[Rovernet] Rear Main engine seal issue

[Glenn Malme]

John
I have always been reasonably successful replacing just the lower half of
the rope seal that fits into the bearing block. You mentioned doing this
but with too negative of a slant.  This can be done with the engine in the
car by simply removing the pan. Wash out the pan while you have it off also
and reinstall/properly torque with a new pan gasket.   I had several P6Bs
back in the late 70s that had rear main leaks and replacing the the lower
half will greatly reduced dripping for not much expense and effort. It's
worth a try.  Also as Geoff said, the rope seal for the 61-63 Buick 215
V8 is the same thing and readily available.
Glenn Malme

On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 12:12 AM, Jonathan Present via Rovernet <
rovernet at rovernet.org> wrote:

> I have consulted quite a bit with with Kent Kinard in regard to this
> issue, and he has educated me in regard to the issues involved. I am
> wondering if any of you folks have had this problem, and if so, how you
> dealt with it. Hopefully, without incurring a lot of costs…rebuilding the
> engine, removing it, etc.
>
> I have a leaking rear main seal, I am told it cannot be fixed without a
> complete engine rebuild. It is a rope type seal, I have been informed that
> removing it may cause more problems than it fixes. I have been unable to
> locate a company that manufactures a  a lip-type viton seal for the 215
> cubic inch motor. Below is a listing of what I have heard about this
> problem:
>
> Modern replacement rope seals are made without asbestos and do not last
> like the originals.  When rebuilding a rope seal engine, it is necessary to
> modify the crankshaft and the area at the rear of the block where the seal
> fits.  These are machine shop operations, but they are not difficult or
> expensive once the engine is disassembled for a rebuild.  Once the
> machining is done, the engine builder can use a lip-type neoprene seal from
> a post-1976 Rover V8 engine.  The newer style seals seldom leak.  That's
> the good news.
>
> The bad news is that you will not stop the oil leak any other way. You MAY
> be able to diminish the leak for a while by fitting a new rope seal to the
> rear main cap only, in effect renewing half the sealing surface, but this
> will not solve the problem.  Most Rover V8 drivers, when faced with this
> issue, abandon their cars or swap in a later style engine from and SD1 or
> Range Rover, but it is not difficult to do the block and crank
> modifications to the original engine.  In any case, this is an "engine out"
> operation, requiring down time and considerable expense. Yes, the engine
> pours out lots of oil when the rear seal is bad.  To minimize down time I
> recommend doing the rebuild using a different block.  While you are at it,
> use SD1 heads in the rebuild if your present cylinder heads have not
> received hardened valves and seats.
>
> Might be worthwhile to find out if anyone else has come up with an after
> market solution.
> there are a lot of clever people out there. Cars always have a host of
> problems when you start doing this
> kind of work. Every wire, hose, clamp, etc. has been in there for a long
> time, when you start moving that
> stuff it all falls apart, even if the engine rebuild is perfect (and it
> seldom is).  If you can't do a lot of the work yourself, it will cost a
> fortune just to get all of the small problems that happen sorted out (not
> too mention
> the engine rebuild). I have heard that people have made templates out of
> cork, aluminum in the past that may or may not have worked.
>
> If you swap the engine the numbers won't match, reduces the value for a
> collector.
>
> Maybe talk to some Rover clubs in the U.K to see if anyone has an
> after-market seal that can solve the issue. Rebuilding and machining the
> block is a non-starter.  Replacing the seal requires moving the trans back,
> pulling the old seal, and installing the new one. Nowhere near the rebuild
> scenario. Someone, somewhere has either made a replacement seal that will
> work, has a small stock of
> original seals, or has found some other solution.  you just need to find
> the person who has done it
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> John Present
>
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