rear rope seal

Ron Pilger

Senior Member
In a moment of boredom or ambition, not sure which, I pulled the heads and intake off of a '37 221 flathead which had been dead weight for at least 25 years. It looked surprisingly clean and maintained. 'Cleaned up the top end as best we could, found some better used gaskets, a rebuilt 97, a good starter and a temporary fuel supply line. Be darned if the old girl didn't fire right up. Couldn't, of course, run it for long without water but did run it for 30 seconds, several times, over a two-day period. No shakes or rattles, obvious. I'm thinking it might be time to change the oil, again, and plant this flathead in an unrestored, but drivable, 1934 Ford couple that I own. I wonder about a rear seal that has sat for that many moons? There would be an obvious advantage to pulling the pan off and cleaning it before the potential transplant. Remind me: can the rear seal be replaced easily or does the crank have to be removed for this procedure? 'Rookie question to many, I'm sure. Thanks for your expertise.
 
Shouldn't have a seal, as 38bill advised. Don't overfill the oil and it should do ok. However, pulling the pan and cleaning out any sludge is always a good plan. You may have a nice runner there!
 
>>>Don't overfill the oil and it should do ok.>>>


Absolutely. Full is when my dip stick reads a half to a full quart down even in my new stuff.
 
Thanks, gents. I should have remembered the rope to slinger switchover. Too used to 34 model year technology! Ron
 
If you take the oil pan off, I would recommend that you change the expansion plugs on the oil pan gasket surface. There are four of them and they rot from the inside out.
 
Never say never. My 59ab came with a slinger in it. Found out as soon as I tilted the motor while pulling it. Oil everywhere.
 
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