Oh oh..Where to begin..or end?!

B

BeerInaBag

Junior Member
Pulled a leaky rad on my 28, its at the radiator shop now getting some love. I know my A likes to mark her territory, and have just popped soaker pads under her when parked. I see its my front seal seems to be the worst culprit, and the trans a close second.

To do the front seals, looks like my timing cover comes off...Is it just as well to pull the entire motor by then and re-seal the entire bottom end? then if the motor is out, I might as well seal the trans....where does it end....

or is the front seal not bad to do in car with the rad away?
 
Since the radiator is out it might be time to put the engine on the bench and freshen it a bit. Bearings are easier to tighten upside down. The pan gasket too.
 
With the rad out the front seal is easy to do . I have done this in the car many times over the years . I have never ever had to cut the seals to fit .Soak the two seals in engine oil for a few days to soften up for easier fit . When you fit the seals you will see that they will stand proud but when you bolt everything up they will crush down and give a good seal on the crank . Could be some repro seals are made too big but I have not seen this yet . If you say the transmission is leaking and it is from the cotter key at the bottom of the flywheel housing then it is way more likely the rear main that is a different cure .If the leak is from the counter shaft ends you can buy a seal plate from the vendors and fit on the car . Some general leaks are caused by oil pan bolts not being tight enough .When you have the front cover off it is a good time to check the timing wheel some original"Celeron" gears the alloy centre gets loose still works but noisy .

John in still locked down Suffolk County England .
 
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I havent dragged my bones under the car to see where the trans is leaking from, but it definitely is gear lube coming from the ole gal. Any common spots to look for leakage from the gearbox?
 
That's the question. Where do you begin and/or end. The begin is always the easy part.

Gee, while the engine is out you might as well spruce up the engine bay. That came out so good then i might as well paint the car. And the pinstriping needs help. But now the new paint makes the old chrome look worse, so lets do that.

The trans is out, so lets install an overdrive unit with synchro.

Now I drive the car so much I might as well add a hot water heater, directionals, seat belts, and new upholstery.

Don't ask me how I know all this stuff.
 
Some easy things to check first.

One of the front motor mount bolts does not have a blind hole. Meaning the hole for the bolt is not closed at the end but goes all the way into the block. If the threads on it did not have sealer applied to them it can make it look like your front seal is leaking. Check that.

For the transmission leak check to make sure the vent hole on the shift tower is not plugged.

There is a kit to seal the ends of the shift rail shafts at the front of the shift tower. A bit fussy to get them installed while in the car but very doable.

As mentioned earlier make sure the pan bolts are snugged up... but not over tight. Bad things happen if they are tightened too much like gasket squishing out and pan getting warped.
 
I think I'll drop the pan and do the seal and gasket tonight. as for the transmission....Some guy was overzealous when taking her for her shake down run and filled the transmission to the bottom of the threads....probably 3qt of oil in it....and it only calls for 1 pint....sooo that is probably why the transmission developed a significant habit of marking her territory...






old31 said:
That's the question. Where do you begin and/or end. The begin is always the easy part.

Gee, while the engine is out you might as well spruce up the engine bay. That came out so good then i might as well paint the car. And the pinstriping needs help. But now the new paint makes the old chrome look worse, so lets do that.

The trans is out, so lets install an overdrive unit with synchro.

Now I drive the car so much I might as well add a hot water heater, directionals, seat belts, and new upholstery.

Don't ask me how I know all this stuff.
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Thats the hole i don't wish to fall into...shes almost functional as is, and dont want to mess her patina and full story of scars up!!
 
I recently installed this transmission shaft seal kit from Bratton’s - after rebuilding the transmission 35 years ago. It always leaked since I bought the car 53 years ago, and stopped leaking 3 months ago when I installed this kit.
 
Beware of the mushroom factor. You can start out replacing a burnt out bulb and end up with the car scattered all over your garage.

My coupe engine had a ticking noise. Three engine pulls, three years, and one rebuild later, it still has a ticking noise. I don’t know what it is, but $2300 later I know what it isn’t!

"Go slowly for a more harmonious outcome." ~Old Sioux saying
 
Well, built the oil pump holder, pulled pan..glad I did...about 1/2" of....well, goo in the bottom of the pan. old crusty pan gasket was a leak waiting to happen. I'll clean it all up tonight. Should I stick the pan on before doing the rope and front cover then? Anything I should correct with pan off? Cam looks ok, motor ran and didn't knock...if its not broke......
 
Replace the rope seal in the pan before you put the pan back on.
Check the front motor mount bolt (I believe it's the left one) to make sure the threads are sealed and not a contributor to your front oil leak.
If you pull only one at a time the engine will not shift or move.

It would be really hard for me not to take a look at the condition and clearances of at least the rod bearings while the pan is off.
 
I wanted to replace the water pump with a leakless one, so I removed the radiator and discovered the front crossmember was cracked all the way through in places. So.....I decided to see what else needed fixing. Eventually I had "Bessie" dismantled to the frame. I removed practically every nut, bolt, screw and nail. I left the motor intact, thankfully. Ten years later.....I got her back together and running with the new water pump! I learned a LOT about my car this way. Kept me off the streets and out of trouble, like they say.
 
old31 said:
That's the question. Where do you begin and/or end. The begin is always the easy part.

Gee, while the engine is out you might as well spruce up the engine bay. That came out so good then i might as well paint the car. And the pinstriping needs help. But now the new paint makes the old chrome look worse, so lets do that.

The trans is out, so lets install an overdrive unit with synchro.

Now I drive the car so much I might as well add a hot water heater, directionals, seat belts, and new upholstery.

Don't ask me how I know all this stuff.
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Just like falling in love, one thing leads to another. Next thing you know................
 
Pan back on, took her for a couple mile cruise, aside from getting stuck in the snow she seemed to be ok with her new Generator, oil pan seals and patched rad!! :)
 
BeerInaBag said:
Pan back on, took her for a couple mile cruise, aside from getting stuck in the snow she seemed to be ok with her new Generator, oil pan seals and patched rad!! :)
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Nicely done, you showed great restraint. I’m trying to avoid the “while I’m at it” syndrome with my Tudor but I keep finding gremlins that make it more tempting. I have a ‘65 Mustang sitting in the garage that hasn’t seen the road in over 10 years because of that same syndrome !


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