crankshaft and bearings

[Kim K Kaiser]

As some have followed, i have  a leak in rear main, 

early on, I think Mark noted my bearings were worn,  and some discussion was put out about redoing all that, i just didnt get a full sense of what was required,,

well, going forward, i have decided to put car in shop for evaluation, if it turns out the bearings are so worn or something worn bearing related and a seal will not fix,  i will be leaving the MT area for about 3 months, so, if i need to leave it, and get those repairs, made, what would be entailed.

Do i need to buy a set of bearings for appx 200 to 400 dollars and have them just put on?  i think i remember something about having them milled to fit the shaft, that its not really a pull and replace option, that things need to be fitted very precisely.  

this all assumes the whole engine doesnt need to be redone.. so,  what would be required to replace simply the bearings,, if that can even be done,,

I know Jason gave me a run down on engine rebuild, but if that is not needed, and the bearings can be done, whats the process

thanks again

[Jason Edge]

Unless you have really excessive bearing wear and movement with the crank on the rear main seal I seriously doubt the main bearings have anything to do with your rear main seal leak. IF.. and that is a big if .. you had excessive wear I could see a seal stretching some over time but not within a few days.  Regardless, personally I would never just replace bearings to chase a rear seal leak. If compression, vacuum and other tests indicate the engine needs to be rebuilt (I believe the engine has maybe 50 to 60K miles since last rebuild), then I would pull engine tear down and have the main and rod bearing journals spec'd to see if you need over-sized bearing or can go back with stock size bearings.

One question, is the rear seal leaking more now than before you replaced it the 1st time?  My 429, rebuilt in 2012, has always had a small drip leak out rear seal, especially when left cold and seal shrinks a bit, but I've left it alone until It is time to pull the engine and perhaps rebuild or freshen up again.  I know hindsight is 20-20, but if it were only a minor drip leak it would have probably been better to leave alone until you are ready to rebuild or pull engine and really go over everything. The good thing is you know you have a rear main seal cap with some weird cut grooves in it.. which might be part of the rear seal leak if it is letting excessive oil get back to the seal. I'm no expert on any of this by any means and rebuild my 429 block by the book and again still had a small leak.

[Kim K Kaiser]

Hi Jason,

originally it was just a leak like you suggest, just a small amount,, but it got worse and covered the plate.

currently, it leaks during the cars operation, it doesn't seem to leak much after i park the car.  i mean a good bit,, as i posted in the picture i the other thread, the bottom of the inspection plate has several beads dripping down, and its coming out of the starter connection.  as well as dripping off of the cross bar that sits just behind the inspection plate.  i just dont have enough diagnostic knowledge to know..i do know its a lot of oil, and thats what  see when i stop, i can see its blowing back during operation, so its not a small drip.   

with weather breaking down up here, getting under the car on the street isn't going to me an option and the guy tha let me use the lift is gone for winter too, so i decided to set apt to take in, and get it done,, 

i did do some reading on this,, and it says some excessive engine pressure caused by a bad pcv valve could be a culprit, that puts too much pressure on the oil being pushed a that back seal, causing the leak,,, does that sound plausible.??

[Kim K Kaiser]

thanks for the info.. i had just read about that pct thing and thought i would throw it out there for suggestion,, 

i also read that bad bearings would or could be determined as bad with engine knocking.  i can say with confidence that my engine doesnt knock,, it runs quiet and smooth,, it really is a nice riding and sounding engine,,

i did go further and since I'm not driving the car, i decided to take the dive into the pcv, intake manifold and carb conditions..  i have attached photos of the mess under the intake,, and will check the pvc tomorrow as i have it all pulled apart. let me know if you see anything out of whack,,,,  the carb had a lot of black buildup as you cn see in the photo.... i hope it runs ok after clearing out the debris..

[Kim K Kaiser]

You mean remove the valley pan as well?  Is there a gasket under the valley pan?

[Kim K Kaiser]

wish i had know the remove the cap before i got into the removal of the top of the engine, regardless,, lots of junk under there that bothered me and wanted to clean out of r along time

[Kim K Kaiser]

see photos above,, i will chk the pcv tomorrow,, car is open now and will put back together tomorrow... 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Is there a gasket that fits under the valley pan.  It it a pushrod cover gasket, ? Hving trouble finding gaskets that say "valley pan gasket"

[Kim K Kaiser]

What is this part on the valley cover?  It has a gasket and i cant seem to find an identifier to order the gasket

 Pcv valve rattles!

[Kim K Kaiser]

Yeah i figured out the pvc.     Wat is the round piec that sits on top of valley pan?  It has a gasket under it.  I cnt seem to find a name of the part so i can get the right gasket

[Kim K Kaiser]

[Kim K Kaiser]

Above is engin wo vally cover. No dirt or any crud anywere.  Guess thats good.  I cleaned out inside of valley pan. Intake manifold,  carburetor.  Blew out rybber line to pvc,  line it flexible, not hard.  Picking up gaskets in bozeman tomorow and putting back together.  Hope it starts after Ll this tinkering an pulling stuff loose!

[Kim K Kaiser]

thsi may sound nuts, but i was reading another thread from this site about a guy changing and cleaning, and he mentioned a choke tube,, i searched for choke tube on site and another person posted a good picture of one on the intake,,,, i am 99% sure, i DO NOT have one on the inside,,that looks like on of the pictures, there is a metal tube, that extends out and was connected to the choke mechanism on the outside of the carb,,,, i have been blowing cleaning fluid all through the manifold to clean it, and i have not seen that white looking tube in there... is that bad, good, or not required on the rochester carb setup.??  

picture attached from a prior thread,,, i dont see that tube in my set up,, and i have never had any problems with my carb or choke,,,,