Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 52 Rear Main Oil Leak

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: 52 Rear Main Oil Leak

Texas40

06-04-2012 @ 7:29 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 66
Joined: Oct 2009

Thanks for the help. It is nice to have confirmation from experienced folks before advising friends. Thanks for the added tips on steps to help minimize the leakage. I always joke the pan gaskets and seals were Fords secret oil indicator, if it still drips that means it still has oil.
See you guys out on the road where V8's belong.

supereal

06-03-2012 @ 11:11 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009

Be sure that the oil leak is actually from the crank seal. If oil is coming out of the hole in the lower side of the flywheel/clutch of the pan, it is possible that the oil gallery plug behind the flywheel is the source. Failure to properly seal this plug is not rare. While it is pipe threaded, sealer applied to the plug, not the hole, is required. If the oil is, in fact, dripping off the bottom of the pan, but not out of the hole, check the area on top of the housing for a leak from, or around, the oil pressure sensor, or the sensor, itself. The main seal is often the suspect, but not always the culprit. As I said earlier, all crank seals tend to leak, but if the leak increases considerably, look carefully before you yank the engine.

joe b

06-03-2012 @ 9:12 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 389
Joined: Oct 2010

I had a chronic rear main seal leak. After my initial rebuild of my '41 Ford engine the seal let go after 223 miles. Installed another one and it lasted 2 years. Long story short when it was time for the 4th seal I was lucky enough to find a guy who was a Ford mechanic in the day.He said that the helical groove in the crank shaft that rides on the seal was wrong. It was cut much deeper and wider than it should be. I took it to 2 good flathead experienced machine shops and they agreed. I looked at 8 cranks these shops had and none were like mine. We put a different crank and new seal in and I have not had a problem since.
Also, as Super says all agree that the trim on the seal is critical.
Just something to look for.

supereal

06-02-2012 @ 10:50 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009

The engine will have to come out to replace the rear main seal, as the rope is held into the retainer by the crankshaft. Rear main seals often leak because the ropes were trimmed at installation, rather than being forced into place. We always put sealer on the ends of the ropes, as well. If the leak is severe, I'd look there first. Another cause is the use of synthetic oil. The primitive seals just can't handle it. Be sure the oil in the crankcase is not overfilled, and that the crankcase breather system is open to reduce internal pressure. Some leakage is normal, in any event.

Texas40

06-02-2012 @ 7:09 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 66
Joined: Oct 2009

I have a friend with a fairly fresh built 52 engine. The work was done by a known flathead mechanic but he is out of the picture now. The rear main has started to leak alot of oil. Any advise from you guys who have done this a long time--can you successfully put new rear main seal in without removing the engine on a 52? In my personal stuff, I just pull the engine cause I have never had luck removing the pan in the car and fixing anything but that has always been on pre war model cars.
Any help on the process would be very helpful. I don't want to advise to pull the engine unless that is the only correct way to fix it. We tour alot and the car is driven a great deal. Thanks

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions