Yes, I'm moving slowly, but I'm getting there. I removed the oil seal cap. Now to loosen the main bearing caps. Except the first one I tried doesn't want to break loose. I'm afraid I'll snap the bolt. I'm using a 1/2-inch breaker bar with a 4-foot pipe for leverage. Any suggestions? Heat? Cold? Penetrating oil?

STOP!! why are you touching the main BEARING cap ? your just doing the seal ? Just the seal cap you take off. Have a look at Teds info this will help. http://www.eatonbalancing.com/blog/2008/09/10/neoprene-rear-seal-installation-for-the-y-and-others/



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

Well, I loosen the caps and crank will hang down a tad to help with cleanup prior to installation, doesnt hurt.  How is your oil leak going since replacement.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

The torque on the main bolts isn’t expected to be much over 100 lbs.  But I’d try removing the old upper half of the rear main seal first without dropping the crankshaft down a bit.  If you do drop the crankshaft, then you’ll need to loosen at least the #2 thru #5 main caps to do this.  Just loosening the #5 cap will not gain you much if anything.

 

You might mention if you have a rope or neoprene seal currently in the engine as that will dictate to some degree how much work you are in for and also any special nuances that may be involved in removing the seal you’re dealing with.

 

And here's another link to the same rear seal installation article on another site.  (Gil's Garage). 

https://www.ctci.org/gilsgarage/Neoprene.php   

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

i've just been playing with a newly built Y and had to release the crank  the main bolts were done to 110ft/lbs but the reading on the old Snapon torqometer was nearly off the scale (175ft/lbs) when they let go with one hell of a crack. and i know i'm not supposed to use tork wrench to undo but it gives a clue to original torque but not in this instance.

if you do release all main caps don't forget aligning centre thrust bearing.

best of luck

stuey

England 

It has a rope seal. I'm replacing it with a neoprene seal. I suspect I'll never replace the upper seal without loosening the crankshaft a tad. At least that's what I've read.

Why dont you just try screwing a long scew into it and pull it out with pliers as someone is turning the crank, thats all I did , it took a few goes at it . Was better than the sneaky Pete..



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

Got the bolts loose on the main bearings. I did them all. I like the idea of attaching a screw to the seal and pulling it through as someone cranks it around, but am I taking a chance with the mains loose?

Major success! Put a screw in the old rope seal and clamped a small vise grip to it. Put a wrench on the crank pulley and worked the two together. Old seal came out in about 5 minutes. Ran inside and checked Ted Eaton's article on how to correctly install new neoprene seal and that was in 5 minutes later. I'll get some copper sealer tomorrow and close it up. I'm going to replace the oil pump seals while I'm at it. Any hints about removing the oil pump? In the meantime, thanks to all for the advice.



I picked up my '59 Galaxie Town Sedan in March. I bought from the granddaughter of the original owner. About 10 years ago, she and her husband hauled it to Virginia from Iowa where it had been sitting in a barn. Only 60,700 miles on the odometer. They intended to restore it, but never did. After rejuvenating the gas tank, installing a new fuel pump, rebuilding the carb, doing all the wheel cylinders, the master cylinder, and freeing a stuck valve, I finally got it on the road. Then the oil seal let loose. Hope to be cruising again in a week.



Randy

Maryland

Did the job, put it together, started it up.....oil leaked. Ninety percent sure it's from the rear oil seal. I'm going to redo it. I've been reading about the Graph Tite rope seal which apparently seals irregularities pretty well. Anyone have experience with it? Where can they be purchased? I used the Fel Pro rubber seal this time.



Randy

sorely disappointed in Maryland