Now when I had the motor built, the "good old boys" that ground the 312 mains down to fit the 292 C2AE block didn't have a narrow enough stone to grind the journal area between the crank flange and rear oil slinger so they ground off the slinger. I suspect this may be the main cause of my problem, but I'm not sure. I do have a PCV valve, but other than the oil filler, no other breathers in the valve covers and I really don't want to cut holes in those Edlebrock valve covers if I don't have to. The only other question would be with the rear main seal installation. I did use neoprene seals, but if I remember right, I did not stagger the curved seal halves in the retainer and they were installed parallel with the seal retainer top and bottom. I didn't trim them at all and I know they are not installed backwards. It was only recently that I read a thread that indicated you should stagger the curved seal halves in the retainer.

So, I am building another stroker motor now with another 312 crank offset ground, but I know that one is in GOOD Hands because John Mummert is working on it. So what are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Rono

Rono

It would be nice to have the slinger, but I don't think it's a big player in the rear seal saga.  The neoprene seal should be able to handle the splash, and with a good fit on the bearing there shouldn't be a hard spray directly on the seal.

My local crankshaft grinders no longer have the narrow wheels in which to grind or clean up the seal surface on the Y cranks so I also remove the oil slingers on the Y cranks when having to perform work on the seal areas.  But I’ve had no problems with the oil slinger removed in regards to leaks.  I’ve also removed up to 0.010” of seal surface for cleanup purposes on the 312 cranks without issue.

For what it’s worth, the ’54 and ’55 models did not have the oil slinger on the crankshaft and it wasn’t until during the ’56 model year that the oil slinger was actually added to the crankshafts.