How to replace Rear Main Seal - Ford 289
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- **Heads up! It looks like I should have removed the pin in the Main Cap.
I have gone through two oil-pan gaskets trying to find out why I still had an oil leak. I thought I was doing it wrong and this time I figured I would see if the rear main seal was leaking on my 1966 Mustang.
Not only was the seal installed backwards, it was being crushed by the locking pin in the rear main cap. Problem solved!
Fel-Pro rear main seal, 2 piece, part number BS 30136 amzn.to/3b2m4Zo
The car is a 1966 Mustang Coupe with a factory V8 and 4 speed transmission.
Shot with GoPro Hero 8 with the Media Mod, edited on Davinci Resolve 16.
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#Mustang
#1966
Just cracked mine open. The ends were flush with the cap instead of sticking out 3/8”, and the bottom seal was in backwards. Sheesh, no wonder it was leaking. Thanks again for this video, you’re the best!
I'm glad you were able to locate the leak. Hopefully this video gave you enough info to get the job done. :)
@@AndyKruseChannel Yes, very helpful! But I'm sad to discover that my main bearings are shot, so it looks like I'm in a for an unexpected engine rebuild. Do you have a video covering that, lol? ;-)
@@randypascarella Nothing on the rebuild front, yet. I'd like to do a 347 Stroker in my car, but I'll have an engine shop do the heavy lifting, so even then I might not have much info for you. :)
I do believe the pin is only used with a rope seal. When using a two piece rubber seal, I do believe the pin should be removed by driving it out.
You're correct, I wish I would have looked that up before putting the car back together. :)
Ugh
@@AndyKruseChannel yep you screwed up by not driving that pin all the way out...
Hey Andy thanks for doing these videos man I am just getting into these Mustangs and I am needing a several things to do and by you doing these videos it is really a help to me about a week to free up some of my time and I'm going to jump on replacing my rear seal so thanks for doing that video and there again thanks For the information on removing the pin out of the cap all the way
Thanks guys
Hello, Rebuilding a 289. mine still had a rope seal . On other ford engines I put them inflush. You just save the day with a good tip. At 70 never too old to learn. Thank You
Awesome, glad I can help. Good luck with the new seal, you got this!!
Did my rear main seal today. Your video made my job a piece of cake. Appreciate the help.
Awesome! This kind of feedback is always great to hear. :)
I just did this a few months ago on my 289. No so ideal. Had to loosen all main caps and rotate crank as the upper half of the seal was pushed in with a great struggle.
Great video!
I had that same bad luck on my previous '66, thankfully this car was easier. I'm glad you were able to get it done!
I've been searching for a in-car rear seal replacement video. Just bought a 64 F100 with the 292 Y-block with a blown seal. You did a great job of explaining and great camera placement. Thanks.
Thanks for the feedback! Hopefully this video will make your project a little easier. Heads up, if your bearing cap has that little pin in it (the one I tried to smash down), it needs to come out if you use the type of seal I used here. I had to redo my seal after I made this video because that pin was still in the way. It's been over 4 months since I redid the seal and it's bone dry! :)
great explanation. Been 30 years since I did this, great video.
Thanks for the support! 🙂
My 67 was sitting for 20 years. The engine was leaking. Took it to the shop and they told me it was the rear main seal. I didn’t know it was so easy thank you! If you have a video on how to fix the radio. Or how to check the fuses I will really appreciate it!
Thanks for the feedback! Maybe find out if you have a one piece or two piece rear main seal first, unfortunately I don't know that for your car. If it's the a 2 pieces, you can do it yourself. If it's the one piece, strap in and hold, you've got some work to do. :)
Sorry Boss, I do not have a radio for my car, but if your radio is not working, this list could be really long on the possibilities of what it could be.
I dabble in the Fuse category in next week's video, so check it out next Thursday at 4:00pm PST. :)
It's not a bad idea to replace the rear main cap bolts when you do this. I had my 289 rebuilt and then the rear main seal started to leak. Instead of taking my '67 back out of town to have the rebuilder replace it, I did it myself. Apparently, he reused the cap bolts with no idea how many torquing cycles they had gone thru. I had one snap as I was torquing it. I was lucky in that there was enough exposed, that I was able to remove it. To gain enough clearance to remove the block side of the seal, I had to loosen all the main cap bolts (except the front). I went ahead and replaced all of the cap bolts with ARP bolts. In the end, I'm glad I did. I had to replace the seal again to stop the leak and I had no fear of snapping any bolts. I believe the leaks were caused by the cap pin being left in during the rebuild and my replacement. I removed the pin, and my replacement has 1,000's of miles on it with no leak.
Good advice, thanks!
Excellent video thanks. I just had my 66 std 289 c4 in the "mechanics" and they said they need to drop the transmission to replace the rear seal and it will cost a lot, so I said forget for a couple of drops of oil. I should call them back up and tell them to watch this video.
If your motor is stock, or at least made before 1983, it's a 2 piece seal and there's no need to drop the trans. You might even be able to do it yourself? :)
On a side note, that pin that I smashed down (causing the seal to deform) needs to come out. After I made this video I had to redo the seal again and just remove that little pin in the bearing cap. That pin is there for the older style seals that were kind of like a rope-seal, it's not needed for the seal shown in the video. Good luck!!
What a great reference on how to change rear main seal every step explained as to why it's being done many thanks
No problem, thanks for the support!
They have to do this the guy should’ve been doing my wiring we’re going to get my back up lights fixed today on my C4 automatic I gave them the right neutral safety switch/back up, but there were no wires coming from the shifter and whoever has a car before me broke the bolts that hold the switch on into the transmission so I’m guess I’m gonna go with out neutral safety in the back up for a while but he said I did have a small leak and I might be happy to do this so I’m glad i watched it thanks
The rear main is fairly easy to do. Making sure the seal is facing the right way is important, but also make sure you "clock" the seal like shown in the video. You'll be right as rain when you're done. :)
Thank you for this. I needed to do this on my 302 and this helped me so much.
Awesome, I'm glad it helped. :)
Great video Andy. Glad I found your page.
Thanks and welcome!
That pin was for a rope seal , needs to be removed.
Correct. I had to go back after I made this video and do it again because the pin was still sticking out a bit. But ever since then the car has been drip free! :)
Going to do mine on my 69 Mustang this week. Thanks again very helpful!
Awesome, good luck!!
My half that was up in the engine would not come out. Pounded and pounded. Put it back together and tried again to no avail. After watching this I will now try again…I must not give up this time! 😳🙏😳
Yeah, they can be a bear to get out. Either getting one of those "sneaky pete" tools or using a long deck screw seems to be the best options. :)
did one of these this week on a 79 302, same deal it was installed flush not clocked and the seal was backwards. was done by a red seal mechanic too. hahaha, a certificate doesn't always guarantee common sense. The crank and bearings turned out to be toss as well on the mine.
Thankfully it's a relatively easy fix. :)
thanks you dude for your video !!!!!!! hi from Kazahsan
Hello there!
Great video Andy! After watching your video closely I have done mine about 4 times now. I keep getting a leak on the driver's side on the back of the inspection plate. And this is with no oil in the oil pan, and of course the engine not even running. Overnight it will leave about a 5 inch in diameter oil stain on the floor under the bell housing. I can't find any leaks from the valve covers, heads, or intake manifold. Seems like everytime I have done this, it leaks a little more. The times I filled the crankcase, and ran the engine, the main seal did not appear to be leaking, but I could see drips coming from the driver's side rear corner of the oil pan, and oil pan gasket ( I am using the Felpro one piece OS13260T.) So I am wondering if there is something wrong with my oil pan sealing in that corner and somehow that leak is making it's way to the flex plate side of the engine block to bell housing separation plate. The only other thing I could think of is a leaky oil gallery plug on the upper left hand side of the block. Any suggestions on how to better track this down?. I would like to try to eliminate all the possibilities before pulling the engine if it comes to that.
Thank You!
Yeah, sometimes tracking this stuff down is difficult and frustrating.
If it is the original oil pan, or it's not new, the flange could be warped from people over tightening the pans bolts over time. This can be fixed by putting the pan open-side down on the garage floor and tapping the flange with a hammer until it's completely flat on the floor.
Good thinking on the gally plug, but the transmission, flywheel, and block plate all need to come off to check that.
Hopefully your flywheel bolts have loctite on them, or oil will get passed the threads and look like a rear main seal leak.
The weird part is you say it leaks overnight without putting oil in it. It might be time to head over to VMF and ask the boys there if they can pin point the issue. :)
@AndyKruseChannel Thank You Andy! Great ideas! I will put them to work, and see what happens from there, and will let you know in the end what it turned out to be.
Thanks again!
Get rid of the pin , put silicon in the hole , it's for the old style rope seal . Not required for the two piece sealyou have .
Yep, got it. :)
Great video! Thanks
Glad you liked it!
Cool good information thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Very nice video thanks!
Thank you!
Heads up, that pin in the bearing cap that was pushing on the seal needs to come out. I had to redo the seal a few days later after I noticed it was still leaking. It's been a while now and the new seal is perfect! :)
Nice video!
Thanks!
Cool video man!!
Thanks!
Ok I’m glad to revisit this video. I have been chasing a leak where the engine meets the transmission when the engine is running. I replaced the pan and gasket. And still have a leak. Now I’m thinking it’s the rear main seal. Im just reading about the pin removal. I plan to dive into it this project soon. Thanks for all your content. By the way did you replace you oil pan gasket each time? Thanks
If you have to replace the rear main and you have the original style "rope seal", don't try to drive it out of the block with a screw driver, you need to pull it out from one side. Using a long deck screw should do the trick. Next week's video covers this same topic. :)
If you use the Fel-Pro one-piece oil pan gasket, it's designed to have the pan pulled off multiple times before you need to replace it. However, if you have to pull the rear main cap to get after that rear main seal, it's best to just get a need oil pan gasket since you have to use gasket maker in the corners. Between this video and next week's video, there should be enough info for you to easily tackle that rear main. It's not as difficult as it looks. The hardest part of the whole job is getting the top half of the seal out. Whether you have the rubber seal with the metal rod inside, or the old rope seal, my videos have you covered. :)
I neglected to mention that the engine was rebuilt during covid. Now I’m guessing that the rear seal may have been put in incorrectly. Time will tell. That shop since has used all tactics to wash there hands of it. They also were supposed to replace all the seals in the transmission as well., I’m thinking new video 😉
@@markfoster2530 Sorry to hear about your Shop. It could also be the seal is backwards?
Seals on the trans? Haha, now we're definitely outside of my wheelhouse. :)
Thanks just did my 289 same way. My son with car off pushed my 3spd manual into neutral. He didn't use clutch..so now trans is stuck in first. Any suggestions?
I don't think I understand the question? The trans is stuck in first but it was pushed into neutral without using the clutch?
Suggest you get a ball peen hammer for driving as the face of that type hammer will not shatter or chip. The hammer you are using is hardened for driving of nails which are softer than the punch.
Thanks for the heads up! :)
Great video. Thank you
Also, I noticed you have a quick jack. Which model is that and how has it held up for you?
Thanks!
For the QuickJack, I think they're a great alternative for those that can't afford or don't have the space for a traditional lift, as long as they only want to work on the front end or rear end of the car. While there's not much going on in the middle section of a car, the placement of the Quick Jacks make it impossible to access the middle section of the car from the side, you'd have to access it from either end of the car. In some circumstances that may not be a big deal, or the available access is sufficient, but an issue none the less. Beyond that, there's over 2 feet of clearance once lifted into the air, more than enough room to remove a transmission, rear axle removal, and in some cases maybe enough room to pull an engine from below. The largest advantage these offer is the height and relative space available under the front of the car to service most tasks an owner would need to do.
The stability is good, and the build quality appears to be plenty good enough for the rated weight limit. The pump speed is fine, probably about as fast as a traditional lift in inches per second of lift. I wish the hydraulic hoses were a little more flexible, but now I'm just splitting hairs.
Outside of the lack of access from the side of the car, the only other issue is the setup time. These take longer to move, position, and lift the car compared to traditional jack stands. I have mine hanging on the wall, so getting them down (they're kind of heavy), and rolling them into position, sliding them under the car, placing the pads in the correct spot, lifting them a little to make sure the pads are in the correct place, and finally lifting the car can be a little time consuming. I have opted to use jack stands in place of these Quick Jacks a few times just because of the extra setup time.
That being said, the Quick Jacks offer way more ground clearance than my jack stands and I'd have to buy a special jack to lift the car high enough for taller jack stands, and I'd have to buy those too since I only have standard height jacks.
The unit I have is the 3500SLX, and I purchased it from Costco when when it was on sale for $999.
In the end, I'm glad I have the Quick Jack, I use it when I need more ground clearance.
@@AndyKruseChannel
Thank you for all the information! My issue is a lack of height for a lift. This seems like a reasonable alternative, even with the limitations that it has. I’ve read mixed reviews but I’m glad yours has worked out for you. Im gonna get one.
Off-topic: did you paint the car recently? It looks so clean
Thanks, but no. :)
The car was painted in April 2020, a few months before I purchased it.
Hey, great video. I get that the seals should be offset, but before I offset them, do they need to be trimmed so they are flush with the bearing cap, then offset them? My seal seems a bit big and sticks out a hair when lining it up flush.
No, no need to trim them. The rubber shell of the seal will squish a little if needed when everything is bolted together. :)
@@AndyKruseChannel yeah, didn’t think so….strange tho …it wouldn’t fit. Checked the felpro # too. It says u can trim the rope seals, but no mention on the neoprene seals…I’ll do some more research. Thanks!
I did this and I have two questions.
1. When i fed the seal through the block, the block lightly scraped off some of the outer edge of the seal. Is that okay?
2. Should you lightly torque the bolts down and let the sealant cure for a while before doing the final torque? What about using anaerobic sealant?
I had the same issue with a small part of the seal getting scraped off. The car is fine, no leaks, no problems. I would imagine it depends on how much material was scraped off before it would become an issue.
I have not heard or read anywhere that torqueing the bolts to let the sealant cure was needed before final torqueing. Sorry boss, I don't have any good data for you on anaerobic sealants. :)
Been reading that by loosening the crank bolt it will allow you to slide the new seal into the block without scraping it. Did you have any issues with that?
If you mean the crank bolt holding the Harmonic Balancer on the other end of the motor, I'm not seeing the relation to making the seal install easier. However, loosening all the Main Caps can help. I did it that way on my first classic Mustang (red car), and I didn't have any issues after the install. I did not do that on my second and this Mustang, still have no issues. :)
is that a rebuilt engine? if not then not clocked stood the test of time
Unfortunately I do not know the history of this engine beyond about a year ago. So it may have stood the test of time. :)
Nice job bro
Thanks
can this be done on the street or do you risk dust blowing into engine?
can you clean mating surfaces with brake cleaner before applying RTV sealant?
Yes, this can be done on the street. Unless you're doing it on the main drag strip in town, the amount of dust that might get kicked up is negligible.
Yes, you can clean these surfaces with brake cleaner. Just make sure to use a good towel to thoroughly wipe the area down when done. I like to use those blue-paper shop towels that come on a roll, like regular paper kitchen towels.
@@AndyKruseChannel thank you
I’m trying to punch out the seal on the block but it’s not coming out :/ . Any tips?
Get a long wood screw (like a 4 inch long deck screw), thread it up into the seal, and pull it out a chunk at a time, that's what I did. I order one of those "sneaky pete" tools, but it didn't arrive before I got impatient and just used a screw. You'll find that if you can get about half of it out on one side, you can thread the screw up into the other side and probably pull the other half out in one piece. Good luck!!
@@AndyKruseChannel was able to get a long punch. Okay was using a short one with low leverage . The new one is not going on as smooth
@@dieselburner4461 Sorry brotha, I completely misread your comment, I thought you were having trouble getting the old style rope seal out, not the new style. With the new style, punching it out is the way to do it, but it looks like you got that part figured out. On the new seal, make sure you thoroughly lube it up with engine oil before sliding the upper half into the block. If possible, it wouldn't hurt to squirt some oil up into the seal slot in the motor (which goes around the top of the crank) because oil will help the new seal get in there. :)
@@AndyKruseChannel it’s cool bro. I was able to get it out and install the new one. Clocked . With the lip facing the front of the engine as stated.
I think I used 10w30 conventional but as soon as I started the engine and drove it around, the rear main started leaking a bit again. I’m confused now lol
@@dieselburner4461 Couple of things that may play a role.
- Hopefully there's loctite on the flywheel/flexplate bolts as those bolts go through the end of the crank and into the oil pan area. If not, they can leak and make it appear to look like a rear main seal leak.
- If the bearings are down to the copper and or look fairly worn out, there may be enough "slop" for oil to leak out, and a new seal won't stop it.
- If the pin is still in the bearing cap (like the problem I had in this video), the new seal is toast, and it will leak.
- You mentioned you clocked the seal (good), but did you put a dab of gasket maker on each end of the new seal (where they meet)? If not, it's possible a leak could happen there.
- You mentioned the seal lip facing towards the front of the motor (good), but if you accidentally got turned around on the bearing cap and thought the seal was facing the correct way, it would leak if it was backwards. This got me one time.
- When installing the main cap, there needs to be gasket maker in the sharp 90 degree corners where the cap mates to the block.
- The trough in the bearing cap needs to be cleaned from any left over gasket maker form the previous time the seal was replaced (at least once since you have the new style seal in there). If the new oil pan gasket can't sit in the trough smoothly, oil can get by.
- The rim of the oil pan needs to be cleaned of any previous gasket maker. You probably already did that.
- I recently found the head gasket was leaking subtly, oil went down the side of my block, around the rim of the oil pan, and dripped off the back, making it look like a rear main seal. Maybe double check you have no leaks like that.
- If the valve cover gaskets are leaking, the oil can run down the side of the block, or even the back of the block, making it look like a rear main seal leak.
I'm sure you've covered all this stuff, but I hope your issue is on this list as these are the easiest to remedy (except the flywheel bolts). Good luck!! 😀
The pin must be driven all the way out otherwise you will have the same problem it is not supposed to be used with the modern seals
Correct
Yes, pin should have been removed when using a 2 piece rubber seal.
Darn it, now the video is not as good as I was hoping.
@@AndyKruseChannel It's fine, if people read the comments (Which they should) then they will find out the pin needs to be removed. You did a good job on the video so well done
@@Jmsrestomods4824 Thank you! Not everyone reads the comments, but that's ok.