.
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Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 30,255
Likes: 37
clearance rear seal
Check the crank for a groove in it. If there is a groove a new original type seal won't fix the problem. It may have been a seal that got nicked during assy, or a burr on the shaft. Check the surface VERY carefully, or you will be back in next month. Did the crank get rusty or corroded during storage? Did you squirt it with some WD40 and put a drop or two of oil on it before you cranked it up? The seals can stick to the shaft during long storage periods then tear away and wear very rapidly.
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