Oil leak
 

Fired up the the duce today and much to my chagrin I had an oil leak. Again. It is at the front main seal. Again. First time I used the rope seal, big leak! Tried the one piece seal next same result. I would appreciate some advice on the best way solve this problem. The engine is a 59A with a Merc crank and a 8CM timing cover.
Keith

Re: Oil leak
 

Kieth, see my answer to the question today “front oil pan crank shaft leak”

Re: Oil leak
 

When using the rope seal , did you soak it in oil overnight? Its the only suggestion I could give

Re: Oil leak
 

I am wondering if there are any other options, or are the rope seal and the Speedway one piece the only two choices?
Keith

Re: Oil leak
 

Nothing else.

Re: Oil leak
 

Are you using a speedy sleeve on the crank pulley? Mine has a reverse spiral groove in it to (I assume) decrease oil loss which plays heck with the one piece seal. Speedy sleeve covers the groove and protects the one piece seal. I have no problem with leaks.

Re: Oil leak
 

I bought the one piece seal from Speedway, looked it over, read the instructions, threw it in the trash, and carefully installed the rope seal according to the instructions using the razor knife and guide provided with the gasket set. No problems.

Re: Oil leak
 

W Brown: Yes I did use a speedy sleeve

tubman: I soaked the seal and used all the care I could muster.
I must be doing something wrong. This isn't rocket surgery.
Keith

Re: Oil leak
 

Hmmmmmm.............I thought Fords were supposed to leak!!

Re: Oil leak
 

Earlier ones, yeah. 8BA's can be made pretty leakproof, though.

Re: Oil leak
 

I'm with you. A properly installed rope seal works wonderfully.
There must be quite literally millions of them in use on various engine applications.

Re: Oil leak
 

Tubman is correct,
The 8BA was the latest generation of Flathead back then .
They were engineering improvements with every generation of engine series .
And considering how fast these engines were assembled,,,,I can’t imagine how they did it so well .
The rope seals were installed in a few seconds,,,,,and sealed pretty darn good too .

Ford was really at the top of their game considering all the processes that are required to build a car .

Now,,,, I will admit I have never owned a Ford before my Flathead,,,(,8CM ),,,but I respect what they did .
Not because of my past experiences owning one,,,but by seeing how well they built .
These engines were designed and built very well .
I can’t believe how tight the tolerance were held during assembly,,,,,top quality bolts,,,excellent castings .
Pretty darn good in my book .

Tommy

Re: Oil leak
 

It should be noted that I have a 59A pan and a 8CM timing cover. That shouldn't be a problem should it?

Re: Oil leak
 

I don't know, as I have never done it, but you have me thinking. Somebody here will know.

"Bueller, Bueller, anyone, anyone?"

Re: Oil leak
 

I put a three bolt cover on my 59L block no problem. Should be the same. ...So, you have a post distributor on a 59A block?

Re: Oil leak
 

I do have a post distributor on my engine
Keith

Re: Oil leak
 

When you say "big leak" - give us some perspective . . . what do you mean? What crank pulley are you using? Did you install an oil-slinger in front of the crankshaft gear? What cam do you have in it . . . is it a 49-53 cam (with the integral snout to drive the distributor), or did you use an adapter on a 59AB style cam?

Re: Oil leak
 

Re: big leak. Probably 1 pt. during 10minutes running time.
Crank pully: 59A
Oil slinger: installed
Cam: 49-53
Way too big a leak to ignore!

Re: Oil leak
 

That amount of oil tells me that something is missing in the whole area between the crankshaft, pulley, timing cover and associated seals. Dang near sounds like there is no seal at all. Does your crankshaft pulley extend into the seal area and have a spiral wound groove that pulls oil back into the engine?

By chance do you have a crank pulley that does NOT have an integral sealing surface built into it? (They made these in 49-53 - along with pulleys that had the seal surface like the 32-48 engines). For these pulleys, one has to install a little "seal sleeve" onto the crankshaft - it has the spiral grooves and provided the seal surface for the front main seal. Again - two different types of pulleys for 49-53 - what do you have?

I don't see how you can be running a 59A crank pulley with a 49-53 cam - as the belt is right next to the block and would not align with the water pumps - it would also hit the distributor. I wonder if you have a different pulley than you believe - or you've somehow re-routed the fan belt. Can you take a picture of the front of your engine - such that we can see the belts, pumps and pulley?

Re: Oil leak
 

The crank does not have an integral sealing surface and I have a little "seal sleeve" installed . The current seal is a Speedway one piece and it is assembled with a repair sleeve. Re: the water pumps they are 49 truck wide belt. The pulley I'm not sure of.
Sorry about pictures, no camera no knowledge no ability.