Leaking near flywheel

[CousinTone]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Well, rain in the forecast here for the next week or more, so not sure I'll get a chance to dive into this for a while. One of the drawbacks of not having a garage with enough space to work in.

I have a garage and no space to pull in and work on my truck. When I was single, I had a garage with lots of space to work on my projects AND park my luxury car from Europe. Now I'm married and have enough room for my tools...on wheels (woodworking) and extra large 3 story tool cabinet setting up a temporary table between two body panel work stands from Eastwood and a 2003 Suburban we bought new to drive and two teenagers picking my pockets bare. I think the storage is moving more toward the door and and my workspace may be zero by 2020 and I'll be working in the backyard...LOL

Oh well.............at least i've got my '64 project in the driveway (under a cover or the city will cite me, believe that!?) and do housework/remodel jobs in the driveway on my temporary table. Better than sitting around all day watching the boob tube. Have a good day all........

And yes to the above advice. Check top to bottom, it MIGHT be or MOST LIKELY your rear main, but could be valve cover, oil sending unit, blowback so give it a wash with oven cleaner and a power washer and then keep an eye out for that nasty brown stuff and ATTACK.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

I know there are a bunch of threads on this, but I see some conflicting info. On my 65 GMC 1000 w/ the L6 230, do I need to unbolt or loosen the engine, and jack it up in order to get the oil pan off? In my GMC Maintenance Manual, the procedure for changing the rear main seal does not include this step.

Got under there again between rain storms and it looks like I'm missing a few bolts to hold the oil pan on. Whatever the PO used to seal it seems to be holding it in place well enough.

Still wondering if anyone can confirm whether I'll be able to drop the pan straight away or if I need to loosen the motor mounts and jack up the engine. Maybe this is a dumb question, I just want to be prepared before diving into that.

[Praxiss454]

Can anyone answer definitively whether I'll need to loosen and jack my L6 230 engine up a few inches on order to get my oil pan off of my 65 GMC 1000?

My maintenance manual does not mention this step but others here have mentioned it.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Can anyone answer definitively whether I'll need to loosen and jack my L6 230 engine up a few inches on order to get my oil pan off of my 65 GMC 1000?

My maintenance manual does not mention this step but others here have mentioned it.

At the risk of being the annoying guy who bumps his question but no one is answering because they don't know the answer..... bump.

[69 C10 LWB]

I would say that since no one has answered that means no one has tried. If it were me I would probably pull the engine to do it. I hate having oil drip on my head while I work under an engine but I do it everyday so I might be a little biased. I think it would be easier to get everything lined up and make sure you aren’t going to create a bigger leak at the same time. And while you’re at it you could throw a rear main in to make sure it’s good for a while as well.

[vince1]

Your answer is to get one of those rubber mats and park it under the truck. It works for mine LOL.

On your question though, from what I have been reading here over the last few years, I'd say yes you need to lift it some to get the pan off. Maybe lift it with a board and bottle jack under the pan and support it with a plank across the top of the engine? Let us know how it goes.

From a forum on the AMC 6 cylinders they talk about maybe loosening some of the mains caps a bit to be able to get the top half of the seal out. The rear cap of course would have to come off regardless to get the seal out of it.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by 69 C10 LWB

I would say that since no one has answered that means no one has tried.

This would be surprising to me that no one has tried to drop the pan on a 230 with the engine in place, but you might be right. I don't really have the space to lift the engine out entirely, and the prospect of trying to jack it up is also not great, so maybe I just live with the oil leak for now. I just don't want to get half way through the project, realize I can't finish it, leaving the truck in an undriveable state.

[Captainfab]

I have never done it with a I6, but with a small block you need to either lift the front of the engine, or you need to turn the crank so that the front counterweight is up. Then the pan can be dropped down and slid back.

[Praxiss454]

I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

Any suggestions for anything else I should do while I have the pan dropped? Current project list is just to strip and repaint the oil pan (a P/O painted it blue), replace the pan gasket, and rear main seal.

[Praxiss454]

Okay, so I had to jack the engine to drop the pan. No biggie. Two of the bolts were broken off by a PO so I extracted those, feeling pretty good.

But I can't get the damn upper rear main seal out of the channel no matter what I try. The lower seal was RTV'ed into the channel, so I expect the same from the upper. I think this means I will need to drop the shaft. The seal is the neoprene style with the metal rod through it, and I was trying to tap it out with a hammer but kept slipping, and put a tiny knick into the shaft so decided I better quit while I'm ahead. Gently filed down the high spots from the knick.

Can anyone point me to a write-up of how to drop the shaft, or explain it? I have the GMC Maintenance Manual for my truck but so far can't find a section on this.

[geezer#99]

Have you tried pushing on the seal as you rotate the crank?
Push on it with the eraser end of a pencil.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Have you tried pushing on the seal as you rotate the crank?
Push on it with the eraser end of a pencil.

Not yet, I can give that a try.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Not yet, I can give that a try.

No dice. It didn't budge. But take a look at this bearing surface. Reckon it needs to be replaced? I don't know much about this stuff, having never done it before, but I would guess so. And it makes me want to pull the engine and disassemble everything, which I've also never done.

[rvrfoot]

Yes you need a rebuild.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by rvrfoot

Yes you need a rebuild.

My wife is going to be thrilled.

[Captainfab]

That bearing is shot.....

[rvrfoot]

I just got mine rebuilt.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

That bearing is shot.....

So is it pretty much a done deal that if the rear main bearing is in this condition, all the bearings are going to look like that? I suppose there's one way to find out...

This feels like a slippery slope. All I wanted to do was stop the oil puddles on my driveway.

[TopFuel1966]

Looks as though your crankshaft needs some attention.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by TopFuel1966

Looks as though your crankshaft needs some attention.

If I understand the stamping on the rear lower bearing, it is a Clevite 77 mfged in June 1974 and is .010 undersized, so someone reconditioned the engine in the mid 70s. I pulled a rod bearing and it was worn but not nearly as bad.

So what's my next move? Can I slap in some new bearings, button it up, and call it a day? I don't have a ton of money to put into things right now. A master kit for this engine isn't too expensive but I'm worried machining will cost be upwards of $2000, at least according to a friend who had his mustang engine machined (and not even bored).

[Captainfab]

I can't imagine machining work costing $2000 unless some extravagant/elaborate work was done. Engine machine work is going to vary a bit by location but I would guess for a I6 it shouldn't be more than $6-700.

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

If I understand the stamping on the rear lower bearing, it is a Clevite 77 mfged in June 1974 and is .010 undersized, so someone reconditioned the engine in the mid 70s. I pulled a rod bearing and it was worn but not nearly as bad.

So what's my next move? Can I slap in some new bearings, button it up, and call it a day? I don't have a ton of money to put into things right now. A master kit for this engine isn't too expensive but I'm worried machining will cost be upwards of $2000, at least according to a friend who had his mustang engine machined (and not even bored).

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I can't imagine machining work costing $2000 unless some extravagant/elaborate work was done. Engine machine work is going to vary a bit by location but I would guess for a I6 it shouldn't be more than $6-700.

Well if anyone has a lead on a machine place in the SF Bay area let me know. I'll start calling around.

[geezer#99]

Have you looked for a replacement motor. One like this you can test drive, maybe do a compression test and check for leaks.
Never know, you might get it for a screamin’ Deal.

https://modesto.craigslist.org/pts/d...544816303.html

[vince1]

If I get to mine I'll take a picture and I expect to find it down to copper all over because I don't think it has ever been apart.

When I used to take engines apart for first overhaul back in the 60's and 70's I would consider that a good bearing. Usually they were worn to the copper over the entire surfaces. If the crank still looks smooth I would just pop in a new set of bearings and be done with it. Then drive it for the next 20 or 30 years.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by vince1

If the crank still looks smooth I would just pop in a new set of bearings and be done with it. Then drive it for the next 20 or 30 years.

I think I do see a wear line on the crank but I'll get under there today and inspect more closely.

Geezer, that is probably a smart way to go but so far I'm trying to keep the original equipment as much as possible, or go back to original for anything changed. Since it seems the engine in the truck is the one that it came with from the factory I'd like to keep it.

Some day (when I have the space) I would like to pull the engine to rebuild, and do a frame off restoration, but for now my goal is to slowly fix things and keep it running as a daily driver. I only drive perhaps 3000 miles a year in my car, most family trips will be in another vehicle.